21 Nov Top International Law Journals
Washington & Lee Law Library has just updated their law journal rankings. Here is their 2006 list of the top twenty-five comparative and international law journals based on total journal and case cite counts. (You get a different result if you include “impact factor” into the mix.)
1 American Journal of International Law
2 Tulane Law Review
3 Virginia Journal of International Law
4 The Yale Journal of International Law
5 Harvard International Law Journal
6 Fordham International Law Journal
7 American University International Law Review
8 Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law
9 The American Journal of Comparative Law
10 Michigan Journal of International Law
11 Chicago Journal of International Law (2000-)
12 Columbia Journal of Transnational Law
13 European Journal of International Law (United Kingdom)
14 New York University Journal of International Law and Politics
15 Brooklyn Journal of International Law
16 The International Lawyer
17 University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Economic Law
18 Cornell International Law Journal
19 Texas International Law Journal
20 George Washington International Law Review
21 Berkeley Journal of International Law
21 Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies
23 Georgetown Journal of International Law
24 Minnesota Journal of International Law
25 International and Comparative Law Quarterly (United Kingdom)
Note that some international law journals at top schools (Duke, Stanford, Northwestern, etc.) are conspicuously absent. If I were to rank the top twenty-five international law journals based on reputation, I would not put them in exactly this order. I also would drop a few journals and replace them with others that are not on the list. But at least their list has the advantage of a measure of objectivity.
I’m astounded by how low down the EJIL is – I appreciate it’s a young journal but the standard of scholarship is exceptional. Of course there could be an element of culture clash as well – journals that limit articles to 10-12,000 words are somewhat rare in the US I’ll cocede. Hopefully with time the EJIL will ratchet it’s way up that list to compete with the AJIL. I think they’re pretty much of comparable quality. Am also surprised by the absence of the Human Rights Quarterly, although that could be resultant from its singular focus (as opposed to being a general int. law review).