UCL Jurisprudence Review

The Jurisprudence Review is an annual collection of student essays in jurisprudence from and published by University College London.

The Jurisprudence Review was established in 1994 by Professor Stephen Guest as an annual forum for the publication of the best writing in legal theory produced by UCL students. Jurisprudence plays a central role in UCL’s identity and its conception of legal education. The essays included in the review were produced by 3rd year LL.B students in the mandatory full year course in Jurisprudence and by students on the LLM course. From 2007, the Review will additionally feature three-prize winning contributions from Doctoral Candidates within the UCL Faculty of Laws. The wide range of subjects and theoretical approaches reflect the broad conception of legal theory explored in the curricula. Contributors grapple with traditional questions of analytic jurisprudence, problems in ethics and political philosophy and challenges at the intersection of social and legal theory.

Criteria for essay submission:

To be considered for publication in the Review essays must be first class (70%) and are usually 75% or higher. They vary in length but are usually around 15,000 words long. Essays are required to be individual, insightful and should be designed to argue for a central theory or conception. The review is of a high academic standard and as such the essays must comply with the Oxford Standard for Citation Of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) and be formal in tone. LL.B., LL.M. and Ph.D. essays are considered for the review. L.L.B. and L.L.M. essays are generally selected from the dissertation units of both courses but it is possible for independent essays to be submitted by any student member of the faculty.

The Review Prize:

The Review Prize is a £250 award given to the best contribution from a Doctoral Candidate. In 2007/2008, the inaugural Review Prize was awarded to Ivana Radicic for her paper "Feminism and Human Rights".

Current Members of the Editorial Team:

The Jurisprudence Review (2007-2008) operates under an editorial team selected on an annual basis. The team for 2007-2008 are (separated by department):

Faculty Editor:Professor Stephen Guest

Editor-in-chief:Dimitris Katsikis

Postgraduate Editor:Fatima Kola

Funding:Gerrard Noel Tin,Anthea Jay Kamalnath,Yuwen Teo

Subcriptions:Carrie Bradshaw

Publicity:Ong Popattanahai,Alex Green,Suri Chullapram,Jessica Crow

Printing:Erwin Yau

Proofreading / Indexing / Typography:Nick Malciolek,Graham Beirman,Angela Xu,Danai Azaria,Vicky Martzoukou

Website Design & Management:Alex Calladine

Editorial Advisors

The Review benefits from a number of Editorial and Honorary Editorial Advisors. Chris Campbell-Holt, the previous Editor in Chief of the Review, is one such advisor. Honorary Editorial Advisors include: Professor Philip Schofield, director of the Bentham Project at University College London; Dr Nigel Simmonds, Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge; Professor Sir Hugh Laddie, University College London; Dr Nikos Stavropoulos, University of Oxford; David Hope, Baron Hope of Craighead; Lady Hale of Richmond; Brian Hutton, Baron Hutton; Lord Justice Dyson; Lord Justice Lightman; The Right Honourable Sir Paul Kennedy; Mr Justice Silber; Mr Justice Sullivan; Mr Philip Havers QC; Mr Timothy Dutton QC; Professor Andrew Lewis, University College London and Mr John Cooper.

Recommendations of the Review:

Professor Ronald Dworkin: "The University College London Faculty of Laws has always insisted that inquiry into theoretical aspects of all laws is central to a proper legal education... each paper illustrates originality and scholarly research that does credit to the students and staff of this faculty. The Review is the only academic student law review in the United Kingdom and I believe it now contributes significantly to legal philosophy."

Professor Jules Coleman, Wesley Newcomb Hohfeld Professor of Jurisprudence and Philosophy at Yale Law School: "Unlike law reviews and journals in the States which are edited by students, many of whom have little research skill or interest of their own, the UCL Jurisprudence Review exhibits a level of professionalism equal to peer-reviewed professional journals."

Professor Jeremy Waldron, New York University: "The papers are crisp, well argued, and they don't suffer from the tedium or the formulaic laboriousness of student 'notes' in American Law Reviews. Not only that, but they are persuasive and insightful, and they grapple fruitfully with difficult issues."

Past Editions:

Past editions of the review have included themes, such as the 2007 edition on torture and terrorism, and the 2002 edition that centered around four common issues. These were elaborating the limits of freedom of expression, negotiating the challenge of expressing alternative viewpoints on the law in transformative ways, considering the contemporary relevance of liberal rights discourse and evaluating the impact of economic analysis of law. Most editions of the review however include essays on a wide range of topics aiming to give a broader representation of jurisprudence as a subject.

External links

* Jurisprudence Review Home Page [http://www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/jurisprudence/jurisprudence-review/index.shtml]
* Faculty of Laws, University College London [http://www.ucl.ac.uk/laws]
* Homepage of Professor Stephen Guest [http://www.ucl.ac.uk/~uctlsfd/profile/index.html]
* Article on the 2006-2007 Review Launch from the Institute of Law Reporting [http://www.lawreports.co.uk/Newsletter/OnlineArticles/JurisprudenceReviewLaunch2.html]