Submissions

Author Guidelines

Authors interested in submitting articles to JALS must adhere to the following guidelines.

The JALS editors and their team kindly ask all authors to apply the following rules:

Structure
All manuscripts must follow this format:
Title Page

• Article title and /below) author’s name.
• Short biography: 140–180 words, provided in footnote 1 (behind author’s name). Here, authors may also acknowledge contributors.
• Abstract: 180–250 words, formatted per journal guidelines.
• Keywords: 4–6 relevant terms.
• Table of Contents: Two levels of headings.

Main Text

• Introduction: Overview of the topic and significance.
• Methodology/Theoretical Framework: Explanation of research methods.
• Main Analysis: Structured argumentation and discussion.
• Conclusion: Summary of key findings and implications.

Formatting

• Font: Times New Roman, 12 pt.
• Paragraph spacing: 0 pt before, 6 pt after.
• Line spacing: Multiple 1.25.
• Word count: 8,000–16,000 words. Authors wishing to exceed this limit should contact the editors.
• Headings: Sections and subsections should not exceed two levels (1., 2., … and 1.1., 1.2., …)

References

References should be provided when:

1. Citing or paraphrasing another author’s ideas,
2. Additional information from external sources is beneficial,
3. Further explanation of provided information is required.
   Excessive self-citation should be avoided.

Follow the Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) We recommend using OSCOLA’s Quick Reference Guide.
Bibliographies are not required; all citations should be in footnotes.
Online sources should be used sparingly due to reliability concerns.
Titles of non-English works should include an English translation in brackets. Titles in non-Latin scripts should be transliterated.
Block quotes (one sentence or longer) should be indented (1 cm).

Style

Language
Authors writing in English may use any regional dialect (e.g. Canadian, Indian, British) but must maintain consistency throughout the text and inform the editors of their choice.
Non-English terms unfamiliar to an average reader should be italicized and explained in a footnote.

Style

Articles must be written in an academic style, allowing for different sub-styles. They should present a clear hypothesis, engage in structured argumentation, and follow appropriate research methods. All discussions must be logically developed and conclude with a clear summary, even if the conclusion is that no definitive answer can be drawn.

Originality

Submissions must be original works of the author. Plagiarism, including uncredited use of others’ work, is strictly prohibited and will result in rejection.

Further details

Dates should be written as day–month–year (e.g., 23 January 2014). Persian calendar dates should follow in brackets with “A.P.” where relevant.
Graphics (tables, charts, images) must be titled and numbered.
Names: Full names should be used upon first mention, followed by the last name only. Life dates or periods in office should be included where relevant (Add life dates or dates of office wherever possible. Examples: “President Hamid Karzai (r. 2001-2014) decided…”; “the Egyptian jurist Abd el-Razzak el- Sanhuri (1895-1971) argued…”
Abbreviations should be introduced upon first use, with the full term followed by the abbreviation in brackets (e.g., The Independent Commission for Overseeing the Implementation of the Constitution (ICOIC)). Common abbreviations (e.g., U.S., U.K.) do not require introduction.
Capitalization: Titles of individuals are capitalized when referring to a specific person (e.g., On 4 December 2014, the President appointed XY as minister). Generic references are lowercase (e.g., the duties of the president include…).
Legal References: Articles and paragraphs of legal texts should be capitalized (e.g., Article 61, Art. 61(3)).
Hyphens and Dashes: Use hyphens for compound words (executive-legislative relations). Use em-dashes (—) for parenthetical phrases (He claimed—wrongly, in my view—that the law was clear).
Contractions: Avoid contractions (cannot instead of can’t).
Oxford Comma: Use before “and,” “or,” and “as well as” where necessary (lawyers, judges, and elders discussed the matter).
Quotation Marks: Periods and commas should be placed outside closing quotation marks.
Symbols: Avoid using symbols like “§” or “&.”

Transliteration of non-Latin script

When transliterating words from Dari, Pashto, Arabic or another non-Latin script please do not use special characters (such as ā or ḍ). Please write the words in Latin script in a manner that an English reader would pronounce them correctly. In many cases you can follow general practice (for example, country names).
The following few rules need to be mentioned:
The consonant or “glottal stop” hamza (ء) should be reproduced as ʾ.
The consonant eyn (ع) should be reproduced as ʿ. The consonant dhal (ذ) is reproduced as dh.
The consonant ghayn (غ) should be pronounced as gh. The consonant kha (خ) should be reproduced as kh.
The consonant qaf (ق) should be reproduced as q (not: gh).
The consonant ژ should be reproduced as zh.
If you would like to do a full transliteration using special characters, please contact the authors.

Further questions
Please contact us if you have any further questions jals@ilsaf.org. Many thanks!