by Carlos Espósito Massicci (Member of the Advisory Board)

The Revista Jurídica de la UAM was born in 1999 as a general law publication with a very special feature: its Editorial Board was composed of undergraduate and, especially, PhD students from the Faculty of Law. This unique aspect was, at the same time, a way to broaden the scope of discussion by incorporating new voices, and a way to demonstrate profound trust in those young people who would take on the responsibility of managing the Journal. That is why, in the presentation of the first issue of the Journal, I wrote that its publication constituted “a great bet” based “on the confidence that undergraduate and doctoral students would foster dialogue and research through the editing of a publication of high content quality and exquisite care of form.” Since the appearance of that first issue, it was clear that the Editorial Board was more than capable of fulfilling those hopes and expectations through excellent work.

The RJUAM, which now expands even further with its online publication, maintains that same youthful spirit and, naturally, has evolved through the experience of dozens of editors who have dedicated their time and intellect to the Journal during its first decade. This evolution is reflected in the current composition of the Editorial Board: although participation of undergraduate students is not excluded, today the RJUAM is mainly produced under the direction of postgraduate students and young doctoral professors of the Faculty. They have all succeeded in making the Journal a “Faculty publication” within the UAM legal community, putting it in a position to achieve general recognition with the highest levels of quality among Spanish publications.

The ten years of the RJUAM that have now been brought online reflect its contributions to debate and the discussion of ideas, with a high degree of quality and scientific rigor. In the Journal, readers will find doctrinal studies on all areas of Law, case commentaries, book reviews, and contributions to doctrinal and academic debate in general. Additionally, the Journal features a section dedicated to legal education, which over the years has sought to complement and update teaching materials through lessons on specific topics corresponding to the courses taught at the Faculty.

A particularly important part of the Journal’s content has also served to pay a fair and deserved tribute to some of our mentors, as has been the case with Professors Aurelio Menéndez, Luis Díez-Picazo, Aníbal Sánchez, and Julio González Campos.

Of course, since it brings together an intangible wealth of experiences from its editors and authors, the Journal is much more than the sum of its pages. Through the internet, it will be possible to share with readers some of these experiences that cannot fit within the limits of the printed pages, as there will be opportunities to publish additional materials, create discussion forums around the Journal, provide more detailed information about the interesting conferences on monographic topics that the Editorial Committee has organized for several years, and, in short, opportunities to continue improving and expanding scientific conversation.