Submissions

Author Guidelines

The Kathmandu School of Law Review (KSLR) is a bi-annual journal published from Nepal, which aspires to foster a rich academic research culture, both nationally and internationally. It conducts a double-blind peer review of manuscripts and involves a rigorous editing and publication process. KSLR is an initiative of the Kathmandu School of Law (KSL), which brings together some of the most influential academicians from around the world in its advisory board. It aims to promote a culture of legal research and writing.

KSLR believes its volumes have contributed qualitatively to the ever-developing corpus of literature and discourses on contemporary issues. It, simultaneously, seeks to provide a platform to young scholars’ enthusiasm and to make their love for learning contagious.

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION GUIDELINE

This document provides authors with details on policy, copyediting, formatting and layout requirements for final manuscript submission to the KLSR. All submissions must conform to the submission guidelines outlined below. Failure to do so may result in the submission being rejected.

All manuscripts should be submitted here (KSLR website) in an electronic version. The journal accepts manuscripts for publication on a rolling basis throughout the year. Submissions made after the lapse of deadline of one issue shall be considered for publication in the next issue.

I. Editorial Policy

Unpublished material: The manuscripts submitted for publication in KSLR must not be copyrighted, published, or submitted elsewhere, except in abstract form. The corresponding author must ensure that all co-authors approve the submission of manuscript.

Conflict of interest: The authors who submit a manuscript bear the responsibility to identify and disclose any kind of conflicts of interest that might bias their work and/or could inappropriately influence her/his best judgment. The publishers assume that no conflict of interest exists if such specific acknowledgement is not provided.

Declaration of funding: A declaration of sources of funding must be provided (whenever applicable). Authors must state the full official name of the funding body and specify the grant amount.

Ethical research: The authors ensure that their work conform with ethical standards of research.

Copyright: The authors agree by signing a Journal Copyright Transfer Form to transfer the copyright to their work to Kathmandu School of Law.

II. Copyediting/Language Editing

All manuscripts must be written in clear and concise English (American English).

During the submission of manuscripts, the authors must be mindful of the following:

• Manuscripts should be submitted in a MSWord (.doc or .docx) file.
• If the content of manuscript includes special characters, equations, formula, etc., then a PDF version of the manuscript should also be submitted along with the word file for reference purposes. This will enable the concerned editors to mitigate any formatting issues present in the word file.
• Please adhere to the following document structure:
  1. Introduction (see below);
  2. Main Body, including References and Tables, Figures, and Graphs (see below); and
  3. Conclusion

We discourage inclusion of annexes or schedules to the journal articles unless absolutely necessary.

III. Journal House-Style

Accepted Manuscripts (Including Length)

The KSLR publishes double blind peer-reviewed scholarly articles under the following categories:

1. Long Manuscripts: Between 5000 and 8000 words (inclusive of footnotes).
2. Short Manuscripts: Between 3000 and 5000 words (inclusive of footnotes).
3. Case Notes, Legislative Comments and Book Review: Between 1500-2500 words (inclusive of footnotes).

Title and Abstract

Contributions should include a title which clearly and concisely communicates the intent of the writing. Titles to articles must be centered in bold and written in uppercase.

Abstract
All articles should be accompanied by an abstract of no more than 300 words in 12 point, Garamond, italicized and indented both left and right by 0.25" or 0.5 cm.

Name and Autobiographical Note
Contributors are requested to supply their full name in the format: First/Given Name, Middle Name (can be excluded if unavailable), Surname/Family Name. Autobiographical details should appear as the first footnote of each contribution [as an asterisk (*)], and include as separate sentences: (i) the contributor’s professional qualification(s); (ii) current title and institutional affiliation; and (iii) Acknowledgements (if any) may also be included.

Headings
The number of levels of headings should not normally exceed four.

• First-level headings should be centered and typed in all capitals preceded by capitalized roman numerals (Example: I., II., III., and so on).
• Second-level headings should also be centered. Typed with initial capitals for main words only proceeded by capital letters (Example: , B., C., and so on).
• Third-level headings should be in left alignment. Typed with title capitals for the first word and proper names only preceded by Arabic numbering (Example: 1., 2., 3., and so on).
• Fourth-level headings should be also aligned left. Typed with title capitals for the first word and proper names only and italicize. And proceeded by lower-case letters in parentheses (Example: (a), (b), (c), and so on). End with a colon and run into text.

