Editorial Policies

1. OPEN SCIENCE POLICY

The Open Science practices adopted by the journal are:

1.1. Open Access Statement: Immediate Free Access to Content

The journal provides immediate open access to its content, following the principle that making scientific knowledge freely available to the public fosters greater global democratization of knowledge. It adheres to the DOAJ definition of open access: Open Access is the condition "where the copyright holder of a scholarly work grants usage rights to others using an open license (Creative Commons or equivalent). This allows for immediate free access to the work and permits any user to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles, crawl them for indexing, pass them as data to software, or use them for any other lawful purpose". (https://doaj.org/apply/guide/).

The journal adopts the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY) for both its website content and published articles, with copyright retained by the authors.

1.2. Preprints, Postprints, and Self-Archiving

To promote broader dissemination of knowledge and expedite the process of sharing research findings, the journal authorizes and encourages the deposit of submitted articles in the following preprint servers:

Preprints are articles that have not yet undergone peer review within the editorial process of a scientific journal or have been peer-reviewed but not yet published. These can be deposited in certified servers without compromising the originality of the research. In such cases, authors should be aware that:

a) It is essential to indicate, at the time of submission, in the “Comments  to the Editor”, that the article has been deposited in one of the above servers and to provide the link with the preprint DOI.

b) Depositing the article as a preprint in one of the servers above makes the work publicly available and may allow for potential author identification. Therefore, when depositing the article as a preprint, the author acknowledges that reviewers may occasionally be aware of the authorship of the reviewed work, shifting the peer review process from double-blind (anonymity of both the author and reviewers) to single-blind peer review (peer review with simple anonymity), in which only the anonymity of one of the parties in the process – the reviewers – is guaranteed.

c) If the article is deposited in a preprint repository and rejected by this journal during the review process, it may subsequently be submitted only to journals that also accept articles previously deposited as preprints.

The journal authorizes, in addition to the deposit of submitted articles as preprints, the self-archiving of the final published version of the article (postprint) in any open access server or repository, such as Academia.edu and ResearchGate, as well as on social networks and institutional or personal websites.

1.3. Open Research Data

To promote data accessibility, transparency, and the reproducibility of research, the journal adopts parameters for the sharing of research data. Articles based on empirical data collected by the authors (e.g., sets of decisions from a specific court; interviews conducted with participants), in addition to a literature review, must deposit the research data files in an official data repository (such as FigShare). After the research data has been deposited in the journal's dataverse on SciELO Data, the article must include in the references list at the end, in addition to the cited bibliography, a full reference to the research data used, containing the following elements: SURNAME, First Name. Title of the dataset [dataset]. Day, month, and year. SciELO Data. DOI: DOI link.
If the article uses more than one dataset or subset, each dataset must be cited independently in the references list. The article must include a section titled “Data Availability” at the end, indicating the access link to the dataset available in the official data repository. In cases where data-sharing restrictions exist for ethical or legal reasons, these must be reported at the time of article submission.

2. PUBLISHING ETHICS AND BEST PRACTICES POLICY

To ensure an ethical and scientifically integral process of editing, reviewing, and publishing articles, the journal uses the following documents as guidelines for its editors, Editorial Board members, reviewers, and authors:

Below is a summary of the main duties addressed to editors, authors, and reviewers, which do not exclude others mentioned in the documents above, which should be considered as an integral part of the journal’s Publishing Ethics and Best Practices Policy:

Duties of Editors:

  • Publication decision: The journal’s editor is responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published. The editor is guided by the policies of the journal's editorial board and constrained by such legal requirements as shall then be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism. The editor may consult with editorial board or reviewers in decision making.
  • Fair play: The editor should evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.
  • Confidentiality: The editor and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate.
  • Disclosure and Conflicts of interest: The editor must not use unpublished information in his/her own research without the express written consent of the author. The editor should recuse him/herself from considering manuscripts in which he/she has conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or (possibly) institutions connected to the papers.
  • Involvement and cooperation in investigations: The editor should take reasonable responsive measures when ethical complaints have been presented concerning a submitted manuscript or published paper.

