Language in International Law
The Cambridge International Law Journal (CILJ) is pleased to invite submissions for Volume 12(2), to be published in December 2023 on the theme 'Language in International Law'.
The Board welcomes articles (6,000–12,000 words, inclusive of footnotes) and case notes that engage with current themes in international law, as well as book reviews on recently published works. This issue will build upon the 12th Annual Cambridge International Law Conference (24–25 April 2023), but is open to submissions from all authors including those who are not presenting or participating in the Conference.
Language is essential to international law. International law terms and phrases are regularly invoked to specific ends, extending their operation beyond legal rules to a form of discourse: states initiate military operations using the justifications of 'genocide' prevention, 'humanitarian' aid, and the 'responsibility to protect'; claim 'discrimination' in trade; and operationalise the language of 'sovereignty' to avoid obligations. While the multilingual translation and interpretation of legal texts is essential to the practice of law, exact semantic transposition of concepts is often unattainable, and undermines both participation in, and the efficacy of, international law. Language itself is pertinent to the expression of identity and can render groups vulnerable to discrimination and exclusion from the public sphere. Big data has become a new language in international law, heavily relied on in international efforts to prevent crime, and as a basis for regulation. Altogether, language remains the often unacknowledged core of international law, relevant not only to treaty interpretation but to the understanding of the discipline as a whole. We invite contributions on any aspect of this broad theme.
For more precise guidance and to obtain further information, refer to the CILJ website.