The idea to establish a student law review at the University of Aberdeen was first discussed by two students on a cold winter's night in January 2010. The scene of this discussion was a place most suited to intellectual debate: a public house on Union Street. The following day, the idea was presented to the Head of the Law School, Professor Margaret Ross, who gave them permission to start the Aberdeen Student Law Review. Over a period of seven months, the founding Managing Editor, Dominic Scullion, and the initial Editorial Board endeavoured to ensure that the project was completed and in July 2010 the inaugural issue was launched.
The Aberdeen Student Law Review was founded on the belief that writing about the law is just as important as reading about it or discussing it. It forces us to research extensively, broadening our legal minds, and encouraging us to think about the other sides to an argument. It is what lawyers from the University of Aberdeen have been doing since 1495 and it is what we hope the next generation of lawyers will continue to do.
In compiling each volume of the Aberdeen Student Law Review, we aim to include articles on a broad range of legal subjects. We hope that the mix of different articles will demonstrate the enormous range of subjects taught and researched at our ancient university. We thank all of those who submit their work for consideration, and to our successful contributors we offer many congratulations.
A large number of people assist us in managing this review, and their help is invaluable. Our thanks are extended to the staff of Aberdeen Law School for their continuing assistance in making this publication possible. We are also indebted to our peer reviewers, who must remain anonymous, and to our sponsors, Stronachs, for making the publication of this review possible.
The XIII volume of the Aberdeen Student Law Review was launched in May 2025. Printed copies of previous issues are available in law libraries across the country and full electronic versions of these works are available at the legal databases Westlaw and HeinOnline and for download, below.
Submissions are accepted from students currently studying at the University of Aberdeen and Alumni.
Submissions are welcome from students at all stages, from first year undergraduate to postgraduate PhD level. Students may submit a piece of work which has been written as part of their degree, or something specifically written for the ASLR.
The following types of submissions will be considered:
Case Notes (500 to 1,500 words on a recent judicial development)
Book Reviews (500 to 1,500 words on a recent publication)
Essays and Short Articles (1,500 to 4,000 words)
Long Articles (4,000 to 10,000 words)
Please note: wordcounts do not include footnotes.
Articles must conform to the latest version of the Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA).
Submissions are received by the Editors-in-Chief and are anonymously sent to the Editorial Board for review. Every article is reviewed by at least two Editors. Successful submissions at this stage are sent to an anonymous peer reviewer, where a decision will then be made on the status of the submission. Articles may be accepted outright; accepted subject to minor or major modification; or rejected. The Editorial Board will endeavour to provide constructive feedback to the authors, where possible.
Successful authors are expected to work alongside the Editorial Board to ensure that their submission meets the required standard for publication. Editors have the authority to make changes to articles in terms of spelling, syntax, structure and grammar. Editors are also permitted to make changes to substantive content on consultation with the author of the submission.
How to Submit
Please attach your submission(s) as a Word document to an email with the subject line 'Submission for ASLR', along with the required documents set out in theASLR House Style, and send it toaslr@abdn.ac.uk.
The Editorial Board would like to offer our thanks toStronachs LLPfor sponsoring the Aberdeen Student Law Review.
We are extremely grateful for their ongoing support.
Our sponsor,Stronachs LLPwill award a prize for the best paper published in the forthcoming volume of the ASLR. The prize recognises the outstanding quality of the relevant paper and consists of a £200.00 award to the paper's author(s). All submissions that are approved for publication will be considered for the prize.
On 13 March 2017, the official Launch Event for Volume 7 of the Aberdeen Student Law Review (ASLR) was held in the Craig Suite of the Sir Duncan Rice Library. A number of Law-School Staff members and postgraduate students were in attendance.
The event commenced with introductory remarks from the Head of School, Anne-Michelle Slater, followed by some brief words of thanks and acknowledgement from this year's editors-in-chief, Augustinus Mohn and Euan West. Thereafter, two of the authors published in Volume 7 gave presentations based on their articles. First to speak was Mitchell Skilling, a recent graduate of the University of Aberdeen. His paper, entitled 'The Fifth Element', examined the role that exclusive possession should play in the Scots law of leases. The second presentation was given by Stephanie Dropuljic, a first year PhD student whose paper, 'The Classification of Murder and Slaughter', examined the law of homicide in seventeenth century Scotland. While both authors should be commended for their fascinating presentations, additional congratulations are due to Mitchell Skilling, who was awarded the 'Stronachs Prize' for 'Best Article' by Laura Bisset, a representative of Stronachs. This year, the prize consisted of a cheque for £200.
The editors-in-chief would like to say a sincere 'thank you' to all those who came to show their support at the event; to all authors published in this year's volume; to the editors for their tireless and meticulous work in reviewing and revising submissions; and to Stronachs LLP for their generous and ongoing sponsorship. Volume 7 of the ASLR can be accessed on the University of Aberdeen website
Volume 6: Launch Event 2015
The official launch ceremony of the Aberdeen Student Law Review Vol 6 (November 2015 issue) was held on Monday 14 December at the Sir Duncan Rice Library. The launch was an opportunity to recognise the meticulous work of everyone who assisted in shaping this Volume and to celebrate the contribution that the ASLR makes to Aberdeen University's vibrant legal research community.
