Submission Guidelines

Purpose

The Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal (“APLPJ”) is an American legal journal dedicated to fostering interdisciplinary dialogue and advancing the understanding of legal and policy issues within the Asian-Pacific region. Our mission is to provide a web-based platform through the APLPJ website and other legal databases that showcases innovative research and insights from legal scholars, practitioners, judges, policymakers, and students. We strive to contribute to and reflect upon the unique cultural, economic, and social contexts of the Asian-Pacific community. APLPJ also aims to uplift frequently marginalized voices by illuminating people’s experiences and perspectives. Accordingly, APLPJ welcomes submissions of original, unpublished manuscripts, translations, and student comments that examine legal issues related to the Asian or Pacific regions. 

Publishing with APLPJ

  • APLPJ is the most cited student-run publication in the U.S. dedicated to legal issues across the Asia-Pacific region, ranking among the top three journals overall in this field. 
  • Authors have the opportunity to reach a global audience, thereby offering excellent visibility. Several esteemed scholars and practitioners have chosen to publish with APLPJ, such as Supreme Court Justice of Japan, Katsuya Uga. 
  • Our editors are capable and committed to working closely with authors to prepare their manuscripts for publication.

Submission Deadlines

  • APLPJ accepts submissions on a rolling basis.  
  • Submissions received by July 15 have priority consideration for fall publication.  
  • Submissions received by November 15 have priority consideration for spring publication.  
  • Manuscripts selected for publication but submitted after the priority date may be held for consideration in a future issue if the current issue is already at capacity.

Submission Instructions

  • The manuscript must focus on a legal topic regarding or related to the Asia-Pacific Region*.
  • Manuscripts should range from 8,000 to 35,000 words, excluding footnotes and references. Submissions under 25,000 words are preferred, while those exceeding 35,000 words will be considered only under exceptional circumstances. 
  • APLPJ accepts submissions via Scholastica or as an email attachment to aplpjart@hawaii.edu. 
  • Manuscripts should be submitted as a single Microsoft Word document using Times New Roman, 12 point font, and 2.0 spacing for text. Footnotes should be in 10 point font.
  • Submissions should reasonably comply with the latest edition of The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation for citations and include references for all legal and factual sources beyond the author’s own analysis. 
  • Manuscripts should be of generally publishable quality, with accurate English (American) grammar and usage suitable for a legal journal, but selective use of foreign terms is permissible when appropriate.
  • APLPJ will not consider articles that have been previously published or are being simultaneously published elsewhere.
  • Interested authors should attach a CV with their contact information.

*APLPJ publishes articles regarding the following countries and regions: Australia, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, China (including Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Macau Special Administrative Region), East Timor, Fiji, Hawai‘i-Pacific Islands Region (includes State of Hawai‘i, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands), Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Laos, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Nauru, New Zealand, North Korea, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Vietnam.

Additional Submission Suggestions 

  • We highly recommend manuscripts be critically proofread before submission.
  • For grammar rules and style, APLPJ typically follows The Elements of Style (4th ed., 1999) by Strunk & White and the Chicago Manual of Style (17th ed., 2017).
  • Please try to limit article headings to three levels at the most, however, additional levels can be used if it helps with the article’s organization (see example below).

Example:

Selection Process

  1. Each submission is initially reviewed to ensure it complies with the submission requirements.
  2. The Publication Editors and Editor-in-Chief(s) vote on the submission, with a unanimous vote required for approval.
    1. Authors can expect a decision regarding their manuscript within two weeks of submission. As a matter of policy, we do not provide or discuss the reasons for our decisions. 
    2. Authors who have received an offer for publication from another journal may request an expedited review by emailing aplpjart@hawaii.edu.
  3. Authors invited to publish must execute a Publication Agreement with APLPJ. Please note that if selected to publish with APLPJ, we may ask that authors send electronic versions of their source materials. 

We look forward to reviewing your manuscripts. If you have any questions, please contact us at aplpjart@hawaii.edu