Author guidelines

Revista de Estudios Jurídicos y Criminológicos accepts works on any matters related to criminology or the law as long as they are original, topical and innovative, and are based on a reliable and quality methodology, are well written and easy to read, and meet the FECYT requirements and tie in with the aims, scope and approach of the journal.

With regards to copyright, the general policy of the journal applies, which can be accessed through the website.

Manuscripts written by one or several authors are accepted.

Manuscripts will present the following structure (please check the template in Annex I):

- Title: clear, accurate and informative. It should be presented in the language of the original work and also in English (if the original text was written in any other language).

- Name and surname of the author(s), including the ORCID code.

- Academic or professional affiliations of the author(s).

- Abstract and keywords (sufficiently identifying the subject(s) and specialisation(s) of the manuscript).

- Abstract and keywords in English (if the original language was different).

- Uniform presentation of the references both in footnotes and in the reference list at the end of the manuscript.

- Only footnotes will be accepted, not endnotes.

The manuscripts may incorporate links to webpages, these should be clearly indicated and should not be underlined (no link format).

With regards to accepted manuscripts, the journal commits to indicating the dates of receipt and acceptance in a visible place in the publication.

Manuscripts should be submitted according to the deadlines established by the journal, in order to follow the scheduled selection process .

A template is provided in Annex I to facilitate writing manuscripts according to the author guidelines that are included in this document.

The length of manuscripts depends on the section of the journal in which authors intend to publish their works. The longest texts, of major scientific impact, are the articles, which will be included in the Studies section, and should consist of 20 to 40 pages (approximately 184,000 characters with spaces). The Analysis section is devoted to shorter texts, not exceeding 15 pages (approximately 60,000 characters). Finally, for Chronicles and Reviews there are no limits on length, as it is understood that these manuscripts will be in accordance with the nature of these kinds of works. Further information about the sections of the journal can be accessed at About the journal.

1. Language

Manuscripts written in Spanish, English, French, Italian or Portuguese are accepted.

Foreign words included in the texts should be written using italics, as well as the titles of journals, books and treaties.

2.- Font and size, line spacing and justification of margins  

Manuscripts should use Times New Roman rounded serifs.

The main text should use 1.15-point line spacing and 12-point size font.

The text in footnotes should be single spaced and 10-point size font.

The whole text will be justified and not indented, neither the first lines of the paragraphs nor the first lines of the different headings or subheadings.

Paragraphs will use 6-point spacing, before and after the paragraph.

3. Format of headings, summary, abstract and keywords

The main title of the manuscript should use bold, centred, lowercase letters in 14-point Times New Roman font. The English translation should appear immediately under the title in the original language, in italics and centred, and not in bold.

The information identifying the authors and their academic or professional affiliations should use 12-point Times New Roman, not in italics, in the subsequent lines and be centred. The names and surnames of the authors should use bold type.

The summary should use 11-point Times New Roman font and single line spacing.

The abstract should use 11-point Times New Roman font and single line spacing, and will not exceed 250 words.

The abstract in English (translation from the original abstract written in the language of the work) should appear with the same font type and size in italics, and with single line spacing.

The number of keywords accepted is between five and ten (exceptionally, the number may be higher if the diversity and specialisation of the manuscript so requires) in 11-point Times New Roman font, with single line spacing.

Keywords in English (if English is not the original language of the work) should use italics and the same font type and size, and single line spacing.

Headings and subheadings should use 12-point size Times New Roman font with the following format:

  1. FIRST LEVEL

I.1. Second level

I.1.A. Third level

The reference list will be incorporated as any other heading is incorporated, at the end of the work.

To comply with these format guidelines, use of the following template is recommended.

4. Wording references and legal precedents

4.1. Guidelines for abbreviations, acronyms and legal regulations in citations

The first citation of a regulation will show its complete denomination followed by its abbreviation or acronym in parentheses preceded by the word “hereinafter”.

Example: Organic Act 6/1985, of 1 July, of the Judiciary System (hereinafter, LOPJ).

The same format applies to abbreviations and acronyms. Authors should try to limit their use of abbreviations and acronyms so that their use does not become excessive, except for ones in common use. In general terms, acronyms should not use any punctuation, although abbreviations may do so (for example, art., Prof.). For example:

In the headquarters of the United Nations (hereinafter UN), […] will meet pursuant to art. 28.