Text

• The use of abbreviations and acronyms is permitted provided they are defined within the text the first time they are used (Example: the Kathmandu Journal of Law Review (KSLR) or the Kathmandu School of Law (KSL)). Full stops should not be used in abbreviations.
• It is permissible to use a short author method of citation (for example: As noted by Smith¹…) with a mandatory footnote reference in the format as prescribed by the Kathmandu School of Law Comprehensive Style to Legal Citation.
• Case titles, any non-English text, and titles of books or movies should be set in italics.
• Titles of articles in the text should be italicized.

References/ Footnotes
The KSLR subscribes to the legal citation rules and formats as set out in the KSL Comprehensive Style to Legal Citation (See the quick reference guide below).

Citations, references and sources should be fully set out in footnotes to the relevant part of the text (not as endnotes or in-text citations). Footnotes must appear at the bottom of the page on which they are referenced, not at the end of the paper.

Tables, Figures and Graphs

1. General requirements
   • All illustrations must be of reproduction-ready quality and in PNG, JPG or JPEG format. They will be reduced in size to fit, whenever possible.
   • Indicate the approximate placement of each figure. If figures are embedded within the text body of the manuscript, please submit these figures in separate files as well. Any figures which are not embedded in the text should be referenced in the text and submitted in separate files.
   • Only figures (graphs, line drawings, photographs, and so on) should be labeled as ‘figures,’ not tables or equations.
   • Tables should appear in the document near where they are referenced in the text.
2. Line drawings: Line drawings must be of reproduction-ready quality. Please note that faint shading may be lost upon reproduction. When drawing bar graphs, use patterning instead of grey scales. Lettering of all figures should be uniform in style.
3. Figure legends: Provide a short descriptive title in order that each figure self-explanatory on separate pages. Explain all symbols used in the figures. Remember to use the same abbreviations in the whole text body for uniformity.
4. Permissions: It is the authors’ responsibility to obtain permission to reproduce original or modified material that has been previously published. Any permissions fees are the responsibility of the author(s).

Mathematics and Equations

• Roman letters used in mathematical expressions as variables must be italicized. Roman letters used as part of multi-letter function names should not be italicized. Subscripts and superscripts must be a smaller font size than the main text.
• Ensure that equations are typed or created with a MS Word not randomly types.  Mathematical expressions must not be displayed as images.
• Important definitions or concepts can also be set off as display math.
• Number your equations sequentially and insert a blank line before and after each equation.
• When proofing your document, pay particular attention to the rendering of the mathematics, especially symbols and notation drawn from other-than-standard fonts.

Book Reviews
Book reviews must start with the topic proceeded by the author/s followed by: Title of book, Author(s)/editor(s), Place of publication: Publisher and Year of publication, ISBN Number and Number of pages.

Case Comment
Case Comments must start with topic proceeded by author and citation of the case (as per KSL Comprehensive Style to Legal Citation). The case comment must include but not limited to: Introduction, Background, Analysis and Conclusion.

Proofs and Offprints

Proofs as well as possible commendation for revision will be sent to the corresponding author via email for final proof reading. The proofs should be checked and any corrections be returned by the date given. Authors should avoid making excessive corrections of non-typographical errors; the publisher reserves the right to charge the authors in such cases.

Authors will receive a hard copy of the published paper free of charge which will be sent to the corresponding author. Paper offprints can be ordered in addition; an offprint order form will accompany the page proofs and should be completed and returned with the corrected proofs immediately.

KSL Comprehensive Guide to Legal Citation: Quick Reference

Footnotes should always start with a capital letter and end with a full stop. It should be of 10 points in size, with ‘left alignment’. References to more than one work (authority) within a same footnote are separated from one another with the use of a semi-colon (;).

PRIMARY SOURCES

Cases
Cases of National Jurisdiction

NPK Cases
Give the popular name (if present) and name of the party in italics followed by the year of the case (in BS), the mention of the year in AD should be kept inside brackets. Follow this pattern with the volume number of NKP, decision number of the case and pinpoint.

While pinpointing, in case of printed NKP, the first page number of the case is required to be mentioned. However, while citing from the official website iteration of the NKP, pinpoint is not required. It is also not mandatory to mention the URL link of NKP cases while citing them.

