Submissions

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Author Guidelines

 

All papers are subject to an anti-plagiarism check via iThenticate.

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Language: The paper shall be written and submitted in the standard editable format of a text editor (e.g. doc, docx, rtf). The authors are expected to deliver the proposed papers in correct English (British standard). Linguistic correction before the submission is encouraged.

Abstract: Each study, scientific article, discussion paper and commentary shall contain an abstract that concisely summarises the content and purpose of the paper. The abstract should clearly state the research question or objective, briefly describe the methodology or approach (if applicable), outline the structure of the paper, and highlight the main findings or conclusions. It should provide sufficient information for readers to quickly understand the core contribution of the work without reading the full text. The abstract shall have 250-300 words (1,700-2,000 characters).

Keywords: Keywords shall enhance the searchability and discoverability of the paper, and facilitate the grouping of papers on related topics. Authors are advised to select keywords that are, on the one hand, sufficiently general to align with broader research themes, and on the other hand, specific enough to accurately reflect the core focus of the paper. Jurisdiction and area of law shall be included in key words. Carefully chosen keywords improve indexing and visibility within academic databases and search tools.

Structure:  Studies, articles, discussion papers and commentaries shall be internally divided to sections and subsections. Each submission should include an introduction and a conclusion. The introduction should outline the purpose and objectives of the paper, define the research questions and hypotheses (if applicable), and describe the methodological approach applied (this requirement does not apply to commentaries, where methodological reflection may be optional). The conclusion should summarise the main findings, reflect on their implications, and, where appropriate, indicate avenues for future research.

Citation and reference style: We kindly ask potential authors to respect the quotation standards of OSCOLA style of in-text citations. The list of publications will not be printed, but the authors are requested to provide a list of sources in OSCOLA format for the purposes of linking sources to the publication.  

The details of citation style can be found here: https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/oscola

In each reference item, the author must include its assigned DOI no. (if applicable) (http://www.crossref.org/guestquery/); the DOI shall be referred to as a link to the online publication.

The references shall refer to a certain page or pages of the cited publication unless it is justified to refer to the publication as a whole.

The references to legislation, administrative decisions, and judicial decisions of jurisdictions not explicitly covered by the OSCOLA guidelines shall have, following structure:

Judgments and decisions:
Case name (Court [in English, may be complemented by original name or acronym], Country, day Month year) case number [report or collection if applicable and is relevant]

Examples:
ABC Kft v Hungarian Competition Authority (Supreme Court (Kúria), Hungary, 10 April 2021) Kfv.I.35.123/2020/6
Novák v Slovenská republika (Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic, Slovakia, 15 June 2021) sp zn 3 Cdo 45/2020
Company X v Federal Cartel Office (Federal Court of Justice (BGH), Germany, 12 January 2021) KZR 35/19

Legislative act and other acts:
First reference: Title in English (Original title) (Jurisdiction) [collection, if applicable]

Examples:
Act No 343/2015 Coll on Public Procurement (Zákon o verejnom obstarávaní) (ZVO) (Slovakia)
Act against Restricting Competition (Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen) (GWB) as amended (BGBl. I S. 1750, 3245)

Later references: Original title shall be dropped or acronym only shall be used; only official or standard acronyms usually used in respective jurisdictions shall be used, such as TFEU, GWB, ZOHS.

The references to the provisions of acts shall follow the standards for respective jurisdictions, e.g. Article 6 TFEU, § 7 ZOHS

We recommend that authors use reference management tools, such as Mendeley, Zotero, or similar applications, to facilitate the accurate and consistent insertion of citations and references throughout the manuscript. These tools help ensure compliance with the required citation style and improve the efficiency of the editorial and review process.

Multilingualism: Institutions, bodies, territorial units shall be accompanied by the original title or name when first time mentions. Similarly, legal terms shall be accompanied with the original language version, if it is relevant and suitable for understanding the context, in particular, when the translation is artificial, e.g. in Slovak, appeal (odvolanie), extraordinary appeal (dovolanie), extraordinary appeal in the public interest (mimoriadne dovolanie).  

Declarations: The authors are required to provide a declaration on funding, conflict of interests and utilisation of AI. The declaration does not apply to the use of basic tools, such as tools used to check grammar, spelling and references; utilisation of these tool as generally accepted by the editorial team and the general declaration of using this type of tools will be applied throughout the volume. Nevertheless, the editorial team shall be informed about using also these basic tools within the comments made during the submission.

Examples of negative declarations:
Funding: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors

Declaration of Conflict of Interests: The author declares no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and publication of this article.

Declaration about the scope of AI utilisation: The author did not use AI tools in the preparation of this article. / The author did not use generative AI tools in the preparation of this article.

Submission Preparation Checklist

All submissions must meet the following requirements.

  • The paper is prepared in line with the guidelines for authors. We appreciate preparing also the document for the purposes of double-blind review: The authors of the document have deleted their names from the text suggesting authorship. With Microsoft Office documents, author identification should also be removed from the properties for the file (see under File in Word), by clicking on the following, beginning with File on the main menu of the Microsoft application: File > Save As > Tools (or Options with a Mac) > Security > Remove personal information from file properties on save > Save.
  • The Article is original and the Article or substantial parts thereof have not been published elsewhere. The Article is not currently being considered for publication by any other journal and will not be submitted for such review while under review by Bratislava Law Review.
  • The contribution of individual authors to the creation of the Article is properly provided and all authors and co-authors are disclosed (anti-ghostwriting policy). The author(s) obtained written permission from copyright owners for any excerpts from copyrighted works that are included, if it is required by law, and have credited the sources in the article.
  • The sources of funding for research are presented in the article itself.
  • The author(s) obeyed rules of academic and publication ethics. The article contains no libellous or other unlawful statements and does not contain any materials that violate any personal or proprietary rights of any other person or entity.
  • The Author(s) agree with the Licence agreement of Bratislava Law Review as published on the journal's webpage in the moment of submission and confirm their will to be a party of that agreement.
  • The author(s) confirm(s) the accuracy of presented affiliation, ORCID, e-mail contacts, and other personal data and provide(s) a consent for check and review of these data by the editorial team of the journal.

