Editorial team

Editorial workflow and roles

Who does what in the editorial team of Journal Law and Justice, the route of every manuscript from submission to publication, and the rules that keep decisions independent.

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On this page

At a glance

  • The Editor in Chief decides, assigns and publishes; the Managing Editor runs the daily work.
  • Section editors assess and recommend; reviewers advise.
  • Payment, partners and honorarium never influence a decision.
  • Every step and its deadline are visible on the editorial desk.

This page describes the editorial workflow of Journal Law and Justice for the editorial team, reviewers and anyone who wants to know how decisions are made. The principles are in the peer review policy and the publication ethics; the tasks of each person are on the editorial desk.

Roles

  • Editor in Chief: responsible for every decision, assigns editors, accepts, declines and publishes.
  • Managing Editor: runs the daily operations, deadlines and communication, and handles payment holds and waivers with the Editor in Chief.
  • Section editor: assesses manuscripts in a section, invites reviewers and recommends a decision to the Editor in Chief.
  • Desk editorial: the initial check before peer review (scope, template, completeness, originality).
  • Reviewers: independent experts who assess the manuscript and advise the editor.
  • Copyeditor, layout editor and proofreader: prepare accepted articles for publication.

The route of a manuscript

  1. Submission: the author submits through the journal website.
  2. Administrative check: files, metadata and declarations are complete.
  3. Desk screening: the manuscript fits the scope and the template and passes the similarity check; otherwise it is returned.
  4. Editor assignment: the Editor in Chief assigns a handling editor.
  5. Peer review: at least two independent reviewers assess the manuscript.
  6. Decision: the handling editor recommends, the Editor in Chief decides: accept, revise or decline. One decision letter per round.
  7. Revision: the author revises and answers every point; at most 3 rounds per manuscript.
  8. Acceptance: the Letter of Acceptance is issued.
  9. Production: copyediting, layout and proofs, with the author's approval.
  10. Publication: the article is published in an issue with its DOI.

Independence of decisions

  • The fee, its payment and any waiver are handled apart from the assessment.
  • Editors declare conflicts of interest and step aside from manuscripts they cannot judge independently (see conflicts of interest).

Tools

The editorial desk lists every task in order with its deadline. Manuscripts are screened, assessed, copyedited and laid out in Writing Labs.

Open the editorial desk Open the reviewer desk Editorial board

Related policies