Trade, Law and Development

Trade, Law and Development (TL&D) is a biannual, student-run, academic journal published by National Law University, Jodhpur, India (NLU, Jodhpur). It provides a forum for the exchange of ideas and constructive debate on legal and policy issues surrounding world trade, cross-border investment, and development, among other inter-related aspects of international law. The main focus areas of the Journal are international trade law and international economic law. It was founded in 2009 by Shashank P. Kumar, an alumnus of NLU, Jodhpur.

TL&D Anniversary Special Issue on Trade Facilitation, which is one of the very few authoritative publications on the subject.

Being a biannual journal, TL&D is published in yearly volumes of two issues each – one special issue that is published in the summer, and one general issue which is a winter publication. While the general (winter issue) has no specific theme, the special issue (summer issue) is on a relatively under-explored topic or issue of contemporary relevance to the world. Previous special issues have covered areas such as “Trade Facilitation Agreement” (2019), “Revisiting WTO’s Role in Global Governance” (2018), “Recent Regionalism” (2017), “Trade and Public Health” (2016) and “Government Procurement” (2015), inter alia. The 2020 special issue is dedicated to “Trade in Services”. The 2019 special issue on “Trade Facilitation Agreement” is one of the very few authoritative publications on the subject. Further, the upcoming special issue (due for publication in Summer, 2020) is on the dynamic field of Trade in Services.

The scope of the Journal includes publication of “Articles”, “Notes”, “Comments” or “Book Reviews” from distinguished and diverse authors, including, inter alia, judges, scholars, policy-makers, practitioners and students. All references in the Journal are formatted as per the latest edition of The Bluebook: A Uniform Style of Citation.

The review process usually involves two to three editors and takes 4–8 weeks from the date of submission, with expedited reviews possible in exceptional circumstances.

Annual subscription of the Journal comprises two issues, including any special issues, published in an academic year. Individual and institutional subscription in India costs ₹400 and ₹1000 respectively, while prices for international subscription, individual and institutional are $30 and $100 respectively (all prices inclusive of postal charges).

Payment can be made by way of a banker's draft or cheque drawn in favour of “The Registrar, National Law University” payable at Jodhpur, or by way of direct account transfer, the details of which can be sought via e-mail. In addition, an e-mail has to be sent with the Cheque/Draft No. to editors[at]tradelawdevelopment.com.

International payments may also be made by way of a draft or cheque. For further information on international subscriptions, please contact the Registrar, National Law University, Jodhpur (nlu-jod-rj[at]nic.in; Cc: editors[at]tradelawdevelopment.com) with the subject “International Subscription for TL&D Journal”.

Since 2011 i.e. two years after its inception, TL&D has consistently been ranked as the best law journal in India across all disciplines. According to Washington & Lee University's Law Journal Rankings, barring the inception year 2009 when it was not ranked, TL&D has retained the top position among all law journals (across all disciplines) from India from 2011 to 2017 (having scored the highest combined score and highest impact factor score). In 2010, it was ranked 2nd (combined score: 1.2) marginally losing out the top spot to Jindal Global Law Review (combined score: 1.6).

In the field of International Trade, TL&D was ranked as the 10th best law journal across the globe in 2012. Further, it secured the 12th position in 2013-14; 11th in 2015; and 14th in 2016-17.

Hon'ble Prof. (Dr.) Poonam Saxena, the Patron of TL&D.

The editorial board of TL&D comprises two Editors-in-Chief, one Managing Editor (ME), a Technical Editor (TE) and Senior Content Editor (SCE) each along with other Editors viz. Associate Editors, Copy Editors and Consulting Editors.

Dr. Rosmy Joan, the incumbent Faculty-in-Charge of TL&D

The Journal is patronised by the Hon’ble Vice Chancellor of NLU, Jodhpur and also has one member of faculty as the Faculty-in-Charge. For the 2019-20 volumes, Prof. (Dr.) Poonam Pradhan Saxena, the incumbent Vice Chancellor of NLU, Jodhpur honours the seat of Patron.

Further, Dr. Rosmy Joan, a gold-medallist in the field of international trade law and the prestigious 'City of the Hague Scholarship' holder, occupies the position of the Faculty-in-Charge of the Journal. The details of the editorial staff are available here.

Despite its recent inception, TL&D's contribution to scholarship has attracted wide acclaim. The Journal's efforts have been recognised by a multitude of reputed personnel and organisations, for instance:

• By the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)
• By the World Trade Organization (WTO)
• By Judge Charles Brower in the Columbia Journal of Transnational Law

The Journal is particularly committed to publishing perspectives from and for the developing world. It publishes “Articles”, “Notes”, “Comments” or “Book Reviews” from distinguished and diverse authors, including, inter alia, judges, scholars, policy-makers, practitioners and students.  

The following is a non-exhaustive subject list outlining the scope of the journal: international law (public/private); international trade; economic law; investment law; intellectual property and trade; public health and trade; arbitration; competition law and policy; the WTO; international financial regulations; and sustainable development.

Submissions to the Journal can be made in the form of:

1. Articles - Articles must deal with issues of contemporary interest and relevance and must demonstrate a high-level of analysis. Articles of a purely descriptive nature, unless about a development in a country or a region which may necessarily be of a descriptive nature, are not preferred. Articles should generally be between 10,000-20,000 words in length, though the length may vary as per the author's needs.
2. Notes and Comments - This section includes shorter Notes and Comments. Notes cover recent developments or are issue specific in analysing a "micro-legal" question. Comments are essentially a critical analysis of an issue of relevance, including case laws, policy and legislative developments. Notes and Comments should be between 5,000-10,000 words in length.
3. Book Reviews

TL&D has received contributions from renowned authors and scholars, such as:

• Mr. Yonov Frederick Agah, Deputy Director-General, World Trade Organization (WTO) through his article titled "Trade and Development in the WTO", published in Volume 11, Issue 2 (2019).
• Dr. Prof. Ernst Ulrich Petersmann, emeritus professor and former head of the law department of the European University Institute at Florence (Italy);
• Prof. Steve Charnovitz, a Professor at The George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC, and is best known for his writings on the linkages between trade and environment and trade and labor rights;
• Prof. Petros Mavroidis, is currently the Political Affairs Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece and he served as Ambassador of Greece to Pakistan from 2007 to 2014;
• Prof. Mitsuo Matsuhita, he is Professor Emeritus at Tokyo University and counsel to Nagashima, Ohno & Tsunematsu, a leading international law firm in Tokyo;
• Prof. Raj Bhala, an Indian-American author, lawyer and professor, prominent in the fields of International Trade Law and Islamic Law. He is a professor at the University of Kansas, School of Law where he is the inaugural Leo S. Brenneisen Distinguished Professor of Law;
• Prof. Joel Trachtman, Joel P. Trachtman is professor of international law at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Recent books include "The Future of International Law: Global Government" (Cambridge 2013);
• Gabrielle Marceau who was a member of the Cabinet of the WTO Director General Pascal Lamy;
• Simon Lester, who is the associate director of Cato's Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies;
• Prof. Bryan Mercurio, Bryan Mercurio is Professor of Law and Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Law at the Chinese University of Hong Kong; and
• Prof. M. Sornarajah who is the C. J. Koh Professor of Law at the National University of Singapore; among others.
• Fali S. Nariman, senior advocate to the Supreme Court of India since 1971 and President of the Bar Association of India since 1991, in his Comment titled International Arbitration in the Twenty First Century: Concepts, Instruments and Techniques.

Volume 5, Issue 2