Studies

Studies are peer-reviewed scientific papers providing exceptionally in-depth, comprehensive, and original analysis in the fields of international law, European Union law, legal theory, legal philosophy, and comparative law. Contributions focusing on national law must demonstrate clear comparative or international relevance.

Studies are conceived as large-scale research articles, the scope and depth of which are comparable to short monographs. They must contain a clearly identifiable original research contribution and develop a sustained and methodologically rigorous argument. Submissions that are primarily descriptive or limited to summarising existing law or literature will not be considered.

Normally, no more than one Study is published per issue.

Length:
108,000–120,000 characters (excluding title, abstract, tables, figures, and references)

Articles

Articles are peer-reviewed scientific papers offering substantial and original legal analysis in the fields of international law, European Union law, legal theory, legal philosophy, and comparative law. Contributions focusing on national law must demonstrate clear comparative or international relevance.

While comprehensive and theoretically grounded, Articles are more focused and less extensive than Studies. They must contain a clearly identifiable original research contribution and present a coherent analytical argument supported by appropriate methodology. Purely descriptive or literature-overview submissions will not be considered.

Length:
36,000–72,000 characters (excluding title, abstract, tables, figures, and references)

Short Articles

Short Articles are peer-reviewed scientific papers providing focused and original analysis of specific legal questions or narrowly defined areas of regulation within the fields of international law, European Union law, legal theory, legal philosophy, and comparative law. Contributions focusing on national law must demonstrate clear comparative or international relevance.

They are more concise and limited in scope than Articles but must maintain the same level of academic rigor and methodological soundness. Short Articles must include a clearly identifiable original research contribution and advance a specific doctrinal, theoretical, or interpretative argument. Submissions that primarily summarise existing law or scholarship without original analysis will not be accepted.

Length:
18,000–36,000 characters (excluding title, abstract, tables, figures, and references)

Case Analyses

Case Analyses are peer-reviewed scientific papers providing in-depth and original analysis of judicial decisions (not older than three years) within the fields of international law, European Union law or national law , if having a strong international impact or relevance.

They constitute full-fledged research articles, distinguished by their focus on a specific case or a coherent line of case law. Submissions must go beyond descriptive summaries and develop original interpretative, doctrinal, or theoretical arguments, demonstrating methodological rigor and analytical depth comparable to Articles. They must contain a clearly identifiable original research contribution.

Contributions should highlight the broader legal significance of the analysed decision(s), particularly by engaging with comparative, European, or international perspectives. Submissions that are primarily descriptive or limited to summarising case law will not be considered.

Length:
18,000–36,000 characters (excluding title, abstract, tables, figures, and references)

Book Reviews

Book Reviews provide a critical evaluation of one or more scholarly publications in the fields of international law, European Union law, legal theory, legal philosophy, and comparative law.

They may take the form of concise book reviews or more developed review essays. In all cases, submissions must go beyond mere description and offer analytical and evaluative insight, situating the reviewed work within the broader context of legal scholarship and clearly identifying its main contribution.

Reviews do not constitute original research articles and are classified as review-type contributions. They are not subject to peer review; the editorial board assesses their suitability and scholarly quality.

Length:
Up to 9,000 characters (excluding title, abstract, and references)

Conference Reports

Conference Reports provide informative and analytically oriented accounts of academic conferences, workshops, or similar scholarly events within the fields of international law, European Union law, legal theory, legal philosophy, and comparative law.

They should not be limited to a descriptive summary of the event but should highlight key themes, contributions, and emerging debates, and, where appropriate, situate them within broader developments in legal scholarship.

Conference Reports do not constitute research articles and are not subject to peer review. The editorial board evaluates their relevance and quality.

Length:
Up to 9,000 characters (excluding title and references)

Special Section: "Public Finance and Financial Regulation in Times of Multi-Crisis"

The Bratislava Law Review invites submissions for a special issue dedicated to exploring "Public Finance and Financial Regulation in Times of Multi-Crisis". This issue seeks to address public finance and financial regulation in light of the recent years of multi-crisis developments.

Theme Overview:
Multi-crisis is a term that can be used for a series of crisis situations we are facing in recent years, including, in particular but not limited to, the Covid-19 pandemic, the military conflict on the territory of Ukraine, an extreme raise of costs of energy and other supplies, and inflation. The consolidation of public finance may also be included. All of these factors have influenced the measures adopted by states, as well as the behaviour of the addressees of legal norms enacted in response to these new challenges.  

Copyright Notice

The Author(s) transfers copyright to the Article to the Publisher of the Journal by the Licence Agreement.

The Author(s) retains rights specified in the Licence Agreement.

The readers may read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of all of the Article of the Journal and use them for any other lawful purpose under specified Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). This license allows reusers to copy and distribute the material in any medium or format in unadapted form only, for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. 

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