Call for Special Issue Proposals – Volumes 19 (2018) & 20 (2019)

The German Law Journal has a proud and successful tradition of publishing timely and innovative special issues.  Some of these have become standard works in their respective areas of research.  As our statistics show, special issues are a particularly effective way of disseminating legal scholarship. There is hardly an individual contribution in a special issue that does not get well over 1,000 views, and the number of views of top contributions is many times higher. Also, special issues seem to attract readers beyond our trusted core readership.

While some of the special issues are curated by the Editorial Board, the German Law Journal has often worked with guest editors. While we have always found the collaboration with guest editors to be invigorating and mutually beneficial, we now receive many more special issue proposals than we are able to publish. To ensure both the highest quality for our readers and the best possible experience for our guest editors, the German Law Journal therefore launches its third call for special issues and invites prospective guest editors to submit their proposals. We particularly encourage the submission of special issue proposals that engage with cutting edge research within the ambit of German, European, comparative, and international law and advance the dynamic field of transnational legal scholarship.

Special Issue Selection Procedure

This is an open call, inviting proposals of special issues on any topic likely to be of interest to the Journal’s readers. The submission deadline is 31 January 2018.

There is no set structure for the special issues.  The number and length of contributions in a special issue depend on the topic and the approach taken. There is some flexibility in this regard, as long as the selection of contributions is coherent and meets the Journal’s high standard for quality.  Most of our special issues have between eight and 15 contributions (including introduction and conclusion) but longer and shorter special issues may also be accepted.  On average, each contribution should not exceed 9,000 words, but here, too, there is some flexibility.  On all such issues, coherence and quality should be the guide.  Please go to the Journal’s submissions page to consult the style guide.

Each special issue proposals will be assigned to a member of the Journal’s board of editors.  The “assigned editor” will correspond with the proposing editor(s) to ensure that we have the information that we think is necessary for a full and fair consideration of the proposal.  The assigned editor will prepare an internal report—including a recommendation regarding publication—that will guide the board’s consideration of the proposal.

The board will meet from 16 to 18 March 2018 to discuss and select about three special issue proposals.  The standard for selection will be the proposal’s quality, including timeliness, innovativeness, and strength of the project’s content. The proposing editors will be notified as soon as possible of the outcome after the board’s decision is taken.

The editors of the selected proposals will continue to work closely with the assigned editor, who will have the responsibility of ensuring that all the pieces in the collection meet the Journal’s high standard for quality.  The guest editor is responsible for the editing process and the submission of the final manuscript to the Journal.  The assigned editor, in consultation with the guest editor, will have the authority to demand revisions to the project’s content and, in exceptional cases, insist that poor quality texts be excluded from the collection.  The Journal reserves the right to reject the whole special issue—or individual contributions—in the event that our high standard of quality is not met.

Selected special issues will presumably appear in the Journal between late 2018 and mid-2019. The scheduling of the publication process and the ultimate publication date will depend on progress on the special issue and on the Journal’s general workflow. It will be agreed upon as soon as possible between the Editors-in-Chief and the guest editor(s).

Special Issue Proposals

A special issue proposal should include the following:

• A statement describing the project. The statement should clearly outline the idea, the originality, and the structure of the proposal.  It should also discuss the state of affairs in the relevant field(s) or research and explain the proposal’s relationship to the existing research. Please include a progress chart and indicate when you expect to submit the manuscript of the special issue to the Journal for further review and editing.
• A draft table of contents clearly identifying for each contribution the expected author(s) and their affiliation(s).
• Abstracts for each of the expected contributions highlighting how each contribution speaks to the special issue’s theme. The current status of each text should be indicated (in the process of writing, submitted but not yet reviewed by editor, reviewed and revised based on editor’s feedback).
• The proposing editor’s C.V.
• The entire proposal (excluding any draft chapters / articles) should not exceed 7,000 words.

The proposal should be send to Matthias Goldmann via goldmann@mpil.de. The subject line of the email should read “Special Issue Proposal”. In case of questions please contact Matthias.

DEADLINE FOR SPECIAL ISSUE PROPOSAL SUBMISSIONS – VOLUMES 19 & 20: 31 January 2018
SUBMISSIONS SHOULD BE SENT TO: Matthias Goldmann [goldmann@mpil.de]