Peer Review Process

The Afro-Asian Journal of Law and Governance operates a rigorous double-blind peer-review process to promote academic quality, objectivity, fairness, and scholarly integrity.

Initial Editorial Screening

On submission, each manuscript is assessed through an initial editorial evaluation in order to establish:

  1. its relevance to the scope and orientation of the Journal;
  2. compliance with the Journal’s submission requirements;
  3. originality and quality of the academic research; and
  4. compliance with the relevant publication ethics.

Manuscripts that fall short of meeting the minimum requirements may be rejected without being subjected to any external peer review.

Double-Blind Peer Review

Manuscripts that meet the initial editorial requirements are typically subjected to at least two independent peer reviews from experts in the relevant subject area of the manuscript.

In the case of double-blind peer review, the identities of the author(s) and reviewers are kept confidential to the maximum extent possible.

Reviewers typically evaluate manuscripts according to the following criteria:

  1. originality and contribution to law and scholarship;
  2. methodological rigor and appropriateness;
  3. quality of legal/theoretical/empirical/interdisciplinary analysis;
  4. clarity, coherence, structure and organization;
  5. quality, relevance and adequacy of references and citations; and
  6. significance, relevance and impact of the research.

Editorial Decisions

The decision based on review reports of the reviewers and the Editorial Review shall include one of the following outcomes:

  1. Accept without revision;
  2. Accept with minor revisions;
  3. Resubmit after major revision; or
  4. Reject.

The authors shall adequately respond to the reviewers’ remarks and return their manuscript(s) revised within the stipulated time frame as communicated by the Editorial Office.

Review Process Timeline

It is the intention of the Journal, wherever possible, to conduct its peer-review process within 4-8 weeks of receipt of the manuscript(s). However, it is dependent upon the availability of appropriate reviewers, the nature of the manuscript, the search for the right reviewers, and time taken by the authors for revision.