UCLA Pacific Basin Law Journal

A Bluebooking Guide to Chinese Language Sources

pblj — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:36:34 +0000

Here at the UCLA Pacific Basin Law Journal (PBLJ), we publish many articles regarding China, and understandably, these authors use primary Chinese sources to research and write their articles. However, the process of editing the footnotes of these articles can be an arduous process when there is no uniform treatment of Chinese Bluebooking rules. Each piece seems to have a slightly different format – leaving our Managing Editors spending too many hours trying to cleanup the citations and conforming it to Bluebook rules.

Thus, for all Chinese law scholars out there who are interested in publishing in an American law school journal (particularly PBLJ), I’ve compiled a few tips on Bluebooking Chinese sources. I’ve also provided visual samples for easy reference.

What’s the key to correct Bluebooking of Chinese sources? – Use Pinyin! I believe that there has been discussion on switching to Chinese characters instead. However, due to the fact that Westlaw and Lexis Nexis (the source of the largest journal audience) does not yet support Chinese characters, journals ought to require authors to include the Pinyin of all Chinese sources as well as an English translation. Pure translation is not preferred due to that fact that translations vary (depending on the translator), and thus, to ensure that editors reviewing footnotes can access the correct source, Pinyin needs to be included.

General Steps to Bluebooking Chinese Sources:

Name of Author in Pinyin.
Name of Article/Book in Pinyin (and following general Bluebook Rules, either Italicize or Small Cap the text).
English Translation of Article/Book in brackets (and following general Bluebook Rules, either Italicize or Small Cap the text).

Here are some visual examples:

Books (and articles within books)

Books - Bluebooking Chinese Sources

Journal Articles

Journal Articles - Bluebooking Chinese Sources

Statues/Codes

Statues/Codes - Bluebooking Chinese Sources

Hope this helps! Happy Bluebooking Chinese sources!

Call for Submissions

pblj — Wed, 13 May 2009 20:51:42 +0000

The UCLA Pacific Basin Law Journal has begun considering article and comment submissions for publication in the Fall Issue of Volume 27, and will continue to evaluate submission on a rolling basis all summer. Submissions should be related to issues within any of the the countries of the Pacific Rim.

Our preferred article length is under 25,000 words or 50 journal pages, including text and footnotes. Text and footnotes should follow the latest version of The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation.

The PBLJ Articles and Comments Department evaluates submissions based upon relevancy to the Pacific Rim, innovation, and writing style. Please refer to past issues of the Pacific Basin Law Journal available on HeinOnline, Westlaw, or LexisNexis.
The Pacific Basin Law Journal prefers electronic submissions of manuscripts. Please email submissions to pblj@lawnet.ucla.edu and attach the manuscript, a cover letter, and a CV in either Word or PDF format. Please indicate in the subject line AND the cover letter whether you are submitting for consideration an article or a comment. Electronic submissions receive the fastest consideration. If you wish to submit a hard copy instead, please email pblj@lawnet.ucla.edu and we will arrange for you to do so.

If you have any questions, please email the EIC’s at gould2010[at]lawnet.ucla.edu or cheuk2010[at]lawnet.ucla.edu.

Congratulations to Our 2009-2010 Board

pblj — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 21:19:20 +0000

UCLA Pacific Basin Law Journal

Masthead 2009-2010

Editors-in-Chief

Andrea Cheuk, Courtney Gould, and David Gotsill

Faculty Advisor

Taimie Bryant

Chief Articles Editor

Diana Wang

Chief Comments Editor

Leland Benton

Chief Managing Editors

Jesse French and Miranda Starkey

Articles and Comments Editors

Lisa Fike

Richard Holm

Sharlene Lee

Jacob Mutert

Alyssa Thurston

Robert Wu

Business Editor

Helen Hwang

Recruitment and Logistics Editor

Lisa Fike

Access to Asian Electronic Resources

pblj — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 19:13:29 +0000

Thinking of writing a comment or article about an issue in the pacific basin, but not sure how to start the research? The UCLA East Asian Library can help!

Access to Chinese Electronic Resources

Presented by The East Asian Library

Thursday, February 19, 2009
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
East Asian Library
Young Research Library

The East Asian Library is having hands-on seminars, Access to East Asian Electronic Resources, on February 19 and 20.

Access to Korean Electronic Resources

Thursday, Feb 19 ~ 2-3:15 PM

Access to Japanese Electronic Resources

Friday, Feb 20 ~ 2:30-4 PM

The location for all three sessions is at East Electronic Classroom (21536 Young Research Library).

Please send your RSVP or questions regarding the sessions to Esther Han at emhan@library.ucla.edu or x59535.

