Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law and Policy
The Student Write-On Competition
The Journal is managed and edited by second- and third-year students and publishes two issues per year. Students may receive academic credit for work on the Journal.
Overview CJIELP Membership I Overview Competition I Competition Schedule I Transfer Students
General Overview of CJIELP and Staff Membership
Participation on the Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law & Policy presents a unique opportunity for students to edit scholarly articles, assist in publication selection, help to plan symposia and conferences, and generally learn more about the realm of international environmental law and policy.
CJIELP offers the chance to pursue an interest in international law, environmental law, or both. By working on CJIELP, members help define an important legal publication in a growing body of law. Uniquely among legal student publications, CJIELP publishes articles on policy as well as law, and offers students the opportunity to address their notes to innovative policy solutions to the complex, real life political and international problems which are increasingly plaguing our world. Specifically, CJIELP publishes works on an ever-broadening range of topics, including international trade, human rights, rights of indigenous populations, and national and international security.
As a member of CJIELP, you will contribute to a publication that is read by scholars, practitioners, and interested persons from all over the world. CJIELP staff members can develop expertise in various fields of international environmental law, learn about the process of scholarly publication, publish their own student notes, and work with an enthusiastic and interesting group of people.
CJIELP staff member requirements include submission of a student note, completion of blue-booking and source collecting assignments, attendance at select mandatory events, and other work to ensure that you meet your 50 hour a semester minimum service requirement in exchange for your credit (editors in their third year receive two credits for a 100 hour minimum). These extra hours can be fulfilled in a number of ways through "apprenticing" with the various editors and editor teams or helping out on select projects. Demonstrating initiative beyond requirements is welcomed, appreciated, and will be recognized when the next editorial board is chosen.
To learn more about CJIELP or to meet current staff members, please stop by our office on the third floor (Suite 320), or send an email to cjielp@colorado.edu.
General Overview of the Competition
Incoming second year students are invited to participate as editors with CJIELP, JTHTL, and the Law Review, conditioned upon the results of a student write-on competition at the end of their first year.
Some key points:
- The write-on competition involves the submission of an original work, written on any topic contained within a packet of materials which will be distributed after your last final exam. You can think of this as being very similar to your closed memo assignment: every source will be provided to you, and reference to any other source is prohibited. The Honor Code does apply to the write-on competition.
- Papers submitted for the write-on competition are judged by a selection of current Journal and Law Review members and given numeric scores according to content, organization, analysis, and mechanics. These scores are then averaged to reach a final score for each paper.
* Law Review only: Each submitted paper is read by five different editors
and given a numeric score. Students ranked in the top ten percent of their
class will have their lowest score dropped, and the remaining four scores
will be averaged to reach the final score for the paper.
- A preference form will be distributed with the write-on packet. Authors of the top-scoring papers are extended invitations for membership with their first choice of student publication. Authors who may qualify for membership with a publication which is not their first choice, but for which they have yet indicated they like to be considered for membership, will be offered positions with those publications in their descending order of preference.
Competition Schedule & Timeline (all deadlines will be STRICTLY ENFORCED)
Students who are entering the law school as a second year transfer student must contact the Editor-in-Chief- BEFORE AUGUST to be considered for that year's write-on competition.
Please send an e-mail to cjielp@colorado.edu expressing your interest in participating in the competition and your contact information so that we may ensure you are included.
