The brother-sister duo Kirthi and Karthik Jayakumar have come up with a one-of-its-kind online academic journal by the name of >A38 which will provide quality information to a research student on different aspects of international law.
The tagline of the journal “where knowledge is the common heritage of mankind” is apt as it is an attempt to make available in international law, the intricate concepts , subjects and material to all those interested.
Initially launched as a forum to disseminate information, it will be developed as a common ground for furtherance of intellectual pursuits, a global platform for exchange of ideas where all the academia can engage in a discussion and debate on topical issues in International law.
Expert support
The Board of Advisors associated with the forum comprise heavy weights in the international legal field like B.Inbavijayan, an international arbitrator, Professor Francis Boyle and Professor Martin Dixon who have represented countries before the International Court Of Justice and Justice V. Ramasubramanium, a sitting judge of the Madras High Court.
“The Board helps in establishing a certain standard for the journal, providing an unbiased outside perspective and assisting in enhancing the visibility of the journal worldwide,” says Kirthi Jayakumar, the editor. The idea to bring out such a journal in the public domain was due to the dearth of quality knowledge based literature available in open access forums.
The name of the consultancy and the journal stands for Article Thirty Eight which is the specific provision under the statute of The International Court of Justice that enumerates the sources of international law.
The online medium has vast coverage but also runs the risk of authenticity as the person sending the articles is not in direct visible contact with the administrator. Commenting on this, Karthik, the co-editor, says, “Authenticity is of utmost importance. We make sure to evaluate all the articles with an unbiased eye, and also keep an eye on the sources, to see that they are not cited inaccurately.”
Knowledge pool
Apart from this, the website also has a section called ‘The Handbook' with information on different topics. Kirthi explains, “It would serve as a ready-reckoner for anyone wanting to learn a specific aspect under International Law at a reasonable price. We have tried to create a pool of knowledge by also making available all the ICJ (International Court of Justice) decisions, Treaties and Conventions passed in International law under one forum.”
They are also striving towards making the articles in the journal available in all the six official United Nations languages which are Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), French, English, Russian and Spanish.
Kirthi, is a practising lawyer and has various publications to her credit, including a book on international law that is pending publication.
Karthik is pursuing the five year law degree at the School Of Excellence in Law, Chennai. He enjoys international law, cyber law and intellectual property rights and has won the Best Speaker Award in the Commonwealth Moot Court Competition.
Calling contributors!
The call for papers for Volume I, Issue I which is due for April 2012 is out. Submissions from academicians, practitioners, students, researchers and experts from within the legal community are invited. Submissions are to be sent in electronic form to: submissions@athirtyeight.com.
Kuhika is a student of Asian College of Journalism.
