Instructions to Authors
Scope and aims of the journal
JIDS is open to all areas of international dispute settlement, in both private and public international law, with a preference for commercial, economic and financial matters. The main fields of interest include international commercial and investment arbitration, WTO dispute resolution, diplomatic dispute settlement, the settlement of international political disputes over economic matters in the UN, as well as international negotiation and mediation, but also the resolution of mass claims, proceedings before the Law of the Sea Tribunal and the Permanent Court of Arbitration, post-war developments of mixed arbitrations between individuals and states, online dispute resolution and sports arbitration.
Reflective articles find preference over news-driven works. In addition to strictly legal approaches, the journal’s purview encompasses studies inspired by legal sociology, legal philosophy, the history of law, law and political science, and law and economics.
Preparation of manuscript
We have two types of articles within JIDS - Original and Current Developments.
Original Article
- The ideal length of articles is 10,000-15,000 words. Shorter and longer manuscripts are admissible, within reason.
- An abstract of about 150 words should be included.
Current Development - covering up to date present day advances
- The ideal length is 6,000-10,000 words.
- An abstract of about 150 words should be included.
JIDS uses an anonymous submission process. In order to ensure an impartial review of your submission, please do not identify yourself in your manuscript. You will be required to submit an anonymous main document and a separate title page to include: title, author full names, affiliations, telephone number, email, declarations and acknowledgments (including all sources of funding and support, and substantive contributions of individuals), and co-author names, affiliations and email addresses; to allow anonymous review.
Exclusive submission policy: all manuscripts must be original and not under consideration with another publication or in another form, such as a chapter of a book. Authors of submitted papers are obligated not to submit their paper for publication elsewhere until an editorial decision is rendered on their submission.
Submissions are made through an online submission system.
Alterations and Revisions
If the Editor is of the opinion that an article provisionally accepted for publication needs minor revisions - including minor shortening, correction of errors in punctuation, spelling and style - such proposed changes will be made by the Editors and will not be resubmitted to the author for approval prior to publication if they do not alter the meaning or sense of the original manuscript. Authors may be asked to resubmit articles in response to the peer review evaluation.
Style and format
Manuscripts should conform to the The Oxford Standard for Citation Of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) which is designed to facilitate accurate citation of authorities, legislation, and other legal materials.
Style and spelling
Oxford English spelling should be used. Authors whose first language is not English are requested to have their typescripts checked carefully before submission. This will help expedite the review process and avoid confusion. Check the final copy of your paper carefully, as any spelling mistakes and errors may be translated into the typeset version.
General format
Prepare your typescript text using a word-processing package, ideally Microsoft Word (save in .doc or .rtf format). Please do not submit text as a PDF file. Typescripts should be double-spaced, including text, tables, legends and footnotes. Number each page. Type unjustified, hyphenating only compound words. Use the TAB key once for paragraph indents. Where possible use Times New Roman for the text font and Symbol for any Greek and special characters. Use the word processing formatting features to indicate Bold, Italic, Greek, Maths, Superscript and Subscript characters. Please avoid using underline: for cases use italic; for emphasis use bold. Clearly identify unusual symbols and Greek letters. Differentiate between the letter O and zero, and the letters I and l and the number 1. Mark the approximate position of any figure or table.
Headings
The use of sub-headings at regular intervals through each article is encouraged, as it makes articles more easily readable. If you need to use more than one level of heading, please use a consistent hierarchy of headings to ensure that the relevant importance of each heading is clear, for example I. CAPITALS, then A. Bold, then (1) Italics.
Figures
Where articles are to be accompanied by illustrative material, the review process will not begin until all figures are received. Figures should be limited to the number necessary for clarity and must not duplicate data given in tables or in the text. They must be submitted in electronic format and in a separate file to that of the typescript. Figures should be no larger than 125 (height) x 180 (width) mm (5 x 7 inches) and should be prepared at publication quality resolution (a minimum of 300 dpi at final printing size).
Photographs: Photographs should be of sufficiently high quality with respect to detail, contrast and fineness of grain to withstand the inevitable loss of contrast and detail inherent.
Line drawings: Please provide these as clear, sharp illustrations, suitable for reproduction as submitted. All labeling should be on the original.
Figure accessibility and alt text
Incorporating alt text (alternative text) when submitting your paper helps to foster inclusivity and accessibility. Good alt text ensures that individuals with visual impairments or those using screen readers can comprehend the content and context of your figures. The aim of alt text is to provide concise and informative descriptions of your figure so that all readers have access to the same level of information and understanding, and that all can engage with and benefit from the visual elements integral to scholarly content. Including alt text demonstrates a commitment to accessibility and enhances the overall impact and reach of your work.
Alt text is applicable to all images, figures, illustrations, and photographs.
Alt text is only accessible via e-reader and so it won’t appear as part of the typeset article.
Detailed guidance on how to draft and submit alt text.
Tables
Authors should provide tables in editable formats, such as word and excel. Tables should be typed with double spacing, but minimising redundant space, and each should be placed on a separate sheet. Tables should be submitted, wherever possible, in a portrait, as opposed to landscape, layout. Each Table should be numbered in sequence using Arabic numerals. Tables should also have a title above and an explanatory footnote below.
