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Special Issue on: Legal Education for Sustainable Development: Perspectives from the Global South 

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Edited by: 

Prof. Damilola S. Olawuyi, SAN - Chairman, Legal Education Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association, Editor-in-Chief, JSDLP

Dr Eghosa O. Ekhator, University of Derby, United Kingdom, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, JSDLP 

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OVERVIEW 

 

The Legal Education Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association in partnership with the Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy, a SCOPUS-indexed journal published by the OGEES Institute, Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti welcomes the submission of articles for a Special issue on Legal Education for Sustainable Development. In line with the mandate of the NBA-LEC to spearhead the reform of legal education in Nigeria, the aim of this Special Issue is to examine and unpack innovative approaches for modernizing legal education to accelerate sustainable development, in response to contemporary opportunities and challenges.

 

Effective laws and policies are crucial for accelerating all aspects of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This is why the role of higher education institutions in equipping the next generation of practice-ready lawyers, policymakers, judicial officers and stakeholders that could contribute to national development cannot be over emphasized. Higher education institutions are one of the relevant stakeholders in the implementation or actualisation of SDGs in the Global South. Despite this increasing recognition however, effective and entreprenuerial legal education remains adversely impacted by a wide range of practical implementation challenges. For several decades, questions have persisted on the continued relevance of the design and delivery of legal education in Nigeria. These questions have become louder over the last few years due to increasing concerns over high levels of unemployment and underemployment of law graduates; poor working conditions of junior lawyers; breach of professional lawyering and ethics; as well as the increasing concerns over limited emphasis on practical application and entreprenuership in legal education and training.

Furthermore, awareness of sustainability (inlcuding SDGs) issues or awareness is relevant in modern-day legal practice in different parts of the world including countries in the Global South. 

 

The pressing need to revitalize legal education in line with modern and contemporary realities is not limited to Nigeria alone. Due to rapid globalization, technology expansion, and the increasingly transnational nature of the practice of law, a lawyer trained in Nigeria today, may end up practicing in Canada, United Kingdom, Singapore, or even in civil law countries such as Saudi Arabia or France. Similarly, with the advent of new and emerging fields such as space and aviation law, entertainment law, wine law, climate change law, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and digital commercial assets, additive manufacturing and much more, the practice of law has metamorphosed and moved beyond court room advocacy alone. 

 

Legal educators worldwide are therefore exploring new and efficient ways, to provide legal education that is better aligned with the modern realities of the market place. This Special Issue aims to provide an intellectual platform for legal educators, university administrators, faculty, researchers and students across Africa and beyond to contribute innovative approaches for reforming legal education to advance sustainable development in response to contemporary opportunities and challenges. 

 

The Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy and the NBA-LEC invite scholarly articles for publication in a special issue on this timely subject. The Journal is a peer-reviewed interdisciplinary journal that fosters the dissemination of scholarly research work by teaching and research scholars in Africa and across the world in the area of sustainable development law and policy. This special issue will be launched at the next Legal Education Summit of the Nigerian Bar Association. 

 

Although authors are free to choose any topic that is related to this broad theme, the journal is particularly interested in recent developments in the Global South or best practices from other parts of the world that could inform legal and policy reform in the Global South. For guidance purposes, submissions addressing the following issues are particularly encouraged: 

 

• Education for Sustainable Development and the implications for legal education 

• Legal education, climate change and the energy transition 

• Innovative pedagogy to accelerate entrepreneurship, talent development and circular economy 

• Financing sustainable development and the role of legal education 

• Sustainability management and innovation in higher education 

• Leveraging digital transformation, artificial intelligence and new technologies for effective legal education 

• Role of legal education in civic development and national integration

• Professionalism, legal ethics and integrity in legal education  

• Legal practice in the 21st century and competency training 

• Application of legal education in emerging fields such as space and aviation law, entertainment law, wine law, medical law, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and digital commercial assets, additive manufacturing amongst others. 

• Legal education and effective dispute resolution 

• Regional/Inter-regional approaches to modernizing legal education for sustainable development 

Country case studies on any of the above issues are highly encouraged. Comparative studies engaging two or more regions or countries in the Global South are also of particular interest to this journal.

 

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES 

 Length and Footnotes

1) Articles should be between 5000-8000 words and should advance legal scholarship and knowledge in a specific area of sustainable development law and policy.

 2) Articles should include an abstract of approximately 250 words that is not an extract from the article itself.

 3) Details of the author should be supplied as the first footnote, attached by an asterisk to the author’s name.

 Form of Submission

4) Articles must be submitted in Word format and sent as an email attachment to info@ogeesinstitute.edu.ng

 5) Contributions will only be considered for publication if they comply with the style guide. All citations should be as footnotes and accord with the Oxford Standard for Legal Citation (OSCOLA).

6) Authors should please make use of the following checklist prior to submission:

• an abstract is included;

• headings are consecutively numbered without automatic numbering;

• headings are not underlined;

• paragraphs are not separated by a full blank line, but only by an indent at the beginning of the new paragraph;

• footnotes are consecutively numbered by way of automatic numbering;

• footnotes are not separated by a full blank line;

• footnotes appear at the end of each page of the manuscript and not at the end of the manuscript;

• quotations have been checked for accuracy; and

• references comply with the Oxford Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA).

