Theme: A World For All, In The Making
Law, Rights and the Obligations of a Shared Future
Submission Deadline: Sunday, 6th December, 2026

CONCEPT NOTE

Faced with crises that no state can manage alone, the world has turned to shared frameworks for the future. The Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Pact for the Future and, more recently, the WHO Pandemic Agreement, and the High Seas Treaty, all reflect a collective ambition to eradicate poverty, reduce inequality, protect the planet, and leave no one behind. Yet, the distance between these promises and lived realities remains stark. Progress has not reached everyone; opportunity remains unevenly distributed, development carries unequal costs, and the consequences of decisions made by a few are too often borne by many. A worker’s livelihood, a child’s access to education, a community’s claim over its land, an individual’s freedom to define one’s identity, or the right to an environment that does not jeopardise survival are not isolated concerns. They are interconnected questions of power, participation, and justice. The question, therefore, is not simply what kind of world we wish to create, but whose vision of that world can prevail, and what must we do to build a truly “shared” world.

This is where law must find its purpose, and where its limitations must also be confronted. It is through law that societies define the boundaries of power, give shape to rights, impose obligations and determine whose interests receive protection. Yet the existence of a right does not guarantee its realisation, just as the existence of an institution does not ensure justice. As technology transforms human relationships, economies reorganise themselves and ecological boundaries are pushed to their limits, law must remain responsive to changing realities while confronting the structures that sustain exclusion. It must hold power to account, enable institutions to sustain equilibrium, and make meaningful remedies accessible to those who need them. The making of a world for all is, in this sense, also a continuing exercise in imagining, interpreting, and reshaping the law.

The Editorial Board of Vox Legis, the in-house student-faculty collaborative publication of the Faculty of Law, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, invites students to engage with these questions through a legal perspective using comparative, international, and interdisciplinary approaches. Contributions should move beyond describing existing crises or restating familiar commitments. They should examine the patterns/structures that produce and perpetuate them, and explore the legal, institutional, technological and policy pathways capable of bringing meaningful change.

The sub-themes include, but are not limited to, the six clusters below:

I. ACCESSIBILITY, EQUALITY, AND HUMAN DIGNITY

  • The Law of Survival: Hunger, nutrition, and the National Food Security Act, 2013; enforcement of welfare entitlements in court; debt and insolvency among the poor.
  • Beyond the Classroom Door: The Right to Education Act, 2009, and its gaps, including private-school quotas and learning outcomes; the digital divide in schooling, fee regulation and the accountability of private institutions.
  • Entitlement to Health: The right to health in the courts; public health emergencies and State power under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, and the Disaster Management Act, 2005; unequal access to treatment and medicines.
  • Accessibility and the Right to Dignity: The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, in practice; accessible public spaces and services; ageing and the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007; legal recognition of care work.
  • The Boundaries of Bodily Autonomy: Abortion law and the MTP Act, 1971, as amended in 2021; surrogacy under the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021; consent and gender-based violence under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
  • The Unequal Burden of Identity: Caste discrimination and the reach of equality law; recognition of queer persons and families after Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India (2018) and Supriyo @ Supriya Chakraborty & Anr. v. Union of India (2023), citizenship, and statelessness.

II. THE LEGAL GOVERNANCE OF WORK, ENTERPRISE, AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE

  • Who Owns the Worker’s Time? Platform work and the definition of an employee; algorithmic management of workers; gig workers under the Code on Social Security, 2020.
  • The Invisible Workforce: Migrant, domestic, and home-based workers; street vendors and the Street Vendors Act, 2014.
  • The Price of Progress: Workers displaced by green transitions and automation; requirements of a ‘just’ transition; retrenchment under the new labour codes.
  • Corporate Power, Public Responsibility: Business and human rights and the UN Guiding Principles; due diligence along supply chains; CSR under Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013, and BRSR disclosures.
  • Wealth without Boundaries: Taxation of wealth and inheritance; concentration of wealth as a legal and constitutional question; tax avoidance and illicit financial flows.

III. GOVERNING INNOVATION: TECHNOLOGY, INDUSTRY, AND THE LAW

  • Building the Industries of Tomorrow: Industrial policy and the MSMED Act, 2006; subsidies and incentives under WTO rules; standards for green and sustainable manufacturing.
  • Innovation versus Ownership: Patents, compulsory licensing, and access to medicines and green technology; technology transfer to developing countries; ownership of AI creations.
  • The Infrastructure of Tomorrow: Liability when infrastructure fails; building and safety standards; affordable housing, informal settlements, and urban planning law.
  • The New Financial Frontier: Digital lending and borrower protection; the regulation of crypto-assets; financial inclusion through digital payments.
  • The Right to Repair: Planned obsolescence as a consumer protection and competition issue; contractual and technical limits on independent repair; repair frameworks across jurisdictions.

IV. THE PRICE OF A PLANET IN TRANSITION

  • Powering the Future: Energy access and energy poverty; renewable energy under the Electricity Act, 2003; green hydrogen; nuclear energy and liability for nuclear accidents.

  • Who Pays for Going Green? Climate finance promised by wealthy States and the gap in delivery; the Loss and Damage Fund; common but differentiated responsibilities and historical responsibility for emissions.

  • The Minerals Behind the Transition: Mining for lithium, cobalt and other critical minerals; consent of indigenous communities; the MMDR Act, 1957, and the environmental liability of mining companies.
  • Climate Change in the Courtroom: Climate litigation in India and abroad; the right against the adverse effects of climate change recognised in M.K. Ranjitsinh v. Union of India (2024); the ICJ’s 2025 advisory opinion on States’ climate obligations.
  • Selling Sustainability: Greenwashing and the Central Consumer Protection Authority’s 2024 guidelines; eco-labels and sustainability claims in advertising.
  • From Waste to Responsibility: Extended Producer Responsibility for plastic packaging, e-waste; E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022; informal waste pickers.
  • The Business of Being Carbon Neutral: Carbon markets and India’s Carbon Credit Trading Scheme; enforcement of net-zero pledges; verifying carbon credits.
  • When the Climate Takes Away Home: Climate-induced displacement and migration; status of ‘climate refugees’ in international law; relocation and rehabilitation.

V. LIFE ON LAND AND IN WATER

  • Who Owns the Commons? Community forest rights under the Forest Rights Act, 2006; the 2023 amendment to the Forest (Conservation) Act; customary rights over common lands and grazing.
  • River Claims: Legal personhood for rivers from the Whanganui to the Ganga; inter-State river water disputes; groundwater extraction and sanitation.
  • The Cost of Development: Land acquisition and the 2013 Act; environmental clearance and the EIA Notification, 2006; rehabilitation of people displaced caused by development.
  • The Law of Extinction: Wildlife protection and the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972; biodiversity and benefit-sharing under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002; liability for ecological damage and the claims of future generations.
  • The Ocean Beyond Ownership: The High Seas Treaty; marine genetic resources and benefit sharing; marine protected areas beyond national jurisdiction.
  • The Blue Economy and its Boundaries: Fisheries and the rights of traditional fishing communities; deep-sea mining and the International Seabed Authority; aquaculture and shipping.
  • The Disappearing Coastline: Coastal Regulation Zone rules; marine pollution and plastics; sea-level rise and the statehood of low-lying island nations.

VI. BEYOND BORDERS: GOVERNANCE, PARTNERSHIPS, AND COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY

  • When the World Must Act Together: How treaties become domestic law; powers and limits of multilateral institutions; international commitments of States.
  • Preparing for the Next Crisis: The WHO Pandemic Agreement and pathogen sharing; the Sendai Framework and the Disaster Management Act, 2005; legal preparedness for health, climate, and disaster emergencies.
  • Financing and Building a Shared Future: Sovereign debt restructuring; conditions attached to development finance; public-private partnerships and accountability.
  • The Limits of State Discretion: Judicial review of administrative action; accountability of regulators and oversight bodies in implementing the SDGs; remedies against arbitrary State action and institutional failures.
  • Justice within Reach: Alternate forums such as Lok Adalats, legal aid; Access to justice for marginalised communities and barriers to effective legal remedies.
  • Constitutions in Comparison: Constitutional enforcement of socio-economic rights across jurisdictions; judicial approaches to the rights to food, housing, and healthcare; measuring State accountability for fulfilling sustainable development commitments.

