Submissions

Guidelines for Article submissions and student submissions to the Print Journal are described separately below. Guidelines for submissions to the Online Journal are located here. Please email Submissions.HHRJ@mail.law.harvard.edu with any concerns.

ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS:

Update as of October 2: Our submissions cycle for the Regular Print Edition has finished and we will no longer review Articles submitted for that edition. We continue to review pieces for the Online Journal and the Special Edition on Human Rights and the Environment. Please consult the respective pages for submissions guidelines.

The Harvard Human Rights Journal publishes an annual print issue containing original scholarly works analyzing contemporary international or domestic human rights issues through the lens of international human rights law.

Submission Guidelines

Subject Matter: Articles should address contemporary human rights issues from a legal perspective.
Eligibility: Authors should be scholars or legal practitioners. Law students are not eligible until immediately after graduation (including LLMs), though lawyers pursuing advanced credentials are (i.e., SJDs).
Length Limitations: We strongly prefer Article submissions that are between 10,000 and 25,000 words in total length, including text, footnotes, and appendices.
Language: Although we recognize that human rights is an international field, we only publish pieces in English.
Citation Format: All assertions should be cited. We strongly prefer submissions that use footnotes rather than endnotes and that comply with The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (21st ed. 2020).

Instructions: We ask for all Articles to be submitted in Microsoft Word format through Scholastica, along with a CV or resume. However, we recognize that for various reasons this can be costly. Hence, those who cannot bear the cost can submit directly to submissions.hhrj@mail.law.harvard.edu.

Review Process: Submissions are reviewed and accepted year-round on a rolling basis. Due to the volume of submissions we receive, we are unable to accommodate requests to confirm receipt or respond to inquiries about the status of a submission. We kindly ask that authors not send emails inquiring into the status of their submissions. If a submission is selected for publication, we will contact the author directly.

STUDENT SUBMISSIONS:

The Harvard Human Rights Journal publishes three types of student writing in the annual print issue: Notes, Comments, and Book Reviews.

Submission Guidelines

Subject Matter and Length: All submissions should address contemporary human rights issues from a legal perspective. Word counts include footnotes and appendices.
- - Notes: Similar to Articles in content and style. 10,000-15,000 words.
  - Comments: Should comment on recent court cases, events, or legislative developments and their wider implications for human rights. 2,500-5,000 words.
  - Book Reviews: Should discuss a recently released book. 1,000-2,500 words.
Eligibility: Current law students (e.g., JDs, LLMs, SJDs) and recent graduates (must have graduated within the past two years as of the submission date) are eligible.
Language: Although we recognize that human rights is an international field, we only publish pieces in English.
Citation Format: All assertions should be cited. We strongly prefer submissions that use footnotes rather than endnotes and that comply with The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (21st ed. 2020).

Instructions: We ask that all student submissions be submitted via email and in Microsoft Word format. Student submissions should be emailed as attachments to submissions.hhrj@mail.law.harvard.edu, with “Student Submission – [Law School Name] – [Last Name]” in the subject line, along with a CV or resume.