Editorial Policies

Editorial Policies

1) Focus and Scope / Editorial Line

The Revista da EMERJ specializes in the various branches of legal knowledge in its broadest sense. In addition to specifically legal themes, it encompasses Law in its relations with Sociology, Philosophy, Economics, History, Psychology, and Politics.

The journal welcomes original essays on legal dogmatics as well as articles with theoretical, applied, and methodological approaches. In this way, it seeks to contribute to the deepening of interdisciplinary knowledge and to critical debates and discussions that are so necessary and enriching for the legal community in Brazil.

Main Area: Applied Social Sciences [6.00.00.00-7] / Area: Law [6.01.00.00-1]

 

2) Journal History

Created in 1998, the Revista da EMERJ has undergone several transformations throughout its trajectory. In recent years, however, these changes have become more evident and, above all, have reflected the major advances achieved by the publication with the support of the entire legal community.

In 2018, the journal began a transformative process aimed at improving editorial quality and scientific production, with the implementation of the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform and the formation of a more diverse Editorial Board, seeking to expand its academic representativeness and reach higher levels in the Qualis/CAPES evaluation. During the 2017–2020 quadrennium, the journal achieved Qualis B4, a milestone that consolidated its presence in the scientific community and reinforced its commitment to continuous improvement.

As of 2024, the journal adopted the continuous publication model (CP), publishing articles in a single annual volume with ongoing manuscript evaluation. This change reaffirmed its commitment to the principles of Open Science, including the acceptance and evaluation of manuscripts previously deposited in recognized preprint servers.

During the same period, the journal strengthened its adherence to international standards of interoperability and digital preservation, with the activation of the LOCKSS and CLOCKSS systems and the implementation of the OAI-PMH (Open Archives Initiative – Protocol for Metadata Harvesting) in OJS, allowing for the automatic collection of article metadata by indexers and scientific repositories, thereby expanding the journal’s visibility and international integration.

In addition, the institution consolidated new editorial policies aligned with the principles of Open Science and the values of IDEIA (Impact, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility), reaffirming its commitment to transparency, diversity, and innovation in scholarly communication. These guidelines strengthen the journal’s role as a dynamic platform for the dissemination of legal and interdisciplinary knowledge, promoting the broad circulation and open access of high-quality academic production.

In 2025, the Revista da EMERJ achieved significant editorial and technological advances. It began assigning a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) to all published articles, ensuring the traceability, authenticity, and digital persistence of its publications.

In alignment with the global Open Science movement, the journal incorporated into its editorial policies compliance with the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) and TRUST (Transparency, Responsibility, User Focus, Sustainability, Technology) principles. These principles guide its ethical and technical practices, promoting a more open, responsible, and inclusive scholarly communication.

Starting in 2026, the Revista da EMERJ will enter a new phase of academic and technical strengthening, guided by strategic goals of internationalization and editorial excellence. Among its main initiatives is the planning of indexation in major databases and indexing systems, consolidating its visibility and credibility in both national and international scientific contexts.

As part of this process, the published articles will also be made available in HTML and XML formats, increasing accessibility, interoperability, and integration with academic search platforms and repositories, in line with the standards adopted by high-impact journals.

In the same period, the journal will adopt stricter submission criteria, accepting only manuscripts authored by Ph.D. holders, doctoral candidates, or master’s students in co-authorship with Ph.D. holders, reinforcing its commitment to scientific quality, originality, and academic excellence.

The journal also remains committed to participating in the training activities promoted by ABEC Brasil, seeking continuous updates on best editorial and interoperability practices. In this way, it reaffirms its mission to promote the dissemination of legal and interdisciplinary knowledge with academic rigor, diversity, and transparency.

 

3) Article Processing Charges (APCs)

The Revista da EMERJ does not charge fees for submission, peer review, or article processing (APCs), reaffirming its commitment to free and open access to scientific knowledge.

4) Peer Review Process

All manuscripts submitted to the Revista da EMERJ are received exclusively through the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform.

Upon receipt, the manuscripts are forwarded to the executive secretaries for a preliminary assessment (desk review), which verifies compliance with the journal’s submission and formatting requirements.

Manuscripts that meet these formal criteria are then sent for double-anonymous peer review, carried out by at least two ad hoc reviewers who are specialists in the thematic areas corresponding to the content of the work.

Once the evaluation and selection process is concluded, the authors are notified by email regarding the acceptance, revision requests, or rejection of their articles.

The reviewers’ reports are for internal and exclusive editorial use, and the identities of the reviewers involved in each process are not disclosed.

For detailed information on each stage of the peer review process, please refer to the Submission Guidelines section available on the journal’s website.