4.2. Citation of authors

In the main text, citations should be incorporated exclusively showing the surname(s) of the author in uppercase letters, and not the initial or complete name (for example: "[...] SURNAME1 SURNAME2 claims […]").

In footnote citations, the first time that an author is cited, the reference will be shown as follows, depending on the type of publication: monographs, scientific articles, or book chapters:

4.2.1. Citation of a monograph (including ISBN is optional)

SURNAME1 SURNAME2, N., Title of the monograph, Publisher, City, edition, year, page.

Example: 

The second and subsequent times, the citation may be shortened as follows:

SURNAME1 SURNAME2, N., Title of the monograph…, op. cit. page.

Example:

4.2.2. Citation of a scientific article in a print journal (ISSN is optional)

SURNAME1 SURNAME2, N., “Title of the article”, Title of the journal, number, year, page.

Example:

The second and subsequent times the citation may be shortened as follows:

SURNAME1 SURNAME2, N., “Title of the article”, op. cit., page.

Example:

4.2.3. Citation of a scientific article in a digital journal (ISSNe is optional)

SURNAME1 SURNAME2, N., “Title of the article”, Title of the journal, number, year, page (where possible, indicate page numbers), (www.link.com, accessed: 12/2/2020).

The second and subsequent times, the citation may be shortened as follows:

SURNAME1 SURNAME2, N., “Title of the article”, op. cit., page (if possible, include page numbers and, if not, the hyperlink).

4.2.4. Citation of a chapter

SURNAME1 SURNAME2, N., “Title of the chapter”, in AA. VV., Title of the book, Madrid, Aranzadi, 1st ed. 2012, p. 2.

SURNAME1 SURNAME2, N., “Title of the chapter”, in Title of the book, (dir./coord. Rodríguez Tirado, A.M.), Madrid, Aranzadi, 1st ed., 2012, p. 2.

The second and subsequent times, the citation may be shortened as follows:

SURNAME1 SURNAME2, N., “Title of the chapter”, op. cit., p. 54.

The reference list should show, at the end of the work, the complete references including the page numbers of the cited chapters or articles, and not the exact page used for elaboration of the manuscript.

5.3. Citation of legal precedents

The first citation of a ruling should be incorporated in full, indicating the judgement; the corresponding court, tribunal or institution and, where appropriate, the Division or Section, the date, the set of precedents and, when applicable, the reference to legal foundations, according to the following guiding examples:

STS, 1st Division, 9 March 2019 (precedents), lf 2.

STSJ Andalusia, Civil and Criminal Division, 9 March 2019 (precedents), lf 3.

SAP Cádiz, 1st Section, 9 March 2019 (precedents), lf 1.

It is recommended that the complete reference is included in the text, as well as the reference to the ruling in a footnote. In resolutions of collegiate judicial bodies, the citation of the reporting judge is optional.

Likewise, use of the ECLI system is recommended.

4. 

To ensure the integrity of anonymous peer review, every effort must be made to prevent authors from knowing the identity of reviewers, and vice versa. To achieve this, authors, editors, and reviewers uploading documents for review should follow the following steps regarding the text and file properties:

  1. Authors of the document have removed their names from the text and have used "Author" and the publication year in the references and footnotes instead of the author's name, article title, etc.

  2. Authors of the document have removed personal information from the file properties by following these steps:

     

    Microsoft Word for Windows:

    1. Go to "File"
    2. Select "Info"
    3. Click on "Check for Issues"
    4. Click on "Inspect Document"
    5. In the "Inspect Document" dialog box, select the checkboxes to choose the type of hidden content you want to inspect.
    6. Click on "Remove All"
    7. Click on "Close"
    8. Save the document

    Microsoft Word for macOS:

    1. Go to "Tools"
    2. Click on "Protect Document"
    3. Select "Remove personal information from this file on save"
    4. Click OK and save the file

    PDF:

    1. Go to "File"
    2. Select "Properties"
    3. Remove any names from the "Author" field
    4. Click OK
    5. Save the document

5. Submission of manuscripts

Authors must submit their works through the website.

Should you have any queries with regards to the manuscript submission procedure, please read the following Document.