Reference Format
References should be given in footnotes. Footnotes should be identified in the text by Arabic numerals and numbered in the order cited. Complete information should be given for each reference cited.
Citation examples:
Books:
JH Baker, An Introduction to English Legal History (3rd edn, 1990) 419–421
Articles:
SC Manon, ‘Rights of water abstraction in the Common Law’ (1965) 83 LQR 47, 49–51
J Griffiths, ‘Copyright in English Literature: Denying the Public Domain’ [2000] EIPR 150, 151
Contributions to books:
A Ashworth, ‘Belief, Intent and Criminal Liability’ in J Eekelaar and J Bell (eds), Oxford Essays in Jurisprudence (3rd Series, 1987) 1, 6
Cases:
UK: Bowman v Fussy [1978] RPC 545, HL
ECJ: Case C–427/93 Bristol-Myers Squibb v Paranova [1996] ECR I-3457
EPO: T585/92 Unilever/Deodorant Detergent [1996] OJEPO 129
OHIM: R7/97-3 Orange Personal Communications Services/Orange [1998] ETMR 343
Crossref Funding Data Registry
For further information on this process or to find out more about CHORUS, visit the CHORUS initiative.
English Language Editing
Language editing, if your first language is not English, to ensure that the academic content of your paper is fully understood by journal editors and reviewers is optional. Language editing does not guarantee that your manuscript will be accepted for publication. For further information on this service, please visit our language services page. Several specialist language editing companies offer similar services and you can also use any of these. Authors are liable for all costs associated with such services.
Copyright
It is a condition of publication in the Journal that authors grant an exclusive licence to Oxford University Press. This ensures that requests from third parties to reproduce articles are handled efficiently and consistently and will also allow the article to be as widely disseminated as possible. In granting the licence, authors may use their own material in other publications provided that the Journal is acknowledged as the original place of publication, and Oxford University Press is notified in writing and in advance. In consideration for granting the exclusive licence, the publisher will supply the author with a gratis issue in which their article appears (if an completed order form is sent to the Production Editor) together with free url access to their article. The free url allows readers free access to the full text of your paper whether or not they are a subscriber to the journal. It is the author’s responsibility to obtain permission to quote material from copyright sources.
Upon receipt of accepted manuscripts at Oxford Journals authors will be invited to complete an online copyright licence to publish form. Please note that by submitting an article for publication you confirm that you are the corresponding/submitting author and that Oxford University Press ('OUP') may retain your email address for the purpose of communicating with you about the article. Please notify OUP immediately if your details change. If your article is accepted for publication OUP will contact you using the email address you have used in the registration process. Please note that OUP does not retain copies of rejected articles.
Open access
Journal of International Dispute Settlement offers the option of publishing under either a standard licence or an open access licence. Please note that some funders require open access publication as a condition of funding. If you are unsure whether you are required to publish open access, please do clarify any such requirements with your funder or institution.
Should you wish to publish your article open access, you should select your choice of open access licence in our online system after your article has been accepted for publication. You will need to pay an open access charge to publish under an open access licence.
Details of the open access licences and open access charges.
OUP has a growing number of Read and Publish agreements with institutions and consortia which provide funding for open access publishing. This means authors from participating institutions can publish open access, and the institution may pay the charge. Find out if your institution is participating.
Third-Party Content in Open Access papers
If you will be publishing your paper under an Open Access licence but it contains material for which you do not have Open Access re-use permissions, please state this clearly by supplying the following credit line alongside the material:
Title of content
Author, Original publication, year of original publication, by permission of [rights holder]
This image/content is not covered by the terms of the Creative Commons licence of this publication. For permission to reuse, please contact the rights holder.
Proofs
Authors will receive a PDF proof of their article by email and it is essential that a current email address is supplied with all articles. Proofing instructions will accompany the PDF file but the proof should be checked immediately upon receipt and return as per covering instructions. Only essential corrections should be made at this stage.
Availability of Data and Materials
Where ethically feasible, JIDS strongly encourages authors to make all data and software code on which the conclusions of the paper rely available to readers. We suggest that data be presented in the main manuscript or additional supporting files, or deposited in a public repository whenever possible. For information on general repositories for all data types, and a list of recommended repositories by subject area, please see Choosing where to archive your data.
Data Citation
JIDS supports the Force 11 Data Citation Principles and requires that all publicly available datasets be fully referenced in the reference list with an accession number or unique identifier such as a digital object identifier (DOI). Data citations should include the minimum information recommended by DataCite:
- [dataset]* Authors, Year, Title, Publisher (repository or archive name), Identifier
*The inclusion of the [dataset] tag at the beginning of the citation helps us to correctly identify and tag the citation. This tag will be removed from the citation published in the reference list.
Preprint Policy
Authors retain the right to make an Author’s Original Version (preprint) available through various channels, and this does not prevent submission to the journal. For further information see our Online Licensing, Copyright and Permissions policies. If accepted, the authors are required to update the status of any preprint, including your published paper’s DOI, as described on our Author Self-Archiving policy page.
ORCID
JIDS requires submitting authors to provide an ORCID iD at submission to the journal. More information on ORCID and the benefits of using an ORCID iD is available. If you do not already have an ORCID iD, you can register for free via the ORCID website.’
