Journal of Law & Social Policy

What Journal of Law & Social Policy does

The Journal of Law & Social Policy, doing business as the Osgoode Hall Law Journal (OHLJ), is a peer-reviewed academic legal journal published by Osgoode Hall Law School of York University in Toronto, Canada. Established in 1959, it has published continuously for over six decades across 62 volumes, producing scholarly articles, book reviews, and themed special issues on topics spanning constitutional law, Indigenous rights, disability policy, COVID-19 law, and visual law and development. The journal serves legal academics, law students, and legal practitioners as its primary audiences, with readership driven by open access rather than subscription.

The journal is hosted on the Osgoode Digital Commons institutional repository, which runs on Elsevier's Digital Commons platform — a hosted solution used by universities globally. Distribution occurs exclusively through this open access repository and the broader Digital Commons Network, supplemented by RSS feeds and keyword-based email alert notifications (bealerts). Content is made available under Creative Commons licensing in both print (ISSN: 0030-6185) and online (ISSN: 2817-5069) formats.

The journal operates as a non-profit academic unit within the law school rather than as a commercial enterprise. There is no disclosed pricing model, subscription fee, or external revenue stream; the operation is funded institutionally by the parent university. The business model is therefore a cost-recovery academic mission rather than a revenue-generating business, with strategic value measured in scholarly impact and institutional brand contribution rather than financial returns.

Name

Journal of Law & Social Policy

Legal name

Osgoode Hall Law School of York University

Website

https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1959

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Journal of Law & Social Policy (Osgoode Hall Law Journal) is a non-profit peer-reviewed academic law journal published by Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, serving legal scholars, students, and practitioners through open access distribution on Elsevier's Digital Commons platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Academic Journal Publishing

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Law & Legal Studies Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Social Sciences Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAD), Academic & Scholarly Journals Publishing (Peer-Reviewed) (MPAJABAC)

Keywords

• Legal academic publishing
• Peer-reviewed journals
• Legal scholarship
• Open access publishing
• Law and policy research

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Institutional Repository Services: The journal operates as part of Osgoode Digital Commons, an institutional repository managed by Osgoode Hall Law School of York University. Revenue is institutional rather than commercial.

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

The Journal of Law & Social Policy (Osgoode Hall Law Journal) is a peer-reviewed academic legal journal published by Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, issuing scholarly articles, book reviews, and themed special issues on law and social policy. Content is distributed open access globally through the Osgoode Digital Commons repository on Elsevier's Digital Commons platform, with supplementary PDF downloads, RSS feeds, and email alert notifications.

Product overview

The Journal of Law & Social Policy (Osgoode Hall Law Journal) is a peer-reviewed legal academic journal published by Osgoode Hall Law School of York University. It is hosted on the Osgoode Digital Commons institutional repository platform, which is part of the Elsevier Digital Commons Network. The journal publishes scholarly articles across multiple volumes spanning from 1959 to present (Vol. 62), with special issues covering topics such as COVID-19 law, Indigenous rights, disability policy, and visual law and development. Content is distributed through PDF downloads, RSS feeds, and email notification services, and is made available under Creative Commons licensing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Osgoode Hall Law Journal A peer-reviewed legal academic journal published by Osgoode Hall Law School, featuring scholarly articles, book reviews, and themed special issues on law and social policy topics. Targets legal academics, law students, and legal practitioners globally with open access to scholarly content.
• RSS Feed and Email Notifications

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Elsevier Digital CommonscoreTechnology or IntegrationThe journal is hosted on Elsevier's Digital Commons platform, a hosted institutional repository solution used by universities globally. Elsevier provides the technical infrastructure for the journal's digital publishing operations.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• JSTOR: Major digital library providing archival access to academic journals and books across disciplines, including legal scholarship. Broad incumbent in scholarly journal hosting and distribution, often serving as a discovery and access layer for law journals.
• HeinOnline: Large-scale legal research database providing access to historical and current law journals, including many Canadian titles. Broad incumbent in legal journal aggregation, offering library-scale access to legal scholarship that overlaps with the subject journal's content.
• SSRN (Social Science Research Network): Major open-access repository and preprint server for legal and social science scholarship, owned by Elsevier. Broad incumbent in legal scholarly publishing and discoverability infrastructure, providing an alternative distribution channel for academic legal research.

Direct peers

• Manitoba Law Journal: Peer-reviewed Canadian legal academic journal published through the University of Manitoba. Direct peer operating in Canadian legal scholarship publishing with similar editorial and open-access distribution model.
• Saskatchewan Law Review: Peer-reviewed Canadian law journal published through the University of Saskatchewan College of Law. Direct peer in Canadian legal academic publishing, operating with a similar institutional, peer-reviewed model serving the legal-scholarship community.
• Canadian Bar Review: The flagship legal scholarly publication of the Canadian Bar Association, publishing peer-reviewed articles on Canadian law and policy. Direct peer in Canadian legal scholarship publishing, though backed by a national professional association rather than a law school.
• University of Toronto Law Journal: Peer-reviewed Canadian legal academic journal published by the University of Toronto, one of Canada's most established law reviews. Directly comparable as a Canadian legal scholarly journal with peer review and open-access ambitions.
• McGill Law Journal: One of Canada's oldest and most cited law reviews, published by McGill University's Faculty of Law. Direct peer as a peer-reviewed Canadian legal scholarly journal with similar institutional backing and academic contributor base.
• Alberta Law Review: Peer-reviewed Canadian law journal published by the University of Alberta Faculty of Law. Direct peer operating in the same Canadian legal scholarship market with comparable peer-review structure and editorial model.
• Dalhousie Law Journal: Peer-reviewed legal academic journal published through Dalhousie University's Schulich School of Law, hosted on Digital Commons. Direct peer operating with the same Digital Commons infrastructure and similar Canadian legal-scholarship focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/OHLJ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/jlsp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Journal of Law & Social Policy