Journal Policy

The Indonesian Journal of Criminal Law Studies (IJCLS) is a scholarly journal dedicated to the publication and dissemination of original research in criminal law and related fields. This Journal Policy establishes the general principles governing manuscript submission, editorial evaluation, peer review, publication ethics, access to published content, and the responsibilities of authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher.

All parties involved in the publication process are expected to comply with the applicable journal policies and author guidelines. IJCLS seeks to maintain academic quality, editorial independence, transparency, research integrity, and responsible scholarly communication.

IJCLS publishes scholarly contributions relevant to criminal law and criminal justice, including comparative criminal law, criminal law theory and reform, criminal procedure, law enforcement, penitentiary law, criminology, victimology, juvenile criminal law, international criminal law, and other related areas within its stated focus and scope.

Editorial decisions are based on the manuscript's originality, academic quality, relevance to the journal's scope, methodological appropriateness, contribution to legal scholarship, peer-review assessments where applicable, and compliance with publication ethics requirements. Editorial decisions are made independently of improper external influence.

Authors must submit manuscripts through the journal's designated submission system and comply with the current Author Guidelines and manuscript template. Submissions must fall within the journal's scope and meet the applicable requirements for structure, citation, references, language, declarations, and supporting documents.

By submitting a manuscript, authors confirm that the work is original, that appropriate credit has been given to the work of others, and that the submission does not improperly duplicate or conflict with another publication. Authors must disclose relevant conflicts of interest, funding sources, research ethics approvals where applicable, and other information required by the journal.

Authors are responsible for the accuracy and integrity of their submissions, the appropriate attribution of contributions, and obtaining permission for third-party materials where required. All listed authors should meet the journal's applicable authorship criteria and approve the submitted and revised manuscripts.

Submitted manuscripts undergo an initial editorial assessment to determine their suitability for the journal, compliance with submission requirements, and readiness for further evaluation. Manuscripts that do not meet the journal's basic requirements or fall outside its scope may be declined before external peer review.

Manuscripts proceeding to peer review are evaluated under the journal's established review procedure. IJCLS applies a double-blind peer-review process, under which the identities of authors and reviewers are concealed from each other to the extent practicable. At least two qualified reviewers are invited to assess the manuscript, subject to the journal's review procedures.

Reviewers assess matters including originality, scholarly contribution, accuracy of legal analysis, methodological appropriateness, use of sources, clarity of argument, and relevance to the journal's scope. The Editor-in-Chief or authorized editor makes the final editorial decision after considering the available assessments and the journal's requirements.

Possible editorial decisions include acceptance, minor revision, major revision, or rejection. A request for revision does not guarantee acceptance. Further review or additional revision may be required where necessary.

Authors receiving a decision of Minor Revision, Major Revision, or Revision Required must address the comments and recommendations provided by the Editor and/or Reviewers. Authors must provide a point-by-point Response to Reviewers explaining how each comment has been addressed. Any disagreement with a recommendation should be supported by a clear academic explanation.

Authors must submit both a revised manuscript with Microsoft Word Track Changes activated and a clean revised manuscript without revision marks. The two versions must be consistent, and all substantive changes made after the previous submission must be identifiable in the tracked version.

Authors must also submit the required plagiarism similarity report and AI detection report for the revised manuscript. The applicable thresholds, reporting requirements, and procedures are set out in the journal's Plagiarism Policy, AI-related requirements, and Revised Manuscript Policy. The Editorial Team may return incomplete or non-compliant revision files for correction.

IJCLS is committed to responsible scholarly publishing and uses the guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), including its Core Practices, as a reference for its publication ethics procedures.

Unethical practices include plagiarism, self-plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, citation manipulation, redundant publication, inappropriate authorship practices, undisclosed conflicts of interest, and manipulation of the peer-review process. Authors, editors, reviewers, and other relevant parties are expected to disclose and address potential conflicts of interest.

Allegations of research or publication misconduct are assessed fairly and confidentially, as appropriate. Depending on the circumstances, the journal may request explanations, consult relevant experts or institutions, correct the scholarly record, issue an expression of concern, retract an article, or take other appropriate action under its applicable policies.

IJCLS screens manuscripts for similarity and potential plagiarism using Turnitin or another editorially approved similarity-checking tool. Authors must ensure that quotations, paraphrases, data, and ideas drawn from other sources are properly attributed and referenced.

Authors must comply with the similarity threshold and screening procedures specified in the journal's Plagiarism Policy. A similarity score alone does not determine whether plagiarism has occurred; the Editorial Team may examine the nature, source, context, and extent of matching text in making its assessment.

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, citations, and conclusions of their manuscripts, including content prepared with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) tools. AI tools must not be listed as authors.

Where required by the journal's applicable policy, authors must disclose the use of AI tools in preparing the manuscript and must verify all generated content, references, quotations, and factual claims. AI tools must not be used to fabricate data, invent sources, misrepresent research findings, or conceal misconduct.

Any AI detection threshold and report-submission requirement must be applied in accordance with the journal's specific AI-related policy. An AI detection score is an estimate produced by a tool and should not, by itself, be treated as conclusive proof that content was generated by AI.

All authors must have made an appropriate scholarly contribution to the work, approve the final manuscript, and accept responsibility for their contributions. Changes to authorship after submission must be explained and handled in accordance with the journal's procedures.

Authors must disclose relevant funding and financial or non-financial interests that could reasonably be perceived to influence the research or its interpretation. Editors and reviewers must disclose competing interests and withdraw from decisions or assessments where impartiality may be compromised.

Conflicts of interest are managed in accordance with the journal's applicable Conflict of Interest Policy and relevant publication ethics guidance.

IJCLS supports open access to scholarly research to facilitate the dissemination of knowledge and broader academic exchange. Access to published content is governed by the journal's Open Access Policy and applicable publication arrangements.

Authors' copyright, the journal's first-publication rights, permitted reuse, and licensing conditions are governed by the journal's Copyright Policy and License Policy. The journal's stated license is Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0), subject to the terms of that license and the journal's published policies.

Authors and readers should consult the relevant policy pages for the applicable terms of reuse, attribution, distribution, and self-archiving.

Applicable article processing charges (APCs), proofreading costs, and payment procedures are governed by the journal's official publication fee and submission information. Authors should rely only on official payment instructions issued through the journal's designated system or by the authorized service provider.

APCs and proofreading fees are separate charges where both apply. Payment instructions, invoices, and the responsible recipient must be verified against the applicable official policy and invoice. Authors should not rely on unofficial payment requests or instructions that cannot be verified through the journal's authorized channels.

The applicable amount, eligibility conditions, and timing of payment are determined by the journal's current fee policy and official instructions communicated to authors.

IJCLS recognizes the importance of maintaining the accuracy and integrity of the published scholarly record. Where a published article contains an error or raises a substantiated concern about research integrity, the journal will assess the matter in accordance with its applicable policies and relevant publication ethics guidance.

Depending on the nature and significance of the concern, the journal may publish a correction, an expression of concern, or a retraction. Editorial action will be proportionate to the evidence and will be documented through an appropriate notice linked to the affected article wherever practicable.

Scholarly comments, concerns, and post-publication discussions may be considered when they are relevant, evidence-based, and presented in a professional manner. These matters are handled under the journal's Correction and Retraction Policy, Allegations of Research Misconduct Policy, and Post-Publication Discussion Policy.

IJCLS seeks to support the long-term availability and discoverability of its published content through applicable archiving and preservation arrangements. Authors may deposit permitted versions of their work in accordance with the journal's Archiving Policy, copyright conditions, and licensing terms.

Specific preservation services, repository participation, and archiving permissions are subject to the journal's published Archiving Policy and the actual arrangements maintained by the publisher.

The Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Team are responsible for applying the journal's editorial policies consistently and for ensuring that editorial decisions are made through appropriate procedures. Authors, reviewers, and other parties may raise relevant concerns through the journal's designated official communication channels.

IJCLS may update its policies when necessary to reflect developments in scholarly publishing, changes in institutional requirements, or improvements in editorial practice. Policy updates should be communicated through the journal's official website. The policy applicable to a particular submission or published article will be determined in accordance with the journal's stated procedures and relevant circumstances.