The Policy
Chronicle
Reflective and critical discourse at the intersection of law, governance, and public policy.
What we stand for
A platform for rigorous, research-driven legal commentary — engaging with contemporary developments in law and governance, and proposing grounded solutions to modern policy challenges.
We publish voices from across the legal academy: students, practitioners, and scholars who believe that policy demands both precision and imagination. The Chronicle exists to make that thinking public.
What we publish
The Blog invites submissions on themes including but not limited to:
Themes are directional. Authors are free to explore intersections between them and other relevant aspects of policy analysis.
Who may submit
- Submissions are open to law students, academicians, researchers, and professionals from all fields of law.
- Co-authorship is permitted for up to two authors.
Submission requirements
- Manuscripts must be in English only.
- All submissions must be original and unpublished.
- Submissions must be lucid, contemporarily relevant, and well-researched — offering a novel analysis of the issue. Analytical submissions with concrete suggestions are preferred over descriptive submissions with generic suggestions.
- Authors must attach a short bio not exceeding 100 words. The bio or any identity-revealing information must not be included in the main manuscript.
- Submissions must be in .doc or .docx format, named as "Title_CPLAN_TPC Blog".
- Length must ordinarily be between 1,200 and 2,000 words. The limit may be relaxed at the advisory board's discretion; longer pieces may be published as a series upon the author's request.
- Authors may include original images, infographics, or flowcharts that are free from copyright restrictions.
- The submission must not be under consideration elsewhere. Cross-publication is not permitted.
Style specifications
| Font | Garamond, 12 pt (body) · 10 pt (endnotes) |
| Line Spacing | 1.5 (body) · 1.0 (endnotes) |
| Alignment | Justified |
| References | All references hyperlinked in text; endnotes (Bluebook 21st ed.) where online source unavailable. No speaking notes. |
| Quotations | Double quotes and italics for verbatim quotation |
| Legal Documents | Italicise names of statutes, case laws, and other legal documents |
| Title / Sub-heading 1 | Left-aligned, bold, small caps, capitalise each word |
| Sub-heading 2 | Left-aligned, italicised, sentence case |
Integrity & plagiarism
- The blog uses Turnitin for similarity and generative-AI detection.
- Any form of plagiarism is prohibited; every source relied upon must be cited.
- The Blog follows UGC (Promotion of Academic Integrity and Prevention of Plagiarism in HEIs) Regulations, 2018. Similarity must be 10% or below.
- AI-assisted writing is permitted up to 20%.
Submission & withdrawal
- All submissions must be made through Google Forms. Submissions via email or any other medium will not be accepted.
- The blog accepts submissions on a rolling basis. No submission under this call shall be accepted after 30 September 2026, 11:59 PM.
- Withdrawals must be communicated within one week of submission to cplan@nusrlranchi.ac.in with the subject line "Request for Withdrawal – [Title of Manuscript]". Post-acceptance withdrawals will not be considered.
Editorial stages
The editorial board will acknowledge receipt of submission.
Plagiarism and AI-content checks. Non-compliant submissions are rejected at this stage.
Editorial board reviews relevance, novelty, originality, coherence, argument strength, and guideline compliance. Shortlisted manuscripts proceed further.
Reviewers assess substantive contribution, analytical depth, methodological soundness, engagement with existing literature, accuracy of references, and scholarly merit.
Authors are informed of acceptance, conditional acceptance subject to revisions, or rejection. Revision timelines are stipulated by the board.
Accepted manuscripts undergo formatting, copy-editing, citation verification, and proofreading. Minor modifications may be made without altering substantive content.
The manuscript is published in the manner determined by the editorial board and shared with the author.
Terms of publication
- Simultaneous submissions are not permitted during review. Authors may request expedited review for time-sensitive matters, subject to board discretion.
- Upon acceptance, copyright in the manuscript vests in The Policy Chronicle, published by CPLAN, NUSRL Ranchi. Authors retain their moral rights.
- The editorial board reserves the right to edit, proofread, format, and alter submissions for publication without prior author approval.
- Decisions of the editorial board regarding review, acceptance, rejection, editing, and publication are final.
Editorial
Board
CPLAN · NUSRL, Ranchi
2026
Contact
For queries on submissions, editorial matters, or general information about The Policy Chronicle.