Cost: Free

http://www.international.ucla.edu/china/events/showevent.asp?eventid=7220

Suing Tainted Milk Manufacturers?

pblj — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 07:00:09 +0000

Read: Courts Compound Pain of China’s Tainted Milk

Last month, the New York Times reported on attempts by victims (or their families) to file lawsuits in Chinese courts for compensation. However, they lawsuits were not welcomed. It appears that the current government policy does not support citizens using the judicial system for reprieve. Higher courts have informed lower courts not to accept lawsuits, and victims are to wait for the government compensation scheme.

Most citizens from other countries take it for granted that they could file a products liabilities suit against manufacturers of tainted milk. However, the Chinese judicial system does not offer the same level of court access. Chinese Courts are still weak institutions without the clout to force compliance or even enforce all their judgments. Yet, where would the Chinese judicial system be if it were the third branch of government? Could citizens become “private attorneys general” and raise food safety standards? Is there a role for citizens to do this? Could the courts serve as the vehicle to bring such reforms?

Editorial Staff Blogs

pblj — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 06:42:55 +0000

We’re introducing blogs written by our staff on Pacific Basin issues. We want to do our part and contribute to the scholarship by posting links to interesting news articles and providing a short commentary on the articles.

Let us know if there are any issues or topics that you find interesting. We’re try to include it in our blog and provide insightful commentary on the issues!

Status Update

pblj — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 02:28:52 +0000

The staff is currently working on Volume 26, Issue 1 (Fall 2008) for the 2008-2009 edition. We are also currently looking for one more article for our Spring 2009 issue. Please submit your articles to pblj@lawnet.ucla.edu. We are especially looking for articles on lesser known areas of the Pacific Rim – such as Latin America, Southeast Asia, or Oceania.

Please contact us at if you have further questions about the status of the UCLA Pacific Basin Law Journal. Thanks!

Volume 25:2 Completed

pblj — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 19:09:54 +0000

We are happy to announce that Volume 25:2 will be completed and printed on October 31st. Subscribers should receive Volume 25:2 shortly after the October 31st – so please look out for it in the mail.

The staffing is busy preparing for Volume 26, Issue 1, and we are planning to have the issue printed by late January.

Calling for Submissions

pblj — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 18:15:59 +0000

The Pacific Basin Law Journal is seeking comment submissions for publication in Volume 26. Submissions should be entirely student-written and related to issues within any of the the countries of the Pacific Rim.

All UCLA School of Law students are invited to submit as early as possible for Issue 26:1, but comments will also be accepted for 26:2 as late as January. Our submission process is one of rolling admission, therefore, if you are planning on writing a paper for an upper-division class or independent study in the fall semester, please feel free to email us at pblj@lawnet.ucla.edu. We also have published book or article reviews in the past, and therefore will consider such submissions. We have no limit on article length, but preference is given to articles under 25,000 words or 50 journal pages, including text and footnotes. Text and footnotes should follow the latest version of The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation.

The PBLJ Comments Department evaluates comments based upon relevancy to the Pacific Rim, as well as innovation and writing style. Please refer to past issues of the Pacific Basin Law Journal available on HeinOnline, Westlaw, or LexisNexis.

The Pacific Basin Law Journal prefers electronic submissions of manuscripts. Please email submissions to pblj@lawnet.ucla.edu and attach the manuscript, a cover letter, and a CV in either Word or PDF format. Please indicate in the subject line AND the cover letter whether you are submitting for consideration an article or a comment. Electronic submissions receive the fastest consideration. If you wish to submit a hardcopy instead, please email pblj@lawnet.ucla.edu and we will arrange for you to do so.

If you have any questions, please email the EIC’s at gould2010@lawnet.ucla.edu or cheuk2010@lawnet.ucla.edu.

Why Choose PBLJ?

pblj — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 07:04:49 +0000

I’m currently involved with the Pacific Basin Law Journal (PBLJ), and next year, I’m going to take a board position with the Journal. I would encourage all future 1Ls to join a journal when you start in the fall. UCLA Law has many journals that cover topics ranging from the environment, technology, foreign affairs, and of course – Pacific Basin issues (covering Asia, Oceania/ Australia, and North/ Central/ South America). Journals give you a chance to get directly into legal scholarship, and it teaches you important legal research skills (such as legal citation formats – aka The Bluebook, you’ll learn to love this book next year). Journals also don’t require too much time from 1Ls and the work load is very light.

I initially became interested PBLJ because of my interest in the China/ East Asia region. I wanted to get involved in a journal that especially covered that region. In the past, PBLJ has published on subjects such as the rule of law in Hong Kong and issues around setting up a tribunal for Khmer Rouge leaders. As a 1L this year, I did cite checking and formatting on an article about the existence of an Australian Constitution. It was interesting to learn about the publishing process, and it’s great to feel that you are contributing to Pacific Basin scholarship.

PBLJ is a great journal to join, and if you are especially interested, please contact me at cheuk2010@lawnet.ucla.edu. We are hoping to really build a cohesive team next year and start a mentoring program between 2L and 3L editors and 1L associate editors.