Journal profile · Multiple
Journal of Environmental Law
ISSN 0952-8873 · eISSN 1464-374X · Oxford University Press
Journal of Environmental Law: CAS Zone 3 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.56; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,045; review about 8 days (submission to final decision, publisher); 43 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Environmental Law is published by Oxford University Press and is in Zone 3 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Environmental law and policy, International Environmental Law and Policies and International Maritime Law Issues, together about 60% of its articles. Its main subfields are Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Journal of Environmental Law is an authoritative source of informed legal analysis on law relating to environmental problems in any jurisdiction. Its publications are, as such, relevant to academics and legal practitioners but also to other groups concerned with the environment - from scientists to planners. It publishes three issues per year, including research journals, analysis sections, essay reviews, annual review of significant UK, European Court of Justice, and international law cases, as well as commentaries on current topics relevant to the study of environmental problems. It includes: An analysis section, providing detailed analysis of current case law and legislative and policy developments An annual review of significant UK, European Court of Justice, and international law cases A substantial book reviews section Advertising and Indexing Services Journal of Environmental Law is covered by the following abstracting/indexing services: Current Law Index CAB Abstracts Environment Index Environmental Abstracts Environmental Science and Pollution Management Forestry Abstracts Geographical Abstracts IBSS Index to Legal Periodicals & Books Index Veterinarius Infotrac International Development Abstracts Legal Journals Index Legal Trac Legal Trek LexisNexis Periodicals Index Online (PIO) PROQUEST DATABASE : ABI/INFORM Complete PROQUEST DATABASE : ABI/INFORM Global PROQUEST DATABASE : ProQuest 5000 PROQUEST DATABASE : ProQuest 5000 International PROQUEST DATABASE : ProQuest Central PROQUEST DATABASE : ProQuest Pharma Collection Scopus Social Science Citation Index Social Science Research Network (SSRN) The Standard Periodical Directory Urban Studies Abstracts Veterinary Bulletin Weed Abstracts Wilson OmniFile Full Text Mega Edition World Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology Abstracts Journal metrics Citation metrics Clarivate 2025 Impact Factor 2.6 2025 5 Year Impact Factor 2.6 Law (Rank by Impact Factor) 28/443 Environmental Studies (Rank by Impact Factor) 120/202 2025 Cited Half-Life 7.3 years 2025 Immediacy Index 0.7 2025 Eigenfactor Score 0.00095 2025 Article Influence Score 0.84 Scopus 2025 CiteScore 5.1 Law (Rank by CiteScore) 82/1162 Management, Monitoring, Policy And Law (Rank by CiteScore) 150/432 2025 Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP) 1.768 Readership 2025 Full Text Usage 165,801 Peer Review and Production 2025 Median days from submission to first decision 8 days 2025 Median days from submission to final decision 8 days 2025 Me
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Editor-in-chief Sanja BogojevicPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 2 in mainland China (about 6%); most named United Kingdom 18, Australia 3, Mainland China 2, United States 2, Belgium 2 (35 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Environmental law and policySocial Sciences33.7%
- International Environmental Law and PoliciesEnvironmental Science20.1%
- International Maritime Law IssuesEnvironmental Science6.2%
- Environmental Conservation and ManagementEnvironmental Science4.1%
- Legal principles and applicationsSocial Sciences2.9%
- Corporate Law and Human RightsBusiness, Management and Accounting2.8%
- Environmental Policies and EmissionsEnvironmental Science2.7%
- European and International Law StudiesSocial Sciences2.6%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Environmental Studies | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Law | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Environmental Studies | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Law | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Law | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Environmental Studies | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
SCIECAB AbstractsPublisher website
Other: ProQuest
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 2.56LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 5.1Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.1LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 5.1Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.11LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.77LetPub ·
- h-index
- 52OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 327OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.77OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 11.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 52.75%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 34LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 165,801Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,353 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 30 | 21 | 7 |
| 2025 | 43 | 28 | 55 |
| 2024 | 23 | 15 | 108 |
| 2023 | 45 | 25 | 256 |
| 2022 | 21 | 15 | 160 |
| 2021 | 44 | 29 | 489 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
8 dayssubmission to final decision
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 8 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to final decision 2025
- 8 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 30 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | GBP 3,067 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | No APC | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Colour charges
- No colour charges
- Page charges
