The CJICL has just published Vol. 4(1). All articles of this latest issue can be accessed in the journal archive. The following is the editorial of the issue’s editors-in-chief Ana Júlia Maurício and Naomi Hart.
It has been a pleasure to steward the Cambridge Journal of International and Comparative Law through its fourth year. The Journal has the unusual distinction among academic journals of being both peer reviewed and student-run—harnessing the expertise of established scholars, as well as training those who will succeed them.
The Journal has always endeavoured to make a meaningful and holistic contribution to the legal academic landscape, and this year we have maintained many of the traditions that enable us to do so. In May, we held a conference attracting 150 international participants. Keynote speakers included former President of the International Court of Justice, Dame Rosalyn Higgins DBE QC, the recently appointed Judge James Crawford AC SC, and a Judge of the Court of Justice of the European Union, Christopher Vajda QC. We continue to operate a blog, publishing dozens of posts a year. Of course, the core of our work remains our published volumes, in which we strive to feature diverse contributions by legal academics and practitioners, from distinguished authors to their more junior colleagues. This edition is no exception, with pieces canvassing international and comparative legal issues as diverse as sporting discipline, maritime delimitation, climate change-induced migration, and accessorial criminal liability, drawing on jurisdictions as far-flung as Finland, Singapore, Brussels and islands of the Pacific.
The Journal also prides itself on its dynamism, seeking to innovate every year. In 2015, we were delighted to hold the inaugural CJICL Young Scholar’s Lecture at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law. We hope that this annual event will furnish early-career academics with a platform to present their work to a critical audience and to publish cutting-edge research. Our first Young Scholar Lecturer, Eirik Bjorge, contributed his piece on the margin of appreciation in international law to this volume.
This year, we have also sought to professionalise the Journal by entering into a longterm sponsorship arrangement with an academic publisher, and by arranging publication through a project management company. We trust that these arrangements will facilitate our ongoing commitment to publishing high-quality, independent scholarship.
Like all Editors-in-Chief of the Journal, our gratitude extends to a great many people. We are immensely appreciative of the assiduity and tireless commitment of our Managing Editors—Chintan Chandrachud, Catherine Gascoigne, Nino Guruli, Soterios Loizou, John Magyar and Barry Solaiman. They have managed teams of editors who have miraculously managed to carry out their duties alongside rigorous academic and extra-curricular schedules. Jake Rylatt, our Blog Manager, has diligently maintained our digital presence. Clara Rauchegger and Anika Seeman made convening our annual conference look easy. This Editorial Board has been the real machine behind the Journal.
As ever, we are grateful to the members of the Academic Review Board for bringing their expertise to our publication. In particular, our thanks go to our outgoing Senior Treasurer, James Crawford AC SC, as well as the members of our newly appointed Faculty Advisory Board, Professor Catherine Barnard, Professor John Bell and Dr Kate Miles.
We are fortunate to have received high calibre submissions to this volume and thank our authors for their hard work in refining their pieces. This year, the Journal has relied on the generous sponsorship of Hart Publishing, and we thank Sinéad Moloney for her efforts in forging this relationship. The publication process has been managed by Forewords, with the particular assistance of Nick Allen.
Finally, we are in the enviable position of having a cadre of predecessor Editors-in-Chief who have liberally assisted us throughout the publication of our first edition. We thank them for their contribution to creating the Journal as it is today, and for their invaluable advice over the past year.