Journal of the History of International Law

Aims & Scope

The Journal of the History of International Law / Revue d’histoire du droit international (JHIL) is an interdisciplinary journal on the history of international law with a broad outreach.

It is placed among the top international law journals which are regularly consulted by all international lawyers with a general interest in the history of their field.

It provides a forum for the emerging and expanding scholarship that takes a historical approach to exploring a wide range of issues in international law.

It accommodates the growth in interest in the histories of international law from scholars working in related fields (such as global history, imperial history, intellectual history and international relations).

It creates a venue for ground-breaking work in this field by combining tradition with innovation and to provide the opportunity to develop sustained critical engagement with work on the history of international law.

The Journal of the History of International Law / Revue d’histoire du droit international encourages critical reflection on the classical grand narrative of international law as the purveyor of peace and civilization to the whole world.

It specifically invites articles on extra-European experiences and forms of legal relations between autonomous communities which were discontinued as a result of domination and colonization by European Powers.

It is open to all possibilities of telling the history of international law, while respecting the necessary rigour in the use of records and sources.

It is a forum for a plurality of visions of the history of international law, but also for debate on such plurality itself, on the methods, topics, and usages, as well as the bounds and dead-ends of this discipline.

Moreover, it devotes space to examining in greater depth specific themes.

View Aims & Scope

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Metrics & Ranking

Impact Factor

Year	Value
2025	1.4
2024	1.10

SJR (SCImago Journal Rank)

Year	Value
2024	0.219

Quartile

Year	Value
2024	Q1

h-index

Year	Value
2024	16

Journal Rank

Year	Value
2024	20094

Journal Citation Indicator

Year	Value
2024	20

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Abstracting & Indexing

Journal is indexed in leading academic databases, ensuring global visibility and accessibility of our peer-reviewed research.

• Scopus
• Google Scholar
• Web of Science

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Subjects & Keywords

Journal’s research areas, covering key disciplines and specialized sub-topics in Arts and Humanities and Social Sciences, designed to support cutting-edge academic discovery.

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Most Cited Articles

The Most Cited Articles section features the journal's most impactful research, based on citation counts. These articles have been referenced frequently by other researchers, indicating their significant contribution to their respective fields.

• The Colonial Origins of International Law. European Expansion and the Classical Standard of Civilization

  Citation: 47

  Authors: Brett

• Vitoria, Grotius, Pufendorf, Wolff and Vattel: Accomplices of European Colonialism and Exploitation or True Cosmopolitans?

  Citation: 35

  Authors: Georg

• When was the Law of International Society Born?

  Citation: 30

  Authors:

• The Juridical Origins of the International Patent System: Towards a Historiography of the Role of Patents in Industrialization

  Citation: 27

  Authors: Ikechi

• Slavery and the League of Nations: Ethiopia as a Civilised Nation

  Citation: 27

  Authors: Jean

• Beyond Anachronism: Histories of International Law and Global Legal Politics

  Citation: 23

  Authors: Lauren

• Context in the History of International Law

  Citation: 22

  Authors: Andrew

• Emer de Vattel and the Externalization of Sovereignty

  Citation: 16

  Authors: Stéphane

• An Introduction to the Concept and Origins of Hawala

  Citation: 16

  Authors: Edwina A.

• The Westphalian Legal Orthodoxy - Myth or Reality?

  Citation: 15

  Authors:

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