Updated on: Friday, March 09, 2012
Kirthi and Karthik Jayakumar a brother-sister have come up with a unique online academic journal by the name of A38 which provides quality information to a research student on different aspects of international law.
The website has been initially launched as aforum for spreading information. Subsequently it will be developed to enhance intellectual pursuits and as a global platform for exchange of ideas where the fraternity can engage in discussion and debate over topical issues in International Law.
The Board of Advisors associated with the forum comprise renowned personalities in the international legal field like B.Inbavijayan, an international arbitrator, Professor Francis Boyle and Professor Martin Dixon who have represented countries before the International Court Of Justice and Justice V. Ramasubramanium, a sitting judge of the Madras High Court.
“The Board helps in establishing a certain standard for the journal, providing an unbiased outside perspective and assisting in enhancing the visibility of the journal worldwide,” says Kirthi Jayakumar, the editor. The idea to bring out such a journal in the public domain was due to the dearth of quality knowledge based literature available in open access forums.
The name of the consultancy and the journal stands for Article Thirty Eight which is the specific provision under the statute of The International Court of Justice that enumerates the sources of international law.
The online medium has vast coverage but as the person sending the articles is not in direct visible contact with the administrator, there runs the risk of authenticity. Karthik, the co-editor Commenting on this, says, “Authenticity is of utmost importance. We make sure to evaluate all the articles with an unbiased eye, and also keep an eye on the sources, to see that they are not cited inaccurately.”
the website also has a section called ‘The Handbook' with information on different topics. Kirthi explains, “It would serve as a ready-reckoner for anyone wanting to learn a specific aspect under International Law at a reasonable price. We have tried to create a pool of knowledge by also making available all the ICJ (International Court of Justice) decisions, Treaties and Conventions passed in International law under one forum.”
They are also striving towards making the articles in the journal available in all the six official United Nations languages which are Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), French, English, Russian and Spanish.
Kirthi, is a practising lawyer and has various publications to her credit, including a book on international law that is pending publication.
Karthik is pursuing the five year law degree at the School Of Excellence in Law, Chennai. He enjoys international law, cyber law and intellectual property rights and has won the Best Speaker Award in the Commonwealth Moot Court Competition.