Call for Articles – Nyayarth, Centre for Studies in Legal Theory (CSLT) Newsletter

About the Organisers

Dharmashastra National Law University (DNLU), Jabalpur, is a National Law University established in 2018 in Madhya Pradesh. The university’s Centre for Studies in Legal Theory (CSLT) publishes Nyayarth, a newsletter exploring legal theory and its practical implications.

Through this call for articles, CSLT invites original contributions examining how legal rules, institutions and social practices continue to influence society even after formal legal changes.

About the Call for Articles

The Centre for Studies in Legal Theory is inviting submissions for the September issue of Nyayarth on the theme “The Afterlife of Law: What Survives When a Legal Rule Changes?”

The theme encourages contributors to explore what happens when a law is repealed, amended, replaced or otherwise changed. It examines whether legal norms, institutional practices, rights, duties and social expectations continue to operate even after the formal legal rule has ceased to exist or changed its meaning.

The call provides an opportunity for law students, researchers and legal scholars to engage critically with legal theory and its real-world consequences.

Theme and Suggested Sub-Themes

Authors may explore the central theme through the following areas:

• Normative Residue and Desuetude: How legal expectations or practices may persist after a rule is no longer formally operative.

• Temporal Jurisprudence and Transitional Justice: The relationship between legal change, historical accountability and justice during periods of transition.

• Institutional Memory and Executive Habit: How government institutions and public authorities may continue established practices despite changes in the law.

• Theoretical Paradigms of Legal Change: Different theoretical approaches to understanding how legal systems evolve.

• Repeal and Validity: Questions concerning the legal consequences of repealing or replacing a rule.

• Law and Morality: The relationship between legal authority, moral obligations and social expectations after legal change.

• Rights and Duties After Rule Changes: Whether and how rights, duties and obligations survive legislative or regulatory changes.

• Legal Fictions: The role of legal constructs in maintaining continuity or addressing transitions.

• Obedience, Custom and Living Law Beyond Formal Authority: How social customs and established practices may continue to shape behaviour beyond formal legal rules.

These sub-themes provide possible directions for research, and submissions should remain connected to the overarching theme.

Eligibility Criteria

The call invites original scholarly contributions relevant to the specified theme.

Key conditions include:

• Submissions must be original and unpublished.

• Co-authorship is permitted, with a maximum of two authors per submission.

• The similarity index must not exceed 10%.

• Submissions will undergo plagiarism and AI checks, clarity review and substantive evaluation.

The call does not specify a restrictive academic-year requirement in the published listing.

Submission Guidelines

Authors must comply with the following requirements:

Word limit - 1,000–1,200 words

File format.doc or .docx

Originality - Original and unpublished work

Similarity index - Maximum 10%Referencing, Hyperlinks; where sources are unavailable online, Bluebook 21st Edition endnotes

Co-authorship - Maximum 2 authors

Review Process

Each submission will undergo a three-stage review:

1. Plagiarism and AI check.

2. Clarity review.

3. Substantive review.

Authors should ensure that their articles are well-researched, clearly written, appropriately referenced and closely aligned with the theme.

Important Date

Article submission - October 25, 2026

How to Submit?

Interested authors must email their articles in .doc or .docx format to the Centre for Studies in Legal Theory.

Submission Email: cslt@mpdnlu.ac.in

Subject Line: Submission for Nyayarth – The Afterlife of Law

Authors should submit their manuscripts on or before October 25, 2026 and ensure that they meet the prescribed word limit, originality requirements and referencing guidelines.

Official Call and Brochure: Read the complete opportunity and access the brochure