The Georgetown Journal of International Law (GJIL) represents the growth of the Law Center as a central institution in the fields of international and transnational law. From our roots as the Georgetown Journal of Law and Policy in International Business, GJIL has expanded into the diverse field of general international law.

 

As one of the nation’s top international law journals and the second oldest law journal at Georgetown, GJIL will be an excellent fit for those of you interested in developing deeper knowledge or learning for the first time about the incredible variety of issues found under the broad heading of international law. We have a growing emphasis on broad-ranging contemporary issues like international trade, human rights, public international law, and international security, while still retaining our core business law competency.

 

Joining GJIL will make you a part of an incredible and talented community of people. Members of the journal speak many languages, have lived and worked overseas, and oftentimes see themselves as nascent practitioners of international law. In working with next year’s editors to set our goals for the upcoming issues of the journal, I continue to be impressed by not only their backgrounds but also their enthusiasm for the journal. We are all excited to continue to produce a top-notch journal that we can successfully pass on to future members.

 

A journal can and should give back to its members in exchange for the work it asks of them. Next year we will continue to shape the Journal as a tool for furthering our understanding of developing issues in international law, while also enhancing its value as a resource for our staff to learn more about jobs and career paths in the international law field. I have tasked myself and the senior staff with bolstering our internal networking as well as our connections with Georgetown Law alumni and area practitioners.

 

Our core aim at GJIL is to give all members the most valuable and enjoyable journal experience possible. For example, you will have the opportunity, should you wish, to contribute to the direction of future issues and work closely with 3Ls on articles selection, substantive editing, and other big-picture tasks by joining committees focused on articles, notes, business, solicitations, and other issues. The flexibility and support that characterize our note requirement is another good example of the ways in which the Journal gives back to its members. The note requirement deadline is set to the 3L/4E year to allow members to spend as much time as we can give them to create a note that will have the greatest likelihood of publication. Should a member’s interests lie outside of the field of international law, this is not a problem - GJIL allows students to write on any topic. Those in charge of the Writing Program will work closely with all students to shape our notes to publishable quality, whatever the topic and whether it is for publication in GJIL or any other journal.

 

Selection for GJIL is based on a combination of grades (50%) and on the write-on competition score (50%). Please feel free to contact me via email ( ram93@law.georgetown.edu) if you have any questions. We wish you the best of luck on exams and the write-on competition. Enjoy the summer!

 

Best regards,

 

Robert McVay

Editor-in-Chief, Volume 42

Georgetown Journal of International Law