Call for Papers for Issue 27

2026-08-19

The Cálamo Journal of Legal Studies invites submissions for Issue 27, to be published in July 2027. Research articles, book reviews, and interviews will be accepted until Monday, 30 November 2026.

The journal issues two calls for submissions each year, each centred on a specific theme, while also welcoming contributions on a wide range of topics throughout the year. The texts published in the Dossier (thematic section) and Essay (open section) consist of research articles and scholarly essays that contribute to legal knowledge and analysis, as well as interdisciplinary studies that explore the connections between law and the broader social sphere through the lenses of political and constitutional theory, the social sciences, and the humanities. Each issue of Cálamo also includes book reviews and interviews, preferably related to the theme addressed in the Dossier.

 

Dossier Coordinators, Issue 27

Eber Omar Betanzos Torres is a Level I Researcher in Mexico’s National System of Researchers of the Ministry of Science, Humanities, Technology and Innovation. He is currently affiliated with the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and serves as President of the National Institute of Public Administration. He has held several senior positions in the public and judicial sectors, including Deputy Attorney General for Human Rights at the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic, Deputy Minister of Public Administration, and Senior Judicial Clerk at the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation. He holds a PhD in Human Rights, completed postdoctoral studies in Public Governance, and has an interdisciplinary academic background in Philosophy, Economics, Theology, Constitutional Law, and International Criminal Law. He is the author of books and scholarly articles. ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6642-221X. Email: miterceraletra@gmail.com

Ubaldo Márquez Roa holds a PhD in Law and is a Level I Researcher in Mexico’s National System of Researchers of the Ministry of Science, Humanities, Technology and Innovation. He is affiliated with El Colegio de Veracruz and teaches at undergraduate and postgraduate levels at the University of Xalapa and other institutions in Mexico and Peru. He has undertaken specialised studies in human rights at the Universities of Geneva, Barcelona, Pennsylvania, and Leiden. He has served in the Federal Public Administration, ISSSTEP, and the Federal Judiciary of Mexico. He is the author and co-author of books and scientific articles. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6090-2140. Email: ubaldo.marquez.roa@gmail.com

 

 

Central Theme

Human Rights and the Rights of Nature: Challenges for Ecological Constitutionalism and Environmental Justice

Over the past decades, the law has undergone a paradigmatic transformation that challenges the limits of anthropocentric constitutionalism. In response to the global ecological crisis, a range of constitutional systems, national and international courts, and doctrinal developments have increasingly recognised that nature is not merely an object of protection aimed at safeguarding human well-being, but a legal subject endowed with intrinsic value and, in certain legal systems, the holder of its own rights. This shift has given rise to what is known as ecological constitutionalism, whose foundations are closely linked to ecocentric, biocentric, and intercultural perspectives, as well as to the recognition of Indigenous peoples’ contributions to the construction of new models of relationships between society and nature.

In this context, human rights and the rights of nature cease to be understood as opposing categories and instead emerge as complementary systems of protection, seeking to safeguard both human dignity and the integrity of ecosystems. Climate change, the accelerated loss of biodiversity, intensive extractivism, and environmental degradation have demonstrated that contemporary legal protection requires moving beyond the traditional anthropocentric paradigm and incorporating approaches capable of recognising the interdependence between individuals, communities, and ecological systems.

From this perspective, this dossier seeks to provide a space for interdisciplinary reflection on the challenges of ecological constitutionalism, environmental justice, legal pluralism, interculturality, and emerging national and international jurisprudential developments relating to human rights and the rights of nature. It welcomes contributions that examine both the convergences and the theoretical and practical tensions between these fields.

 

Thematic Axes

Research articles and scholarly essays falling within the following thematic areas are particularly welcome, although submissions are not limited to these topics.

1. Ecological Constitutionalism and the Rights of Nature

This thematic axis invites reflection on ecological constitutionalism and transformative constitutionalism, insofar as they have promoted the recognition of nature as a subject of rights and strengthened environmental protection. Particular interest is given to contributions exploring the ecocentric and biocentric foundations of these legal transformations, as well as studies examining the legal personality of nature, the rights of nature and ecosystems, ecological justice, and the debates that the rights of nature raise in relation to human rights and other rights-based frameworks.

2. Human Rights, Environmental Justice, and Climate Litigation

This axis seeks to bring together reflections on human rights, environmental justice, and climate litigation, with particular emphasis on local, regional, and international legal and jurisprudential frameworks. Contributions are welcome on topics such as access to justice, strategic litigation, the Escazú Agreement, the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Human Rights System, standards developed within the United Nations system, and institutional responses to the challenges posed by climate change.

3. Interculturality, Indigenous Peoples, and the Defence of Territories

This thematic axis aims to analyse ancestral knowledge and Indigenous governance in relation to legal pluralism and environmental protection. Contributions may address issues such as prior consultation, territorial rights and territorial disputes, biodiversity, extractivism, and their social, legal, and political implications.

4. Gender, Ecofeminism, and the Defence of the Commons

This axis invites reflection on the intersections between gender, the environment, and the commons from ecofeminist and community feminist perspectives. Particular interest is given to contributions addressing women's leadership in the defence of territories and common goods, as well as the protection of resources such as water, biodiversity, and food systems.

5. Legal Culture, Environmental Education, and Social Transformation

This thematic axis proposes an examination of the role of legal culture, environmental education, and communication in the construction of more sustainable societies. Contributions addressing topics such as environmental communication and educational initiatives grounded in respect for and protection of the environment are particularly welcome.

 

Submission Guidelines

  1. Articles, book reviews, and interviews must be submitted through our website using the Submissions section no later than Monday, 30 November 2026.

  2. Contributions may be submitted in Spanish, English, or Portuguese.

  3. Only submissions that comply with the journal’s Editorial Policy, Style Guide, and Citation Guidelines will be considered.

  4. All submissions must be original and unpublished and must not be under consideration for publication by any other journal at the time of submission.

  5. The submission of articles, essays, book reviews, or interviews implies that the author(s) have read and accepted the provisions of the journal’s Code of Ethics.