- No page charges
- Submission fee
- Charged; see the journal's website for the amount
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Article types accepted5, with length limits
- analysis essaysAnalyses should be in the region of 1500-4000 words including footnotes and abstract.Length not stated
- articlesArticles should be longer than 10,000 and no more than 14,000 words inclusive of footnotes and abstract.Length not stated
- research articlen. The journal considers submissions of research articles (up to 14,000 words including footnotes), analysis essays (up to 4000 words incmain text ≤ 14,000 words
- reviewto 4000 words including footnotes), and review essays (up to 5000 words including footnotes). All three are further detailed in themain text ≤ 5,000 words
- review essaysReview Essays should be in the region of 3,000-5,000 words, including footnotes.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, Open access, Peer review, Preprints, Self-archiving
- Authorship Authorship
Authorship is limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the design and execution of the work described. Any contributors whose participation does not meet the criteria for authorship should be acknowledged but not listed as an author. For a detailed definition of authorship, please see the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) definitions of authors and cont…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest
Authors The Journal requires all authors to disclose any potential conflict of interest at the point of submission. It is the responsibility of the corresponding author to ensure that conflicts of interest of all authors are declared to the Journal. A conflict of interest exists when the position, activities, or relationships of an individual, whether direct or indirect, financial or non-financial…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Availability of data and materials
Data sharing encouraged Model summary
Where ethically feasible, the Journal strongly encourages authors to make all data and software code on which the conclusions of the paper rely available to readers. Whenever possible, data should be presented in the main manuscript or additional supporting files or deposited in a public repository. Visit our Research data page for information on general repositories for all data types, and resour…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Screening for misconduct
Manuscripts may be screened using iThenticate to help detect publication misconduct including plagiarism and redundant publication.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access charges
Please see the details of open access licences and charges. If you select an open access licence, you must pay the open access charge or request to use an institutional agreement to pay the open access charge through our licencing and payment portal, SciPris. Please note that prices are subject to change. All stated charges are exclusive of any applicable value added tax, goods and services tax an…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review process
Double-anonymized peer review Model summary
The Journal uses the ANSI/NISO Standard Terminology for Peer Review. If you would like further description of the peer review terms used here, please refer to the most recent standard definitions. If further clarification is needed, please contact the editorial office at jel.editorialoffice@theeditorialhub.com. Peer review summary: Identity transparency: double anonymized Reviewer interacts with: …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprints allowed Model summary
As an author, you retain the right to make an Author’s Original Version (preprint) available through various channels and this does not prevent submission to the Journal. If accepted, you are required to update the status of any preprint, including adding your published paper’s DOI. For full details on allowed channels and updating your preprint, please see our Author self-archiving policy.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Self-archiving Self-archiving
Self-archiving refers to posting a copy of your work on a publicly accessible website or repository. Under certain circumstances, you may self-archive versions of your work on your own webpages, on institutional webpages, and in other repositories. For information about the Journal's policy, and to learn which version(s) of your paper are acceptable for self-archiving, please see our Author self-a…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- ISSN
- 0952-8873
- Electronic ISSN
- 1464-374X
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 38, Issue 2 (July 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Environmental Law
What CAS zone is Journal of Environmental Law in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Environmental Law is in Zone 3 of Sociology, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Environmental Studies / Law. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of Environmental Law?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.56; CiteScore 5.1, h-index 52.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Environmental Law?
The publisher reports about 8 days (submission to final decision). Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Where are the editorial board members of Journal of Environmental Law based?
Of the 35 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 2 (about 6%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (18), Australia (3) and Mainland China (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Environmental Law?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Environmental Law is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists SCIE and CAB Abstracts; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of Environmental Law open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Environmental Law is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,045.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .