Journal profile · Multiple
Journal of Law and Society
ISSN 0263-323X · eISSN 1467-6478 · Wiley-Blackwell
Journal of Law and Society: CAS Zone 3 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.33; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,170; review about 270 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); acceptance rate 2% (journal website); 77 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Law and Society is published by Wiley-Blackwell 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 Law in Society and Culture, Legal Education and Practice Innovations and Judicial and Constitutional Studies, together about 38% of its articles. Its main subfields are Law. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Established as the leading British periodical for Socio-Legal Studies The Journal of Law and Society offers an interdisciplinary approach. It is committed to achieving a broad international appeal, attracting contributions and addressing issues from a range of legal cultures, as well as theoretical concerns of cross- cultural interest. It produces an annual special issue, which is also published in book form. It has a widely respected Book Review section and is cited all over the world. Challenging, authoritative and topical, the journal appeals to legal researchers and practitioners as well as sociologists, criminologists and other social scientists.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United Kingdom 20, France 2, Hong Kong, China 1, Australia 1, Sweden 1 (26 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Law in Society and CultureSocial Sciences17.2%
- Legal Education and Practice InnovationsSocial Sciences11.3%
- Judicial and Constitutional StudiesSocial Sciences9.6%
- Legal principles and applicationsSocial Sciences6.3%
- Criminal Justice and Corrections AnalysisSocial Sciences4.7%
- Law, Economics, and Judicial SystemsEconomics, Econometrics and Finance4.7%
- Comparative and International Law StudiesSocial Sciences4.2%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance3.6%
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 | Law | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Sociology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Law | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Sociology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview 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 | Sociology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
AHCICurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, 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
- 1.33LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 1.4Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.8LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 2.8Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 2.8Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.75LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.04LetPub ·
- h-index
- 87OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 748OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.97OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 7.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 81.9%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 50LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 62Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 345,317Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,044 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 52 | 35 | 8 |
| 2025 | 77 | 54 | 70 |
| 2024 | 63 | 46 | 108 |
| 2023 | 63 | 40 | 182 |
| 2022 | 69 | 42 | 458 |
| 2021 | 67 | 35 | 328 |
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
270 dayssubmission to acceptance
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
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 2%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 2%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 2 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 2 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 270 daysPublisher 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 | USD 3,170 / EUR 2,670 / GBP 2,100 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
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)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websitePeer review
- Peer review
No simultaneous submission Model summary
Submission to the Journal of Law and Society is taken as a continuing representation that the article is not under consideration by any other journal. The Editorial Board will not consider for publication articles which are at the time of submission, under consideration elsewhere.
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
- Wiley-Blackwell
- ISSN
- 0263-323X
- Electronic ISSN
- 1467-6478
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 53, Issue 3 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Law and Society
What CAS zone is Journal of Law and Society in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Law and Society is in Zone 3 of Sociology, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Law / Sociology. 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 Law and Society?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.33; CiteScore 2.8, h-index 87.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Law and Society?
The publisher reports about 270 days (submission to acceptance); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 2% (2025). 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 Law and Society based?
Of the 26 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (20), France (2) and Hong Kong, China (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Law and Society?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Law and Society is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists AHCI and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of Law and Society open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Law and Society is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,170.
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 2026-08-24). Last updated: .