Publishing in the Nuclear Law Bulletin
Ongoing

Topics

The Nuclear Law Bulletin (NLB) welcomes submissions from professionals and academics involved in or interested in the field of nuclear law. Oftentimes, article topics fall into the following categories:

  • radiation protection and nuclear safety;
  • nuclear installations;
  • radioactive materials;
  • radioactive waste management;
  • environmental protection;
  • non-proliferation;
  • nuclear third party liability;
  • nuclear trade.

This list is non-exhaustive and articles have been published outside of these areas, but still related to nuclear law.

Types of submissions

Articles: These are analytical works, based on novel topics, that analyse complex issues. Articles are typically longer pieces of between 15 and 25 pages.

Studies: These are descriptive, research-based presentations of information that can be on a narrow topic, such as a new law or piece of legislation. Studies are generally shorter than articles and range between 10 and 15 pages.

Timeframes

If you are interested in writing an article for the NLB, we recommend that you contact the NEA Divison of Nuclear Law (DNL) as soon as possible at:  nlb@oecd-nea.org.

For an article to be considered in our summer edition, final submissions must be received by 1 March of that year.

For an article to be considered in our winter edition, final submissions must be received by 1 September of that year.

Review process

The typical review process begins when incoming articles are received and given an initial acceptance review for substance and clarity by the NLB editor. Should the NLB editor, in coordination with the Head of Division of Nuclear Law, determine to accept the article, it will then undergo a deeper level of review.

The NLB editor will then review and edit the article, making changes and suggestions for improving the substance, style, clarity, logic and use of language. In addition, the NLB editor will check all sources cited. All material originating elsewhere (in a law, regulation, article, etc.), whether quoted verbatim or paraphrased, must be cited. Should authors have any questions about when and how to cite appropriately, please see "Style" hereunder or consult DNL.

After the first review, an exchange between the NLB editor and the author usually follows until a final version is reached. During this process, the Head of Division of Nuclear Law will also read the article, and depending on the topic, potentially one to two other experts in the related field.

At the conclusion of the editing process, the author will be asked to sign a Grant of Rights agreement confirming that they hold the copyright to the article or study and that they have the authority to grant the rights specified in the agreement.

Language

Articles are accepted in English only. Articles in other languages will be considered on a case-by-case basis. All articles will be published in both English and in French (the NEA will be in charge of the translation).

Style

The NLB Style Guide is consistent with the OECD Style Guide (for example, use of British English). Where there are matters not addressed by the OECD Style Guide (for example, legal citations), the NEA looks to other relevant authorities such as:

Potential authors can be provided with an NLB Style Guide to format their article as they write.