About the Journal
Focus and Scope
The Law Journal is a biannual publication of the Division of Legal Sciences of Universidad del Norte (Barranquilla, Colombia) created in 1992. It seeks to encourage unpublished academic studies and dissemination of intellectual production, national and international, in all scientific research topics in law and political science.
The Law Journal publishes research articles, review and reflection, as well as case reports. Embraces preferably produced items masters and doctoral studies, written in English and Spanish, but also accepts manuscripts in French, Italian and Portuguese, in order to promote cross-border and cross-cultural dialogue. Being a refereed publication, the Editorial Board will send the preselected articles to anonymous referees, who, based on the criteria of scientific rigor, without knowing the names of the authors, will decide on the relevance and rigor of its publication.
Scientific contributions will be received through our Open Journal System, which is accessed through this website.
Ethical Standards
Currently, Universidad del Norte publishes 10 journals. Publication of an article in an academic peer-reviewed journal serves several functions, one of which is to validate and preserve the “minutes” of research. It is therefore of great importance that these “minutes” are accurate and trustworthy. The act of publishing involves many parties, each of which plays an important role in achieving these goals. It therefore follows that the author, the journal editor, the peer-reviewer, and the publisher have responsibilities to meet expected ethical standards at all stages in their involvement from submission to publication of an article.
Universidad del Norte is committed to meeting and upholding standards of ethical behavior at all stages of the publication process. We follow closely the industry associations, such as the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICJME) and World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), that set standards and provide guidelines for best practices in order to meet these requirements.
Below is a summary of our key expectations of editors, peer-reviewers and authors, which adhere to the publication ethics and malpractice policies outlined by COPE. More extensive resources are available from COPE and (WAME) .
1. ETHICAL EXPECTATIONS
· To act in a balanced, objective and fair way while carrying out their expected duties, without discrimination on grounds of gender, sexual orientation, religious or political beliefs, ethnic or geographical origin of the authors.
· To handle submissions for sponsored supplements or special issues in the same way as other submissions, so that articles are considered and accepted solely on their academic merit and without commercial influence.
· To adopt and follow reasonable procedures in the event of complaints of an ethical or conflict nature. To give authors a reasonable opportunity to respond to any complaints. All complaints should be investigated no matter when the original publication was approved. Documentation associated with any such complaints should be retained.
Reviewers’ responsibilities
· To contribute to the decision-making process, and to assist in improving the quality of the published paper by reviewing the manuscript objectively, in a timely manner
· To maintain the confidentiality of any information supplied by the editor or author. To not retain or copy the manuscript.
· To alert the editor to any published or submitted content that is substantially similar to that under review.
· To be aware of any potential conflicts of interest (financial, institutional, collaborative or other relationships between the reviewer and author) and to alert the editor to these, if necessary withdrawing their services for that manuscript.
Authors’ responsibilities
· To maintain accurate records of data associated with their submitted manuscript, and to supply or provide access to these data, on reasonable request. Where appropriate and where allowed by employer, funding body and others who might have an interest, to deposit data in a suitable repository or storage location, for sharing and further use by others.
· To confirm that the manuscript as submitted is not under consideration or accepted for publication elsewhere. Where portions of the content overlap with published or submitted content, to acknowledge and cite those sources. Additionally, to provide the editor with a copy of any submitted manuscript that might contain overlapping or closely related content.
· To confirm that all the work in the submitted manuscript is original and to acknowledge and cite content reproduced from other sources. To obtain permission to reproduce any content from other sources.
· Authors must guarantee that any studies involving human or animal subjects conform to national, local and institutional laws and requirements (e.g. WMA Declaration of Helsinki, NIH Policy on Use of laboratory Animals, EU Directive on Use of Animals) and confirm that approval has been sought and obtained where appropriate. Authors should obtain express permission from human subjects and respect their privacy.
· To declare any potential conflicts of interest (e.g. where the author has a competing interest (real or apparent) that could be considered or viewed as exerting an undue influence on his or her duties at any stage during the publication process).
· To notify promptly the journal editor or publisher if a significant error in their publication is identified. To cooperate with the editor and publisher to publish an erratum, addendum, corrigendum notice, or to retract the paper, where this is deemed necessary.
Publisher responsibilities
· Universidad del Norte shall ensure that good practice is maintained to the standards outlined above.
2. PROCEDURES FOR DEALING WITH UNETHICAL BEHAVIOUR
Identification of unethical behaviour
· Misconduct and unethical behaviour may be identified and brought to the attention of the editor and publisher at any time, by anyone.
· Whoever informs the editor or publisher of such conduct should provide sufficient information and evidence in order for an investigation to be initiated. All allegations should be taken seriously and treated in the same way, until a successful decision or conclusion is reached.
Investigation
· An initial decision should be taken by the editor, who should consult with or seek advice from the publisher, if appropriate.
· Evidence should be gathered, while avoiding spreading any allegations beyond those who need to know.
Minor breaches
· Minor misconduct might be dealt with without the need to consult more widely. In any event, the author should be given the opportunity to respond to any allegations.
Serious breaches
· Serious misconduct might require that the employers of the accused be notified. The editor, in consultation with the publisher, should make the decision whether or not to involve the employers, either by examining the available evidence themselves or by further consultation with a limited number of experts.
Outcomes
(in increasing order of severity; may be applied separately or in conjunction)
· Informing or educating the author or reviewer where there appears to be a misunderstanding or misapplication of acceptable standards.
· A more strongly worded letter to the author or reviewer covering the misconduct and as a warning to future behaviour.
· Publication of a formal notice detailing the misconduct.
· Publication of an editorial detailing the misconduct.
· A formal letter to the head of the author’s or reviewer’s department or funding agency.
· Formal retraction or withdrawal of a publication from the journal, in conjunction with informing the head of the author or reviewer’s department, Abstracting & Indexing services and the readership of the publication.
· Imposition of a formal embargo on contributions from an individual for a defined period.
· Reporting the case and outcome to a professional organisation or higher authority for further investigation and action.
SOURCE
http://publicationethics.org/files/u2/New_Code.pdf
http://publicationethics.org/resources/guidelines
Peer Review Process
Being a refereed publication, the Editorial Board will send the preselected articles to anonymous referees, who based on the criteria of scientific rigor, decide on the relevance of its publication. The referees are selected for their high intellectual and academic qualities (masters and doctoral studies). The evaluation method is a “double-blind” review: neither the writer knows which peer evaluator has the article been sent to, nor the evaluator knows who the author of the article, this in order to keep the results from being influenced by the observer bias effect. Once the peer’s opinion has been issued, the Committee reserves the right to: accept the article in the version presented, requesting amendments and condition its publication to the satisfaction of the Committee and / or the anonymous reviewers, or reject it outright if the modifications are not implemented.
Scientific contributions will be received through our Open Journal System, which is accessed through this website.
Publication Frequency
The Law Journal is published on a biannual basis.
Open Access Policy
This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge
Sponsors
Ediciones Universidad del Norte
