International Review of Law: Special Issue on Domestic Violence

The International Review of Law, an open-access, peer-reviewed international law journal published by Qatar University College of Law, issued a formal Call for Papers for its dedicated special issue on domestic violence. Edited by Professor Mary Pat Treuthart of Gonzaga University School of Law, this volume invites global legal scholars, practitioners, and student authors to contribute analytical scholarship examining legislative developments, judicial remedies, and comparative legal protections against domestic violence across international jurisdictions.

Journal Profile and Scholarly Mission

The International Review of Law (IRL) is a bilingual (Arabic and English) legal periodical established by the Qatar University College of Law in collaboration with Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Journals, hosted on the QScience publishing platform. Operating from Doha, Qatar, the journal provides an international academic forum that connects Middle Eastern jurisprudence with global legal dialogues.

The journal operates under an open-access publishing framework, ensuring that all published research is freely accessible online worldwide without subscription barriers or reader paywalls. Authors retain copyright over their published works under creative commons licensing, maximizing the international dissemination and academic impact of their legal research. This open-access architecture ensures that legal analyses reach researchers, policy makers, judicial officers, and civil society advocates across both developed and developing legal systems.

Scope and Thematic Focus of the Special Issue

The special issue aims to examine the complex legal challenges associated with domestic violence across diverse cultural, constitutional, and jurisdictional settings. While domestic violence is frequently approached from sociological and public health perspectives, this volume places primary emphasis on substantive and procedural law.

For the purposes of this special issue, the concept of domestic violence is construed broadly to include physical abuse, psychological coercion, economic deprivation, dowry-related violence, digital harassment, stalking, and institutional responses within family law and criminal justice systems. Key thematic areas of interest include:

• Comparative Legislative Frameworks: Analyzing statutory innovations in civil protection orders, mandatory arrest policies, emergency injunctions, and restorative justice mechanisms.
• Evidentiary Challenges in Criminal Prosecution: Addressing hearsay exceptions, expert testimony on trauma and battered spouse syndromes, forensic medical documentation, and victim protection standards.
• International Human Rights Standards: Evaluating state compliance with international conventions, such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and regional human rights instruments.
• Customary and Religious Legal Systems: Exploring the intersection of state statutes, customary traditions, and religious personal laws in responding to intimate partner abuse.
• Support Services and Institutional Remedies: Examining statutory funding for state shelters, legal aid provisions, specialized family courts, and rehabilitative sentencing programs.

Scholars and researchers can contextualize these requirements alongside statutory frameworks governing interpersonal safety and protection.

Comparative Jurisprudence and Global Reform Movements

The special issue seeks to bridge the analytical gap between theoretical legal concepts and practical statutory enforcement. Around the world, legal systems have transitioned from treating domestic abuse as a private familial dispute toward recognizing it as a severe violation of bodily integrity, human dignity, and fundamental human rights.

Contributors are encouraged to explore how different legal traditions address enforcement bottlenecks. In common law jurisdictions, civil protection orders provide immediate injunctive relief, but enforcement often encounters obstacles when police response times lag or when breach penalties are treated leniently. In civil law jurisdictions, prosecutorial mechanisms and state-mandated mediation present alternative procedural models. In mixed legal systems, harmonizing secular protection statutes with customary or faith-based family codes creates distinctive adjudicatory questions.

Papers examining the efficacy of specialized domestic violence courts, expedited evidentiary rules, and modern technological tools (such as electronic monitoring of restraining orders and digital evidence authentication) are particularly encouraged to enrich the global discourse.

Editorial Leadership and Student Participation

This special volume is guest-edited by Professor Mary Pat Treuthart of Gonzaga University School of Law (Spokane, Washington, USA), an established authority in criminal law, family law, and gender-based violence jurisprudence. The editorial board maintains rigorous double-blind peer-review standards to ensure scholarly excellence and analytical depth.

A distinctive feature of the special issue is the reservation of a dedicated section for exceptional student submissions. Law students enrolled in LL.B., J.D., LL.M., or doctoral programs globally are encouraged to submit original research papers, promoting emerging voices in international legal academia. Select contributing authors will receive invitations from Qatar University College of Law in Doha to deliver guest lectures and participate in academic symposia on their research areas.

Manuscript Submission Guidelines and Deadlines

Contributors must adhere to the following academic submission parameters:

• Language: Submissions are accepted in either English or Arabic.
• Manuscript Length: Submissions must not exceed thirty (30) double-spaced pages, inclusive of footnotes, tables, and references. Shorter research essays, case notes, and commentary pieces are actively welcomed.
• Citation Style: Manuscripts in English must adhere to standard international legal citation formats (such as the Bluebook or OSCOLA), with complete references for all statutory provisions and judicial citations. Arabic manuscripts must follow standardized Middle Eastern legal citation conventions.
• Submission Process: Manuscripts are evaluated on a rolling basis; however, all final papers must be submitted prior to the formal deadline of December 1, 2012, for publication in the Spring 2013 volume.

Prospective authors from university departments, including those listed in institutional academic legal directories, should submit their manuscripts through the official QScience editorial management portal.

Editorial Contact Information

Inquiries regarding manuscript proposals, formatting specifications, or guest lecture logistics may be directed to the publishing office: