Call for Papers ∴ Special Issue on “Crimes Unpunished”

 

Call Status:
Active
Manuscript Submission Deadline:
March 10, 2026

 

 

Call for Research Articles, Review Articles, and Brief Communications for the Special Issue on:

“Crimes Unpunished: A Legal and Jurisprudential Analysis of the Crimes Committed by Israel in Palestine, Iran, and West Asia”

 

For decades, Israel, relying on the support of global powers, has committed systematic crimes against the peoples of the region—from the gradual genocide in Gaza and the West Bank, to repeated violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty, the assassination of scientific elites, and acts of sabotage targeting the peaceful nuclear facilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran. These actions constitute clear violations of jus cogens norms of international law, fundamental principles of human rights, and well-established tenets of Islamic jurisprudence (Fiqh). Yet, amid political rivalries and power balances, such crimes have not only gone unpunished but have often been met with silence—or even tacit legitimization—by international institutions.

     This reality reveals a form of structural injustice within the international legal order, wherein major violators of human rights and perpetrators of war crimes remain immune from accountability, while victims struggle, voiceless and vulnerable, to attain justice. In this context, a rigorous re-examination of legal concepts and mechanisms—from the perspectives of international law, criminal law, public law, and Islamic jurisprudence—is an essential step toward redefining justice, reviving responsibility, and strengthening the rational and legitimate front of resistance.

     To this end, the Journal of Islamic Law Research is publishing a special series titled “Crimes Unpunished.” The purpose of this series is to provide an academic platform for multidimensional analyses of Israel’s crimes and for exploring the legal and jurisprudential capacities available to ensure accountability. The Editorial Board cordially invites scholars, researchers, and experts to contribute to this scholarly endeavor—aimed at reinforcing the legal and civilizational discourse of resistance in response to Israel’s crimes and to the false narratives constructed to justify them.

 

Key Features of the Call

 

    • Indexed in Reputable International Databases, such as HeinOnline and etc.

    • No Article Processing Charges (APC): Submission, review, and publication of papers in this special issue are entirely free of charge.
  •  
    • Open Topical Scope: Submissions are not limited to the suggested themes and may address any related subject within the scope of the special issue.

 

Submission Guidelines

 

  • Submission of articles in Persian, English, or Arabic for evaluation and publication in the “Crimes Unpunished” special issues shall follow the same policies and procedures that apply to all regular submissions to the Journal of Islamic Law Research. Authors are kindly invited to visit the Authors’ Guideline pages to review the submission policies and formatting requirements. After registering and logging into the journal’s website, contributors may complete the manuscript upload process through the online submission system.
    • When submitting your paper and selecting the article type, please choose the option “Special Issue.” Otherwise, the manuscript will be processed for evaluation and publication under the journal’s regular issue schedule.

 

Suggested Themes

 

  • Theme I – A Critical Examination of the Effectiveness of International Law Structures and Norms in Responding to Israel’s Repeated and Egregious Violations of International Law

 

    • Theoretical and institutional challenges of international law in guaranteeing the right of self-determination for Palestine and confronting Israel’s occupation
    • Judicial practice and case law of international courts and tribunals concerning Palestine
    • Structural and normative deficiencies of the international criminal justice system in addressing Israel’s crimes
    • Legal implications and enforcement challenges arising from Israel’s systematic violations of binding international instruments
    • Critical analysis of the non-proliferation regime under international law and the crisis of selectivity in the global application of norms
    • Rethinking the concept of self-defense in contemporary international law: Israel and the structural misuse of Article 51 of the UN Charter
    • The international responsibility of the UN Security Council in addressing Israel’s crimes: a structural and normative assessment of the collective security system

 

  • Theme II – The Capacities of International Law in Prosecuting International Crimes Attributed to Israel and the United States: Assessing Obstacles and Strategies for Strengthening the Enforcement of International Norms

 

    • Feasibility analysis of prosecuting Israel’s crimes against Iranian nationals and infrastructure within the framework of international criminal law
    • Arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court against Israeli leaders and prospects for the prosecution of Israel’s crimes in Gaza before the ICC
    • Capacities of national legal systems to exercise universal jurisdiction over international crimes committed against Iran: a comparative study of state practices
    • Legal dimensions of U.S. military bases established in West Asia and their role in facilitating armed attacks against Iran
    • The prohibition of assassination under customary and treaty-based international law
    • State responsibility—individual and collective—for the prevention of genocide and other international crimes under international law
    • Legal implications of Israel’s systematic violations of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in its aggressions against Iran
    • Feasibility of establishing a regional hybrid criminal tribunal led by Islamic countries to prosecute Israel’s international crimes
    • Assessing mechanisms for reparation and compensation for damages caused by Israel’s and the United States’ acts of aggression and hostile operations against Iran under international law
    • The role and effectiveness of quasi-judicial international bodies and UN human rights mechanisms in addressing Israel’s crimes
    • Re-examining Israel’s acts of intimidation and terrorism against civilians in its hostilities toward Iran, within the framework of Article 51 of the 1977 Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions

 

  • Theme III – Legal Frameworks of Defense and Resistance in National, International, and Islamic Jurisprudence Systems

 

    • The right of armed resistance against occupation: a comparative study in Islamic jurisprudence, domestic law, and international law
    • The legal status of national liberation movements and their struggles within the framework of international law
    • Iran’s right of self-defense in response to Israel’s armed aggression under the international law governing the use of force
    • Jurisprudential and legal dimensions of threats to assassinate the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic and possible mechanisms for legal action
    • The relationship between the principle of sovereignty and the right of self-defense in Iranian public law
    • Legal structures for countering foreign aggression under the constitutional systems of Iran, Lebanon, Iraq, and other affected states
    • Islamic jurisprudence of resistance and the duty to defend the oppressed against aggression
    • The right of return of displaced persons from the perspective of the Qur’an and Sunnah
    • A comparative analysis of the jurisprudence of defensive jihad and the principle of self-defense in international law
    • The concept of the “global arrogant power” (al-mustakbir al-duwali) and its jurisprudential implications for the relations between an Islamic state and Israel
    • Re-examining the notions of “belligerent unbeliever” (kāfir ḥarbī) and “unjust ruler” (dawlat jā’irah) in political jurisprudence and their application to Israel
    • A meta-analysis of the concept of jihad against Israel in contemporary comparative Islamic jurisprudence

 

  • Theme IV – The Right to Development and the Peaceful Use of Nuclear Science in Light of International Law

 

    • International law and the threats against Iran’s peaceful nuclear development program
    • The legal status of protections for peaceful nuclear facilities under international law, within the framework of the Statute of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and related Safeguards Agreements
    • Assassination of nuclear scientists and the international responsibility of the United States and Israel
    • International responsibility of the IAEA and the UN Security Council in responding to attacks on Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities
    • The international community’s double standards in implementing the nuclear non-proliferation regime with respect to Iran and other actors

  • As noted above, these themes are merely editorial suggestions. Scholars of law are welcome to expand upon them in relation to other nations suffering under Israel’s oppression, or to introduce new topics that open fresh avenues of inquiry within the field of Islamic jurisprudence (Fiqh).



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