 

DEADLINES 

8) Only articles submitted on or before 12 noon on 30th July 2025 would be considered for publication in this special issue. All papers should be submitted by email. Deadlines are firm. Articles submitted after the deadline may not be published.

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SUBMISSION GUIDELINES 

Authors should send their submission to the editor of the special issue Dr. Eghosa Ekhator, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, JSDLP by email info@ogeesinstitute.edu.ng, on or before the deadline.

 

Selected papers that scale the peer-review process will be published in Volume 17 Issue 1 of the Journal. Accepted submissions which cannot be accommodated in the special issue will be placed in the next issue following.  All authors will be duly notified of the outcome of their submissions.

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EVALUATIONS 

9) Contributions are submitted to at least two referees and the identities of the contributors and referees are kept confidential.

10) Further details about the Journal can be found at : http://www.ogeesinstitute.edu.ng/#!research-and-publications/c7o1 

 

QUESTIONS AND QUERIES

All enquiries or questions should be directed to:

Dr. Eghosa Ekhator 

The Deputy Editor-in-Chief 

Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy

Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria

Email: info@ogeesinstitute.edu.ng

 

​​ABOUT THE JOURNAL

The Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy, Print ISSN 978-0-9920099-0-8

 

The Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy is a SCOPUS-indexed and peer-reviewed interdisciplinary journal published by the Institute for Oil, Gas, Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development, Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria. It is published in June (Spring) and October (Fall) by the Afe Babalola University Press, Nigeria.

 

Since the first issue was published in 2012, the Journal has gained increased recognition for fostering the dissemination of scholarly research work by teaching and research scholars in Africa and across the world in the area of sustainable development law and policy. The thematic focus of the journal spans across broad areas of sustainable development law and policy ranging from the economic, social and environmental dimensions. As such papers that explore broad themes of sustainable development such as banking, environment, natural resources, public private partnerships, alternative dispute resolutions, peace, and conflict studies are normally given top consideration.

 

The Editorial Board of the JSDLP is composed of international development scholars and experts from Italy, United Kingdom, Indonesia, Nigeria, Canada and the United States would provide leadership and lend their expertise to promoting the journal internationally.

 

The Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy is available online for download on this website, while we welcome subscriptions for hard copies at our standard rates. We provide a discounted rate for institutional subscriptions from universities, colleges and corporate organizations.

 

For more information, please visit http://www.ajol.info/index.php/jsdlp/index

 

For subscriptions, please contact: info@ogeesinstitute.edu.ng,

 

Tel: +234 81 40000 988

 

PEER REVIEW PROCESS 

 

All manuscripts are peer reviewed prior to publication. The JSDLP utilizes a double-blind peer review process, to ensure originality, scholarly relevance, and readability- which means that both the reviewer and author’s identities are concealed from the reviewers, and vice versa, throughout the review process. To facilitate this, authors are required to submit manuscripts that would not give away their identity.

 

After respective submission deadlines, members of the Editorial Committee read all submissions and agree which should go forward to the review process. Referees are then assigned by the Committee from a pool of referees according to their expertise. Reviewers are sent a manuscript review template (attached), which provides guidance on key review indicators and on how to communicate review results.

 

The factors that are taken into account in review are as follows:

• Relevance: Is this paper relevant to the thematic focus of this journal?

• Originality: Are the results/ideas novel and previously unpublished?

• Significance: Does the paper canvass and discuss ideas that significantly advance ormove knowledge forward)

• Soundness: Is this paper technically sound and complete?

• Are the claims supported by theoretical/ experimental/empirical results?

• Ethics: Is there any ethical issue?

• Readability: Is the paper well organized and easy to understand?

• Language: Is the paper written in correct English and style?

• Citations: Are all sources properly cited in accordance with the Oxford Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities, which is the house style for the journal?

 

Referees may accept the manuscript, reject the manuscript or might require a revision for style and/or content. Each Reviewer will give a recommendation about publication of a manuscript according to the following list of options:

• Accept- No revision needed.

• Accept- Minor revisions needed.

• Major revisions needed- Suggest revision & resubmission.

• Decline (provide appropriate reasons in comments).

 

After the reviewer’s report is received, the paper is assigned to an Associate Editor for the review/redrafting/editing process, which can be substantial, depending on the article. Upon receipt of the revised article from the author, and after final approval by referees and associated editor, the Editor-in-Chief reviews the paper and makes a final determination on whether or not to include the paper for publication in the JSDLP based on the recommendations of the reviewers and associated editor. The Editor-in-Chief then issues a written confirmation of acceptance or rejection to the author. Once an article is accepted, the Managing Editor will carry out a thorough desk edit and liaise with Afe Babalola University Press/the author/Associate Editor over author queries, publisher proofs and corrections.

 

The JSDLP strives to ensure that the time between submission and final decision are as reasonable as possible, without compromising quality.

 

 

PUBLICATION FREQUENCY

This journal publishes three issues per volume, and one volume per year.

 

PAPER SUBMISSION FEES 

This journal charges no submission or processing fees.

 

COPYRIGHT NOTICE 

Copyright over published articles belong to the Institute for Oil, Gas, Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development (OGEES), Afe Babalola University, Nigeria

 

PRIVACY STATEMENT 

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.