Science AI Journal
Law · 90 journals ranked · top 40 listed

Best open-access journals for Law

The top 40 of 90 Law journals, open-access only, ranked by Scimago quartile, then by whether OpenAlex and Scimago agree on the subject and how central Law is to each journal, then OpenAlex cites/paper (2-year window), leaving out journals both place in another discipline, drawn from a 17,500-venue index. Predatory venues are excluded; the FAQ below gives the exact ranking rule. These are field-wide rankings — for a shortlist matched to your specific paper, paste your title and abstract into the Journal Finder (a free account starts with 25 welcome credits).

Data as of — the date our venue index was last rebuilt from OpenAlex and Scimago.

Match journals to your paper →
AllBest open-access journals
  1. 1
    A&C - Revista de Direito Administrativoe & Constitucional
    0.1 cites/paper · Q1
    Open AccessScopusWeb of Science
  2. 2
    Oñati Socio-legal Series
    1.0 cites/paper · Q2 · Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
  3. 3
    Canadian Journal of Law and Society / Revue Canadienne Droit et Société
    0.5 cites/paper · Q2 · Cambridge University Press
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  4. 4
    Osgoode Hall law journal
    0.3 cites/paper · Q2 · Routledge
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  5. 5
    Ius et Praxis
    0.3 cites/paper · Q2 · University of Talca
    Open AccessDOAJScopus
  6. 6
    Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal/Potchefstroomse Elektroniese Regsblad
    0.6 cites/paper · Q3 · North-West University
    Open AccessDOAJScopusPubMed
  7. 7
    Novos Estudos Jurí­dicos
    0.1 cites/paper · Q3
    Open AccessScopus
  8. 8
    Veredas do Direito Direito Ambiental e Desenvolvimento Sustentável
    0.1 cites/paper · Q3 · Editora Dom Helder
    Open AccessScopus
  9. 9
    Public Administration Issues
    1.3 cites/paper · Q3
    Open AccessScopusWeb of Science
  10. 10
    Victoria University of Wellington Law Review
    0.0 cites/paper · Q4
    Open AccessScopusPubMed
  11. 11
    Przegląd Geologiczny
    0.1 cites/paper · Q4
    Open AccessScopus
  12. 12
    University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
    3.2 cites/paper · no Scimago quartile · University of Michigan Law School
    Open AccessPubMed
  13. 13
    Journal of Law and Sustainable Development
    1.0 cites/paper · no Scimago quartile
    Open Access
  14. 14
    International Journal of Science and Society
    0.6 cites/paper · no Scimago quartile
    Open Access
  15. 15
    Revista do Direito Público
    0.5 cites/paper · no Scimago quartile · State University of Londrina
    Open AccessDOAJ
  16. 16
    JURNAL HUKUM IUS QUIA IUSTUM
    0.5 cites/paper · no Scimago quartile
    Open Access
  17. 17
    Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan
    0.5 cites/paper · no Scimago quartile · Badan Penerbit FHUI
    Open Access
  18. 18
    Direito Público
    0.4 cites/paper · no Scimago quartile
    Open AccessDOAJ
  19. 19
    International Journal of Social Service and Research
    0.4 cites/paper · no Scimago quartile
    Open Access
  20. 20
    Obiter
    0.3 cites/paper · no Scimago quartile · Academy of Science of South Africa
    Open AccessDOAJ
  21. 21
    Alberta Law Review
    0.2 cites/paper · no Scimago quartile · University of Alberta Library
    Open AccessWeb of SciencePubMed
  22. 22
    International Journal of Multicultural and Multireligious Understanding
    0.2 cites/paper · no Scimago quartile · International journal of multicultural and multireligious understanding
    Open Access
  23. 23
    Journal of Law Politic and Humanities
    0.2 cites/paper · no Scimago quartile
    Open Access
  24. 24
    Amicus Curiae
    0.2 cites/paper · no Scimago quartile
    Open Access
  25. 25
    Pensar - Revista de Ciências Jurídicas
    0.2 cites/paper · no Scimago quartile · Universidade de Fortaleza
    Open AccessDOAJ
  26. 26
    Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Sains
    0.2 cites/paper · no Scimago quartile
    Open Access
  27. 27
    COMSERVA Jurnal Penelitian dan Pengabdian Masyarakat
    0.2 cites/paper · no Scimago quartile
    Open Access
  28. 28
    Praca i Zabezpieczenie Społeczne
    0.2 cites/paper · no Scimago quartile · Polskie Wydawnictwo Ekonomiczne
    Open Access
  29. 29
    Syntax Literate Jurnal Ilmiah Indonesia
    0.1 cites/paper · no Scimago quartile
    Open Access
  30. 30
    Journal of Education Humaniora and Social Sciences (JEHSS)
    0.1 cites/paper · no Scimago quartile
    Open Access
  31. 31
    Jurnal Impresi Indonesia
    0.1 cites/paper · no Scimago quartile
    Open Access
  32. 32
    GANEC SWARA
    0.1 cites/paper · no Scimago quartile
    Open Access
  33. 33
    Arus Jurnal Sosial dan Humaniora
    0.1 cites/paper · no Scimago quartile
    Open Access
  34. 34
    Revista da AGU
    0.1 cites/paper · no Scimago quartile
    Open Access
  35. 35
    Revista de Direito Administrativo
    0.1 cites/paper · no Scimago quartile · Fundacao Getulio Varagas
    Open AccessDOAJ
  36. 36
    Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly
    0.1 cites/paper · no Scimago quartile
    Open AccessPubMed
  37. 37
    REVISTA QUAESTIO IURIS
    0.1 cites/paper · no Scimago quartile · Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro
    Open AccessDOAJWeb of Science
  38. 38
    Revista de Derecho Penal y Criminología
    0.1 cites/paper · no Scimago quartile
    Open Access
  39. 39
    Jurnal Locus Penelitian dan Pengabdian
    0.1 cites/paper · no Scimago quartile
    Open Access
  40. 40
    Rabels Zeitschrift für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht
    0.1 cites/paper · no Scimago quartile · Mohr Siebeck Verlag
    Open AccessDOAJWeb of Science