Nepal Government v. Mahesh Mahar (Mahara) and others, NKP 2076 (2019), volume 1, DN 10178, p. 136.

Non-NPK Cases
Immediately following the name of the case, mention the jurisdiction (and phase, if applicable) where the case is under consideration or has been decided. Then, mention the year both in Nepali/BS (and English/AD). In place of the decision number and volume, mention the case number or writ number and pinpoint. If the court’s name in itself does not specify the jurisdiction, then also mention the bench name after the court’s name separated by a comma. For Example: High Court, Patan, Hetauda Bench.

Nagmati Kumari Rana v. Purnawas Municipal Executive Office and others, High Court, Dipayal, Mahendranagar Bench, 2075 (2018), Writ no. 075-WO-0017.

Cases with unofficial source
Unity Life International Ltd. v. Office of the PM and Council of Ministers and others, 2068 (2012), Writ no. 066-WO-1293, cited at Lohit Chandra Shah & Bhim Nath Ghimire (eds), Some Decisions of The Supreme Court Nepal, Supreme Court, Kathmandu, 2013, volume 5, p. 222.

Supreme Court Bulletin Cases
Narbada Shrestha v. Home Ministry, Singhadurbar and others, Supreme Court Bulletin 2076 (2019), volume 4, Case no. 074-WH-0056, p. 3.

NKP Constitutional Bench Volume
Madhav Kumar Basnet and others v. Honorable Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai and others, NKP Constitutional Bench Volume 2075 (2018), volume 1, Decision no. 0004, p. 54.

Cases of International Jurisdiction
It is to be noted that if a reported case of an international jurisdiction is cited, the volume, issue, name of reporter and the starting page number of the case document (as available) is to be included (without separating them with a comma). In a situation where in the volume, issue, reporter and the starting page cannot be supplied, they should be replaced by other identification means, such as document number or case number (e.g. Case no. x).

In case wherein an additional information such as opinions of judges are provided, for example, dissenting opinion of a judge, it should be put right before the pinpoint separated by a comma.

Cases of International Criminal Court/Tribunals
Prosecutor v. Blaškič, ICTY, Objection to the Issue of Subpoenae Duces Tecum, 1997, 110 ILR 688, p. 693.

Tadic Case, Prosecutor v. Tadic, ICTY, Decision on Defense Motion for Interlocutory Appeal on Jurisdiction, 1995, Caseno. IT-94-I, para. 70.

Cases of International Court of Justice

Contentious Cases
Fisheries Case, United Kingdom v. Norway, Merits, 1951, ICJ Rep, p. 116.

Advisory Opinion
Western Sahara, Advisory opinion, 1975, ICJ Rep, p. 15.

Trade/Commercial cases and Arbitration
World Trade Organization (WTO)

Panel Report
Columbia-Indicative Prices and Restrictions on Ports of Entry, Panel Report, 2009, WTO Doc WT/DS366/R, para. 7.1.

Appellate Body Report
United States-continued existence and application of zeroing Methodology, Appellate Body Report, 2009, WTO Doc WT/DS350/AB/R, p. 171.

Human Rights Cases

Cases of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Mayagna (Sumo) Awas Tingni Community v. Nicaragua, Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Judgment on Merits, Reparations and Costs, 31 August 2001, Inter American Court of Human Rights: Decisions and Judgments, Series C no.79, para. 149.

Cases of the European Court of Human Rights/European Commission on Human Rights
Slivenko v. Latvia, European Court of Human Rights, Judgment on Merits and Just Satisfaction, 2003, 10 European Court of Human Rights: Reports of Judgments and Decisions, Application no. 48321/99, para. 169.

Cases of the African Court of Human and People’s Rights
Oscar Josiah v. United Republic of Tanzania, African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights, Judgment on Merits, 2019, Application no. 053/2016, para. 73.

LEGISLATION

National Legislation

Constitution
Nepal ko Sambidhan (Constitution of Nepal), art. 34(3).

[The present Constitution of Nepal does not include any date (year) in its title, hence, there is no need to mention the date while citing the present Constitution of Nepal.]

Primary Legislation

Federal Legislation
Trade Union Ain 2049 (Trade Union Act 1992), Nepal, s. 2(b).

Provincial and Local Legislation
In provincial and local legislation insert name of the province/name of the local level after the year.