 

ELIGIBILITY AND AUTHORSHIP

  • Contributions are invited from students of any discipline. 
  • A submission may have a maximum of two authors. Each co-author must have contributed substantially and must have consented to the submission.
  • The work must be original, unpublished, and not be under consideration by any other publication.

 

SUBMISSION PROCEDURE

All submissions must be made through the official Submission Form: https://forms.gle/rRjJ6qDMkBaJUELv9.

 

Submissions sent by email will not be considered. The official email address voxlegis-law@msubaroda.ac.in, is for queries and correspondences.

 

Authors must submit the manuscripts on or before 6th December, 2026. The author will receive an acknowledgement of receipt by email.

 

MANUSCRIPT REQUIREMENTS

Length and Language

Manuscripts must be in English language only. Submissions must be between 1,500 and 2,000 words, excluding footnotes. Manuscripts must be written in clear and grammatically correct English, using UK spelling convention consistently.

Title and File

Each submission must carry a clear and relevant title. The file must be in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) format and must be named with the title of the submission.

 

The manuscript, uploaded in the Submission Form, must not contain the author’s name, institution, acknowledgements or any other identifying information, including in the document properties, headers, and footers. Author details are to be given only in the Submission Form.

 

FORMATTING GUIDELINES

Text and Footnotes

The body of the manuscript must be in Times New Roman, 12 pt, with 1.5 line spacing, and justified alignment. Footnotes must be in Times New Roman, 10 pt, with single line spacing, and numbered consecutively.

Paragraphs, Headings and Quotations

The text must be organised into clear and logically connected paragraphs, with headings and sub-headings where they help the reader. Short quotations must appear within quotation marks. Quotations of fifty words or more must be set out as an indented block quotation without quotation marks.

Abbreviations

Abbreviations must be written in full at their first occurrence, followed by the abbreviated form in parentheses.

Tables, Figures and Permissions

Tables, figures and images must be labelled and their sources acknowledged. Authors must obtain the necessary permissions before reproducing copyrighted material.

 

CITATION GUIDELINES

Citation Style

All sources referred to in a manuscript must be cited in accordance with The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, 21st Edition (2020). Citations must be accurate, consistent and verifiable, with references wherever applicable. Authors should rely on official sources for legislation, judicial decisions and government publications, and must check that every hyperlink leads to the cited source.

Examples

  • Case: Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab, (1980) 2 S.C.C. 684 (India).
  • Legislation: Companies Act, 2013, § 233 (India).
  • Book: AUTHOR, TITLE [pinpoint page] (edition year). For example: H.L.A. HART, THE CONCEPT OF LAW (2d ed. 1994).
  • Journal article: Author, Title, volume Journal Abbreviation first page, pinpoint page (year). For example: Charles A. Reich, The New Property, 73 Yale L.J. 733, 737–38 (1964).

 

For foreign and international sources, and for sources not directly covered by the Bluebook, authors should follow the relevant Bluebook rules and tables, or use a consistent format suited to the source.

 

AI & PLAGIARISM POLICY

  • Every submission must be the author’s own work, with all borrowed material properly acknowledged.
  • The overall AI and Plagiarism Index must remain below 10%.
  • AI tools cannot be authors or co-authors, and responsibility for a manuscript cannot be transferred to an AI tool.
  • Authors must not submit AI-generated content as human-authored work.
  • Authors must not misrepresent the extent of AI involvement in a manuscript.

 

CONTACT

For queries relating to submissions and publication, write to voxlegis-law@msubaroda.ac.in.

 

The brochure is attached here.

 

 

Happy Writing!

Vox Legis 10.0

Faculty of Law, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda