Peer Review, Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Originality, Peer Review, Publication, Ethics and Malpractices Statement of the Journal of Anti-Corruption Law

The Journal of Anti-Corruption Law follows the Committee on Publication Ethics' Guidelines available at (https://publicationethics.org/resources/flowcharts/complete-set-english ) when dealing with originality, peer review, publication, ethics and malpractices

The editors will consider only manuscripts that comply with the following requirements:

Originality of the submitted manuscript.

  • Authors must indicate in a covering letter/email accompanying the manuscript that it is an original piece that has not already been submitted for publication or published elsewhere. Only manuscripts that have not already been submitted for publication or published elsewhere will be considered.

Peer-review process: 

  • All manuscripts will be subjected to a double peer review process by at least two experts in the relevant field, for their views on whether the submitted manuscript is publishable.  The review process is double-blind, in the sense that reviewers and author(s) are not aware of their identity.
  • Reviewers are required to engage in an objective assessment and should indicate if they have any conflict of interest. After peer review reports are received, the Editors decide on whether to invite authors to submit a revised version of the article together with a report on how authors have implemented comments from the reviewers. On receipt of the revised version, the Editors decide on whether to publish.
  • Upon publication, they will be made freely available online. The copyright of articles is retained by the author/s who also retain publishing rights.
  • The Journal will not publish more than 25% of manuscripts from students, staff or persons associated with the University of the Western Cape on an annual basis.
  • The Editors reserve the right to modify manuscripts that have successfully passed through the peer-review process, to bring them in conformity with the house style, to improve accuracy, to eliminate mistakes and ambiguity, and to bring the manuscript in line with the tenets of plain legal language.
  • Manuscripts must follow the Journal of Anti-Corruption Law style guidelines for contributors. Manuscripts that do not conform to the Journal of Anti-Corruption Law’s style guidelines will be rejected out of hand.
  • The Journal of Anti-Corruption Law is published in English. Manuscripts will not be considered if the English is below standard. In case of doubt about the correct use of the English language, authors are advised to have their text checked by an English first language speake before submission.
  • Manuscripts should comprise an average of between 7 000 and 10 000 words (including footnotes) in length. Authors of manuscripts must indicate their current professional and/or academic affiliations. Authors should supply a summary of their contributions of not more than 150 words, setting out the main findings and contribution to scholarship. Footnotes must be numbered consecutively.  
  • Manuscripts should be submitted on the online system at https://www.epubs.ac.za/index.php/jacl/submissions 
  • Authors must provide their ORCID identifier together with their manuscript. ORCID provides a persistent digital identifier that distinguishes you from every other researcher and, through integration in key research workflows such as manuscript and grant submission, supports automated linkages between you and your professional activities ensuring that your work is recognised. If you do not have such an ID, please register at the website https://orcid.org/register, and thereafter provide us with your ID.  

Publication ethics and publication malpractice statement

  • Authors should observe high standards with respect to publication ethics as set out in the guidelines adopted by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), https://publicationethics.org/retraction-guidelines). Any cases of ethical misconduct will be treated very seriously and will be dealt with in accordance with these guidelines.
  • In the event that the Journal of Anti-Corruption Law publisher or editors are made aware of any allegation of research misconduct, the publisher or editor will investigate and act upon such allegations.
  • When information comes to the attention of the publisher or editors of the Journal of Anti-Corruption Law that requires the retraction or correction of a published article, the matter must be investigated and acted upon appropriately.  TheJournal of Anti-Corruption Law is committed to publishing corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies when so required, in the issue immediately following, in line with COPE guidelines.