The Columbia Journal of Environmental Law was founded in 1972 with a grant from the Ford Foundation. The Journal is one of the oldest environmental law journals in the nation and is regarded as one of the preeminent environmental journals in the country.  Our subscribers include law libraries, law firms, individuals, and federal, local, and state courts, as well as a significant international readership.

The Columbia Journal of Environmental Law produces two print publications annually, along with a digital-only issue associated with the Journal‘s Climate Change Symposium each spring.  The publication process is managed by Columbia Law School students who are responsible for reviewing and editing articles, communicating with authors, managing subscriptions, and ultimately finalizing the materials for publication.  In addition to featuring the scholarship of leading environmental lawyers and academics, the Columbia Journal of Environmental Law strongly encourages student writing and publishes four student notes per volume.

Open Access Policy

The Columbia Journal of Environmental Law is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. Authors retain their copyright and agree to license their articles with a Creative Commons “Attribution” (CC-BY) License. You can read more about Creative Commons licenses at creativecommons.org.

CJEL is a no-fee journal. Authors are not charged for the publication of their articles.

Peer Review Policy

All authors' submissions undergo a preliminary screening by the Submissions Editor to determine whether an article meets high standards of quality and its content fits with the journal's scope and mission. Once an article is found to align with the journal’s interests, the Editorial Board reads the article, reviews the author’s credentials, and makes a collective decision on whether to extend a publication offer. If the author contracts with the journal, the editing process will be carried out by the Articles Editor and journal's staffers in coordination with the author. The EIC reviews the final version and approves it for publication.

Archiving Policy

Columbia Journal of Environmental Law is archived in Columbia University’s Academic Commons. Academic Commons is Columbia University’s institutional repository, offering long-term public access to research shared by the Columbia community. A program of the Columbia University Libraries, Academic Commons provides secure, replicated storage for files in multiple formats. Academic Commons assigns a DOI and accurate metadata to each work to enhance discoverability.

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.