Duties of Reviewers:

  • Contribution to Editorial Decision: Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and through the editorial communications with the author may also assist the author in improving the paper.
  • Promptness: Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor and excuse himself from the review process.
  • Confidentiality: Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with others.
  • Standards of Objectivity: Reviews should be conducted objectively and referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.
  • Acknowledgement of Source: Peer reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. The peer reviewer should also call to the editor's attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.
  • Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.

Duties of Authors:

  • Reporting standards: Authors of reports of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the paper. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable..
  • Originality and Plagiarism: The authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others that this has been appropriately cited or quoted. Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.
  • Multiple or Redundant Publication: An author should not in general publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication. To publish the same article in different journals without informing the editors and having their agreement constitute unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.
  • Acknowledgement of Sources: Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work. Information obtained privately, as in conversation, correspondence, or discussion with third parties, must not be used or reported without explicit, written permission from the source. Information obtained in the course of confidential services, such as refereeing manuscripts or grant applications, must not be used without the explicit written permission of the author of the work involved in these services.
  • Authorship of the Paper: Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors. The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included on the paper, and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.
  • Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed.
  • Fundamental errors in published works: When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author’s obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper.

Duties of the Publisher

We are committed to ensuring that advertising, reprint or other commercial revenue has no impact or influence on editorial decisions.

3. CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY

Public trust in the peer review process and the credibility of published articles partially depend on how conflicts of interest are managed during the writing, peer review, and editorial decision-making processes. The journal adopts the following guidelines on this matter:

3.1. Authors submitting an article to the journal are required to declare whether or not conflicts of interest exist.

3.2. Conflicts of interest may arise when authors, reviewers, or editors have interests that, whether apparent or not, could influence the writing or evaluation of articles. The conflict of interest may be of a personal, commercial, political, academic, or financial nature.

3.3. When authors submit an article, they are responsible for acknowledging and disclosing any financial or other conflicts that could have influenced their work.

3.4. Authors must disclose in the article all financial support for the work and any other financial or personal connections related to the research. Contributions from individuals acknowledged for their assistance in the research must be described, and their consent for publication must be documented.

3.5. Articles will not be rejected solely because of the existence of a conflict of interest, but a statement must be made indicating the presence or absence of conflicts of interest, transparently and including all relevant information about the conflict.

3.6. Reviewers must also disclose to editors any conflicts of interest that could affect their opinions about the article and should declare themselves unqualified to review specific manuscripts if they believe this is appropriate. As with authors, if reviewers do not disclose potential conflicts, it will be assumed that no conflicts exist.

3.7. If a conflict of interest is identified on the part of a reviewer, the Editorial Board will forward the article to another ad hoc reviewer.

3.8. If authors are uncertain about what might constitute a potential conflict of interest, they should contact the Editor-in-Chief of the journal.

3.9. For cases where editors or other staff members frequently publish in the journal, no special or preferential treatment will be granted. All articles submitted by them will be evaluated through the double-blind peer review process.

4. MISCONDUCT, ERRATA, AND RETRACTION POLICY

4.1. Process for the Verification of Misconduct and Violations

4.1.1. Suspicions of misconduct or violations of the journal's Editorial Policies or Author Guidelines may be reported to the journal's email: [email protected]

4.1.2. If a suspicion of misconduct or violation of the journal's Editorial Policies is found, either by the editors or through submitted reports, the editors will conduct a thorough and detailed examination of the situation, gathering as much documentary evidence as possible regarding the potential violation.

4.1.3. Once evidence of a possible violation is found, the editors will notify the parties involved via email of the identified irregularity and allow a 15-day period for response, which may be reduced to 5 days for serious violations.

4.1.4. After receiving the responses from the accused parties, the editors will analyze the arguments and make a decision regarding the occurrence of misconduct or violation, consulting the Editorial Board members for opinions if necessary, to assist in the decision-making process.