Prashasakiya Karyabidhi Ain 2075 (Administrative Procedure Act 2018), Lalitpur Metropolitan City, Nepal, s. 3.

Foreign Legislation

Constitutions
Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia, 1901, s. 51(ii).

Other Acts
The Arunachal Pradesh Control of Organised Crime Repeal Act, 2003, Arunachal Pradesh, India, s. 5.

SECONDARY SOURCES

BOOKS
John Baylis, Steve Smith & Patricia Owens, The Globalization of World Politics: An introduction to international relations, Oxford University Press, UK, 6th edition, 2014, pp. 17-19.

In case the book has editor the name of the editor should be followed by (ed) for one editor and (eds) for more than one editor.

Anna Paula Dourado, ‘Is this a pipe? Validity of a tax reform for a developing country’, in Yariv Brauner & Miranda Stewart (eds), Tax, Law and Development, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, 2013, p. 157.

JOURNAL ARTICLES
T.R. Subramanya & Shuvro Prosun Sarker, ‘Emergence of Principle of Sic Utere Tuo Ut Alienum Non-Laedes in Environmental Law and Its Endorsement by International and National Courts: An Assessment’, Kathmandu School of Law Review p.1, volume 5: issue 2, 2017, p. 12.

CONFERENCE PAPER
Ben Osu, ‘Local community projects to create opportunities and tackle problems’, 31st FIHRM Conference, UNDP, Liverpool, 10 - 12 October 2012, p. 23.

REPORTS
‘Rule of Law Index 2017–2018’, World Justice Project, 2018, United States of America, p. 13.

WORKING PAPERS/DISCUSSION PAPERS
Roehlano M. Briones, ‘Regional Cooperation for Food Security: The Case of Emergency Rice Reserve in the ASEAN Plus Three’, Working Paper No. 18, Asian Development Bank, 2018, pp. 3-5.

INTERVIEW
Jon Snow, How British Colonialism destroyed India, Shashi Tharoor, Former Under Secretary General United Nations, India, March 2018.

NEWSPAPERS
Saroj Koirala, ‘Is electricity cheap enough to replace cooking gas?’, The Kathmandu Post, Kathmandu, 3 September 2019.

DIGITAL, AUDIO & VIDEO MATERIAL
‘Gerry Spence – LHO Closing Argument’, D dash, 2013, 00:02:00-00:04:08, available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-Reemd6FzM, accessed on 23 September 2019.

THESIS/DISSERTATION
Muaz Ahmed Khan Niazi, Towards A Novel Unified Framework for Developing Formal, Network and Validated Agent-Based Simulation Models of Complex Adaptive Systems, Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Computing Science and Mathematics School of Natural Sciences University of Stirling Scotland, 2011, p. 255.

INTERNATIONAL MATERIALS

INTERNATIONAL TREATIES AND CONVENTIONS
Whenever possible, use the English translated version for the name of the treaty. The title of the treaty should indicate the form of the treaty (for example, Accord, Agreement, Convention, Protocol, Treaty, etc.). If the treaty is not signed on a single date, use the date on which the treaty was opened for signature.

MULTILATERAL TREATIES AND CONVENTIONS

Treaties listed in Treaty Series
Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, 27 January 1980, 1155 UNTS 331, Vienna, 23 May 1969, art. 26.

Treaties not listed in Treaty Series
Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, 7 July 1884, Paris, 20 March 1883, art. 1.

Bilateral Treaties
Trade and Investment Framework Agreement between the Government of Nepal and the United States of America, Nepal-USA, 15 April 2011, Washington D.C., art. 5.

Protocols
The protocol must also be cited in the same format as treaties and conventions but while citing protocols, its parent convention may be omitted.

Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity, 12 October 2014, UNEP/CBD/COP/DEC/X/1, Nagoya, 29 October 2010, art. 7.

Resolutions

United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolutions
Permanent Sovereignty over Natural Resources, 14 December 1962, UNGA 1803 (XVII), para. 4.

United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions
Children and Armed Conflict, 9 July 2018, UNSC S/Res/2427, para. 9.

Declarations

UNGA Declarations
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 10 December 1948, UNGA 217 A (III), art. 5.

Non-UNGA Declarations
Declaration on Occupational Health for All, 11-14 October 1994, Second Meeting of the WHO Collaborating Centres in Occupational Health, Beijing, para. 7.

Last updated on 21^st August 2020