“Cites/paper” is the OpenAlex 2-year citation rate — a transparent signal, not a licensed Impact Factor. Many regional and open-access journals are strong but aren’t covered by Scimago, so they show “no Scimago quartile”; that’s a coverage gap, not a quality judgement.

Tools for your next paper

Gaps & Literature SearchFind open questions in any field — 120,000+ open gaps mined from our own library.Pre-CheckIs your paper ready? Acceptance odds for top, mid and open/emerging journals, in seconds.Journal FinderA ranked shortlist of target journals from a 17,500-venue index.Duplicate Publication CheckerCheck for prior publication across 7 sources and our local library.Citation GeneratorFreeA DOI or title → APA, MLA, Vancouver, Chicago, BibTeX, RIS. No signup.Graphical Abstract MakerFreeTurn your findings into a colorblind-safe graphical abstract.

How Pre-Check worksHow AI Review works

Compare the category — Honest roundups of the AI research tools, ours listed alongside the alternatives.

Best journals in other disciplines

MedicineBiologyEngineeringEconomicsComputer ScienceEarth SciencePsychologyPhysicsChemistry

Frequently asked

A&C - Revista de Direito Administrativoe & Constitucional, Oñati Socio-legal Series, Canadian Journal of Law and Society / Revue Canadienne Droit et Société, Osgoode Hall law journal, Ius et Praxis lead this list, drawn from a 17,500-venue index. The top 40 of 90 ranked venues are listed on this page; 1 is Scimago Q1, 4 Q2, 4 Q3, 2 Q4 and 29 have no Scimago quartile. Journals are placed by two independent classifications, OpenAlex's and Scimago's, plus any documented corrections. A journal both place under Law ranks ahead, within its Scimago quartile, of one only OpenAlex places there — because Scimago does not cover it, files it as Multidisciplinary, or files it under a neighbouring subject or only under a broad “(miscellaneous)” category (which counts as agreement when Law is the journal's main OpenAlex subfield). 2 journals OpenAlex files under Law are left out because OpenAlex's main field for them and Scimago's categories both place them in another discipline. By Scimago quartile first (Q1 → Q4, then venues without one). Within a quartile, journals both sources place under Law come first, then venues whose main OpenAlex subfield is Law come before those that list it second or third, and ties go to OpenAlex cites/paper over a 2-year window. A venue whose main subfield is unrelated to Law — fewer than a quarter of the venues filed under that subfield (or fewer than five) are also filed under Law — is listed after all the others. Where cites/paper decides, a journal with fewer than 30 papers in OpenAlex over the four most recent publication years is listed after those with more: a two-year average over so few papers can rest on a single article (1 of the 90 journals ranked here is below that floor; it is not among the 40 shown). Only open-access venues are included. Cites/paper is a transparent citation rate, not a licensed Impact Factor, and journals flagged as predatory are excluded. For a match to your specific paper use the Journal Finder (15 credits; free account starts with 25).

Command palette

Jump anywhere, run any action.