4.1.5. If misconduct or violation is confirmed, the editors may apply the following sanctions, separately or cumulatively, depending on the severity of the facts:

a) A written warning, in private;
b) Publication of an erratum or explanatory note;
c) Rejection of the article if it has not yet been published;
d) Formal retraction of the article, partially or entirely, as outlined below;
e) Removal of the reviewer or editor;
f) Temporary or permanent ban on the author from submitting new articles to the journal;
g) Written communication to the author's, reviewer's, or editor's home institution.

4.1.6. If the process originated from a report, the editors will inform the reporter of the conclusion of the process and the grounds for the decision.

4.2. Process for the Publication of Errata and Article Retraction

4.2.1. In cases where an erratum or article retraction needs to be published, the journal will follow the procedures outlined in the Guide for the registration, tagging, and publication of Errata by SciELO, the Guide for the registration, tagging, and publication of retractions by SciELO, and the COPE Retraction Guidelines.

4.2.2. Errata will be published when authors, editors, reviewers, or readers identify the need for corrections in documents published by the journal due to errors or failures that do not constitute misconduct.

4.2.3. When serious problems or misconduct are identified in already published articles, the journal may proceed with: (i) partial retraction: registration and disclosure of the issue in an excerpt of the publication; (ii) total retraction: cancellation of the entire content of the publication.

4.2.4. Retraction will be carried out by publishing a "Retraction Notice" explaining the reasons for the retraction in the most recent issue of the journal. This notice will be added to the original article file in the issue where it was published. The article will not be removed from the issue in which it was published but will include the "Retraction Notice" and: (i) in the case of partial retraction: a black mark with a retraction notice on the affected figure, table, paragraph, or section; (ii) in the case of total retraction: a watermark reading "RETRACTED ARTICLE" on all pages of the document.

4.2.5. If the reason for retraction involves misconduct or a violation of the journal's Editorial Policies, it will be preceded by the "4.1. Process for the Verification of Misconduct and Violations" described above.

5. PLAGIARISM POLICY AND SIMILARITY CHECK SOFTWARE

The journal uses Turnitin’s iThenticate software to check for plagiarism and similarities between the submitted article and previous publications. Plagiarism checks are conducted during the desk review stage, after the article’s compliance with the Author Guidelines has been verified and before the article is submitted for peer review. If plagiarism is detected in the article, the procedure described in the "4.1. Process for the Verification of Misconduct and Violations" section above will be followed, potentially culminating in the total retraction of the article as outlined in "4.2. Process for the Publication of Errata and Article Retraction". The steps of the process adhere to the COPE flowchart Plagiarism in a submitted manuscript.

6. LICENSE AND COPYRIGHT POLICY

The journal adopts the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License for both its website content and published articles.

Authors who publish in this Journal agree to the following terms:

6.1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication with the article simultaneously licensed under the Creative Commons - Attribution 4.0 International which allows sharing the work with recognition of the authors and its initial publication in this Journal.

6.2. Authors are able to take on additional contracts separately, for non-exclusive distribution of the version of the paper published in this Journal (eg.: publishing in institutional repository or as a book), with a recognition of its initial publication in this Journal.

6.3. Authors are allowed and encouraged to publish and distribute their work online on personal blogs, institutional repositories, academic social networks, and personal social media platforms, provided that a full citation to the journal's version of the work is included. This may be done at any stage before or during the editorial process, as it can lead to productive exchanges and increase the impact and citation of the published work (see the Effect of Open Access).

6.4. Authors have the right to:

a) Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercially.
b) Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
c) The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as the author follow the license terms.

6.5. Under the following terms:

a) Attribution — Authors must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. Authors may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses the authors or their use.
b) No additional restrictions — Authors may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

6.6. Notices:

a) Authors do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where their use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation .
b) No warranties are given. The license may not give the authors all of the permissions necessary for their intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how the authors use the material.

7. PRIVACY POLICY

All data provided by authors to this journal will be used exclusively for the services provided by this publication and will not be made available for other purposes or to third parties.