Becoming a Member

International law affects our lives every day and shapes the laws we learn. It is a tool for measuring the quality of our legal system, and a crystal ball foretelling how our own system will change. At the Cornell International Law Journal, we place international law in the perspective that it merits.

Second- and third-year students perform all editorial functions for the Journal. Editors select articles and notes for publication, communicate with the authors, edit manuscripts for substance and style, and manage the Journal's financial and administrative affairs. Associates are the driving force behind the Journal and complete sourcing, editing, and proving assignments, in addition to writing substantially publishable Student Notes on an aspect of international law. Over the next year, approximately six such Notes will be published in the Journal.

Membership on the Journal does not require a background in international law. Rather, it calls for having a broad mind capable of seeing connections between local law and the global arena. Students in the J.D. and joint-degree programs are eligible for Journal membership after completing one full year of law school classes. The following are the criteria by which J.D. and joint-degree students entering their second-year this fall may gain admission onto the Journal:

1. Composite-on: After spring semester finals, the Journal will host a Writing Competition in conjunction with the Law Review and the Journal of Law & Public Policy. At least thirty (30) first-year students will be invited to join the Journal as Associates based on their combined GPA and Writing Competition scores. The GPA and the Writing Competition scores will be weighted equally. Neither has a minimum requirement. Ninety percent (90%) of the Writing Competition score will be derived from the Writing Sample score. Ten percent (10%) of the Writing Competition score will be derived from the Editing Test score.
   
   
2. Submission of a Note Recommended to be Selected for Publication in the Journal: Students may also gain admission to the Journal as an Associate by writing a note on a topic of international private or public law, conflict of laws, comparative law, or United States law that has significant international ramifications and that is also recommended to be selected for publication in the Journal by the Note Office. Submission of such Notes must be made according to a deadline set by the Note Office. All deadlines shall be set to ensure that students selected for membership through this process will have sufficient time left at Cornell Law School to substantially fulfill any and all Associate elevation requirements and other Journal membership duties.

Second-year transfer and LL.M. students are eligible for membership at the beginning of their first semester at Cornell Law School. The International Law Journal, the Journal of Law & Public Policy and the Law Review will conduct an additional Writing Competition at the beginning of the academic year open to any second-year transfer and LL.M student. The Journal will review each written entry for analytical, writing, and research ability, and extend membership offers to competitors at its discretion.

In closing, the Journal is a dynamic publication that specializes in an exciting and important field of law. If you have any questions about the Journal, please feel free to drop by the Journal Reading Room in Room 136 and chat with any of our Board members.