The event, which was attended by, among others, the Head of Aberdeen Law School, Ms Anne Michelle Slater, and Mr James Downie of Stronachs LLP, consisted of various short presentations by the published authors and socialising thereafter.
In his opening statement, the Managing Editor of the ASLR, Constantinos Yiallourides, highlighted the significance of legal research and topical legal writing in legal education and extended his gratitude to Stronachs LLP and Aberdeen Law School for their continuing assistance in making this publication possible.
Particular congratulations should be extended to DPLP student Emily Young, who won the 'Stronachs LLP Student Excellence Award' for the best contribution. Her paper is entitled 'Britain Goes to War: An Analysis of the Developing Role of the House of Commons in Determining Whether HM Forces Should Be Deployed on Military Operations'. The prize will be a two-week work placement with Stronachs LLP at a time mutually agreeable between the awardee and Stronachs LLP.
Volume 5: Launch Event 2014
On November 24th 2014, an informal launch event was hosted in the stunning Craig Suite, 7th Floor, Sir Duncan Rice Library to celebrate the publication of the Aberdeen Student Law Review Volume 5.
With Head of Law School Anne-Michelle Slater opening the event and representatives from Stronachs LLP present, three of the contributing authors (Carry Chen, Alasdair Dickson and Seonaid Cochrane) presented summaries of their articles to an audience comprising faculty members, contributing authors, students, alumni and representatives from Aberdeen's legal community.
James Downie, Stronachs LLP, presented a trophy and £250.00 to Alasdair Dickson as a prize for his article, 'Pipe Dreams, the public and pollution,' which explores the fractious subject of 'fracking'.
Managing Editors Philip Glover and Andrew Merry, ably assisted by Mhairi Gavin and Euan West (Assistant Editors) would like to thank all those who attended, as well as the University Catering Service. Special thanks are due to Farida Ali, who ensured the global postal distribution of the printed editions this year, and to the organisational skills of Sarah Duncan, who effectively secured the venue and the catering. We wish every success to the recently appointed Managing Editors for Volume 6 (2015); Constantinos Yiallourides and Demetris Hadjiosif.
Volume 4: Launch Event 2013
On September 26 2013, a launch event was held in the Sir Duncan Rice Library to celebrate the publication of Volume 4 of the Aberdeen Student Law Review.
Following the success of 2012's mini-conference, three of the contributing authors to Volume 4 presented their contributions to an audience comprised of faculty members, contributing authors, students, alumni and representatives from Aberdeen's legal community. Philip Glover presented his article - Proceed with Caution(s): A Critique of the Carloway Review's Rejection of Statutory Adverse Inference Provisions in Scottish Criminal Law, followed by Katherine Anderson who spoke about the case of Royal Bank of Scotland v Stuart Hill. The final author to present was Euan West, the deserved winner of the Stronachs LLP Prize for Best Paper 2013. After presenting his winning article, The Utility of the NESS Test of Factual Causation in Scots Law, Euan was presented with his prize by Magnus Mackay, an Associate at Stronachs LLP.
The editorial board of 2012-2013 would like to congratulate all of this year's authors and to extend our thanks to everyone who attended what was a very stimulating and enjoyable launch event.
Volume Three: Launch Event 2012
On 26th July 2012, an event was held to mark the launch of the third issue of the successful student-run journal, the Aberdeen Student Law Review (ASLR). Alumni from local law firms, staff from the Law School and authors whose work had been published in the issue joined the editorial board to celebrate the event.
The occasion offered an opportunity to present the Stronachs LLP Prize for the Best Paper 2012. After much deliberation between the judges, the £250 prize was awarded to James Clark for his outstanding paper, Forced Marriage: the Evolution of a New International Criminal Norm.
The inaugural ASLR 'Mini-conference' was organised to coincide with the launch. James presented his prize-winning paper along with three other authors - Tom Richard, The UK Supreme Court's Jurisdiction over Scottish Criminal Cases; Catherine Guthrie, Scottish Limitations to Testamentary Freedom and Freedom of Religion under Article 9, ECHR; and Caroline Hood, A Tale of Two Cities: Devolution, Independence and the Constitution - to an eager audience. Congratulations must go to all four authors for their fascinating presentations.
Volume Two: Launch Event 2011
On Thursday 28 July 2011 a launch event was held at the University of Aberdeen to promote the publication of our second issue. The event was attended by representatives from local law firms, staff from the University's Law School, and successful contributors.
ASLR available on HeinOnline and Westlaw LJI
The Aberdeen Student Law Review is now available for full download via the HeinOnline legal database. In addition, ASLR is listed on the Westlaw Legal Journals Index. This development means that our student-led journal can now be accessed by law students and academics across the world.
The Editorial Board are delighted to announce that Stronachs LLP have been confirmed as the official sponsors of the Aberdeen Student Law Review for the current and forthcoming editorial cycles.
This sponsorship agreement, confirmed in February 2011, ensures that the ASLR can develop in the legal journals market and makes our continued publication possible. We would like to express our thanks to Stronachs for their ongoing support.
Volume One: Launch Event 2010
On Thursday 22 July 2010 a launch event was held to promote the publication of our first issue. The event was attended by our Patron, the Hon. Lord Woolman, representatives from local law firms, staff from the University's Law School, and successful contributors.
The ceremony was photographed by Brian Kiloh photography. A selection of photographs from the event are included below.
