National Law University Odisha, Cuttack is pleased to announce the Call for Papers for the Colloquium Opus Law Journal (Vol. 2, Issue 2) on “Concept of State in Changing Constitutional Frame”.

Concept Note:
The shadow of the state nowadays, falls upon every sphere of human activity. The state shapes and controls, or regulates, authorizes, supervises or proscribes, myriad activities, from education, to sanitation, to social welfare, to domestic order and external defence, economic management, etc. Certain aspects of life, which otherwise are considered to be private or personal, via, marriage, abortion, divorce, etc., are also subject to the authority of the state. It is no surprise therefore, that the central question has been, defining the nature or character of the state. The necessity to explain the nature of state stems from the fact that the term “State” is the central concept in constitutional law.

The acts attributed to “the State” are acts which result in legal consequences in accordance with their contents. Every such act is performed, in exercise of power granted to the actor through a rule of competence. This power is the capacity to create rules that bind others. This difference in legal position between individuals as holders of private autonomy and certain qualified persons, possessing power, in furtherance of a rule of competence, has given rise to the idea that the power which has the character of public authority and the acts in which it finds expression, cannot “properly” be ascribed to the acting individual. The acting individual is considered to have acted “on behalf of the State”, or as an “organ of the state”.

When these “organs of the State” act without having the capacity, or do so, in a manner, at variance with, or contrary to, the manner prescribed, the validity of their action comes under question. The governing power wherever located must be subject to the fundamental constitutional limitations, for the Constitution was framed on the theory that limitation should exist on the exercise of power by the State.

The character of the State has undergone drastic changes in recent years, the problem that continues is that, in what circumstances an act of an individual or a group is to be considered to be an action of the state, and that particular individual or group is to be considered as an “organ of the State”. With this background the Colloquium Opus Law Journal invites papers on the changing dimensions of role of State under or connected with any of the following subthemes:

• Evolution, Development and philosophical foundations of the State in various legal systems viz. England, United States of America and India;
• The concept of “State”, under the Constitution of India, with reference to:
  • Fundamental Rights,
  • Directive Principles of State Policy, and
  • Tortious and contractual liability of the State

• Judiciary within the ambit of the expression State
• Interpretation of “Other Authorities” in the light of changing role of State.

About Colloquium Opus:
Colloquium Opus, the Seminar Committee of National Law University Odisha is a student committee which organizes academic activities such as Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums among a varied range of activities such as Mediation, Client Counseling and Negotiation competitions. The Committee is presently led by Dr. Sheela Rai, Associate Professor of Law, National Law University Odisha.

Colloquium Opus has conducted Conferences such as National Seminar on Institutional Challenges to Protection of Environment (August 2013) and National Conference on Intellectual Property Rights (October 2014). Further, it publishes the Colloquium Opus Law Journal (ISSN-2348-1277) bi-annually which has published Volume 1 Issue 2.

Guideline for Submissions:
All the interested participants are required to submit their final paper on or before 30th May 2015 (in .doc or .docx format) to colj@nluo.ac.in and cc it to seminarcomm@nluo.ac.in.

Submissions should include as succinctly as possible:
A separate title page which clearly indicates the name(s) of the author and co-author, affiliation(s), complete mailing address (es), Telephone/fax numbers and e-mail address (es) and title of the paper shall be sent with the final paper.

Formatting:

• Margin – Manuscripts must be in single spacing, font size 12 in “Times New
• Roman” and all margins: 1.5 inches (left) and 1 inch (top, right and bottom).
• Length – Manuscripts are maximum 15 pages (including references, attachments, tables and graphical information).
• Tables – Must be placed as part of the text. DO NOT attach tables at the end of the manuscript.
• Software – Manuscript must be submitted in MS Word form ONLY.
• Title of Manuscript – Written in uppercase, bold, size 14 and centered.
• Author/s – Name, address, email and contact number of all authors, font 12, Times.
• Abstract -Between 250-350 words in “Times New Roman” size 12.
• Keywords – There should not be more than FIVE keywords.
• Headings/Sub-headings – Written in uppercase, bold, size 12 and left margin.
• Tables/ Figures – Title of the tables/figure should be written on the top of the tables/figure. “Times New Roman”, size 12, Bold, lower case, centered.
• Footnoting – Footnoting should be done strictly according to 19th Bluebook. Font “Times New Roman”, Size 10, Line-Spacing 1.

Important Date:
The last date of submission is 30th May, 2015.

Contact:
Dr. Sheela Rai
Faculty Coordinator
Phone: +91-8895921256

Mr. Kartik Pant
Student Co-ordinator
Phone: +91-9439368896

Ms. Pavani Nagaraja Bhat
Student Co-ordinator
Phone: +91-9437504517

Ms. Simran Sahni
Student Co-ordinator
Phone: +91-8763552611

Email: seminarcomm@nluo.ac.in, colj@nluo.ac.in
Website: www.nluo.ac.in