Review Process

The manuscripts’ review process includes five stages:

a. Preliminary Review: Within two weeks of submission, the Journal conducts a preliminary assessment of the manuscript’s relevance and its conformity to the Journal’s editorial standards. Manuscripts could be provisionally or definitively rejected at this stage.

b. Peer Review: Manuscripts meeting the requirements of the preliminary review move forward to a peer review stage. At this point, essays and studies are subjected to a two double-blind, peer review evaluation. Referees are appointed by the Editor, choosing among experts in the field matching the topics addressed by the manuscript.

c. Request for Changes: If a manuscript is approved with changes, reviewers’ comments and suggestions for improvement will be provided to the author. The author has a period of 20 calendar days to make the required modifications. If the author does not meet this deadline, the Editor will consider that he/she desists from continuing with the editorial process.

d. Review Deadlines: Deadline for online publication of manuscripts meeting formal requirements is approximately, 6 months. However, this deadline may be extended if reviewers ask for additional modifications or if the author(s) delays his/her responses to the Journal’s requests.

e. Publication Final Decision: The Journal’s Editorial Committee will decide whether to accept or reject a paper based on the referees´ reports and comments. If accepted, the Committee will determine the volume in which the manuscript will be published.

Arbitration

The journal’s peer-review process is governed by the following rules:

a. External Review: The manuscript review process is carried out by external experts. These reviewers are selected for their experience in academic and legal professional fields.

b. Type of Review: Reviews are double-blind. Both, authors and reviewers, remain anonymous to each other to ensure the impartiality and objectivity of the evaluation process. In exceptional cases, a third evaluator may be added to the process.

The evaluation of manuscripts will focus on the following aspects:

a) Does the title clearly reflect the contents of the text?
b) Is the writing clear, free of spelling errors, and uses proper grammar?
c) Is the literature used relevant, up-to-date, and sufficient?
d) Does the manuscript offer an original proposal?
e) Does the manuscript comply with the Guidelines for Authors?

c. Decision: Evaluations may result in a manuscript’s: a) Acceptance: b) Acceptance with minor changes; c) Acceptance with major changes; d) Rejection.

d. Time between a manuscript’s submission and editorial recommendation: The estimated time is six consecutive months, unless there is more than one round of reviews or there is a delay in the authors’ responses to Journal’s inquiries.