 

5) Publication Frequency

Since 2024, the Revista da EMERJ has adopted the continuous publication model (CP), in which approved articles are published progressively in a single annual volume, ensuring greater agility in scientific communication.

On average, the journal publishes ten or more articles per year, a number that may vary according to the flow of submissions and the editorial schedule.

Until 2023, issues were organized and published semiannually, in distinct volumes and numbers.

 

6) Open Access, Open Science, and Interoperability Policy

This journal offers immediate open access to its content, following the principle that making scientific knowledge freely available to the public fosters greater global democratization of knowledge.

The Revista da EMERJ is committed to the principles and practices of Open Science, ensuring that its content is accessible, interoperable, and reusable, in accordance with the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) and TRUST (Transparency, Responsibility, User Focus, Sustainability, Technology) principles.

Interoperability is one of the pillars of the journal’s editorial policy, enabling technical integration with national and international platforms, repositories, and indexing services. To ensure this communication between systems, the journal uses the Open Journal Systems (OJS), version 3.3.0.16, which implements the OAI-PMH protocol (Open Archives Initiative – Protocol for Metadata Harvesting).

This protocol allows the metadata of articles to be automatically collected by scientific databases and indexing services, increasing the visibility, dissemination, and digital preservation of the knowledge produced. The metadata are made available in open and standardized formats, compatible with both national and international interoperability systems.

The journal has an active registration with Crossref and assigns Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) to all articles published since 2025, ensuring traceability, authenticity, and digital persistence of its scientific content.

Regarding digital preservation, the journal adopts the LOCKSS and CLOCKSS systems, which ensure redundancy and long-term security of all published files.

The Revista da EMERJ encourages and supports the use of tools that promote the management and sharing of research data, reinforcing its commitment to the FAIR ecosystem and to transparency in research.

In alignment with the DEIA principles (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility), the journal has implemented digital accessibility resources, such as a Libras accessibility plugin within OJS and alternative text for images, promoting greater inclusion of all readers and authors. The journal also progressively follows the General Principles for Creating Accessible Content proposed by PKP (Public Knowledge Project), strengthening its commitment to accessibility and inclusive scholarly communication.

The Revista da EMERJ actively participates in the training programs and initiatives organized by ABEC Brasil, maintaining its alignment with best editorial practices and international standards of interoperability, integrity, and open scientific communication.

Finally, the journal recognizes the international movement toward open peer review and closely monitors its development. However, it acknowledges that, in the field of Law, the immediate adoption of this modality presents specific challenges, given the interpretive and sensitive nature of legal analyses. Nevertheless, the Revista da EMERJ reaffirms its progressive commitment to this process, seeking solutions that balance transparency, ethics, and academic security, in order to responsibly advance toward a more open and collaborative science.

 

7) Gender and Sex Equity in Research Policy

The Revista da EMERJ reaffirms its commitment to the principles of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA), promoting editorial practices that contribute to the advancement of scientific knowledge, the reduction of structural inequalities, and the appreciation of a plurality of perspectives.

The journal actively works to address systemic inequalities and biases, ensuring equitable opportunities for authors, reviewers, and members of the editorial team, as well as fostering an inclusive, accessible, and representative editorial environment.

Editors are encouraged to:

  1. Expand diversity in the selection of reviewers and collaborators;
  2. Promote the use of inclusive and accessible language in submitted and published texts;
  3. Encourage inclusive citation practices that reflect diverse perspectives and underrepresented groups.

The editorial team remains attentive to the barriers faced by authors, reviewers, and editors from minority groups and strives to:

  1. Prevent discrepancies in article acceptance related to gender, institutional affiliation, nationality, disability, or social background;
  2. Mitigate biases in editorial decision-making and peer review;
  3. Implement alternative procedures that promote equity, inclusion, and accessibility;
  4. Adopt sustainable practices that foster an ethical, diverse, and inclusive editorial culture.

 

8) Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use Policy

The Revista da EMERJ recognizes the growing role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the production and dissemination of scientific knowledge and advocates for its ethical, responsible, and transparent use. This policy establishes guidelines to guide authors, reviewers, and editors on the use of AI tools in all stages of the editorial process.

The use of AI must not replace human authorship, nor compromise the scientific integrity, originality, or intellectual responsibility of the authors.

Upon submission, authors must explicitly confirm that the content was created by humans and that no AI tool was used to autonomously generate text, images, data, or references.

If AI tools were employed for technical assistance, language editing, translation, data analysis, or methodological support, this must be clearly declared in the “Methods” section, specifying which technology was used, for what purpose, and at which stage of the research.

During submission, authors should also include a brief note in the “Comments for the Editor” field, disclosing any use of AI for internal record and verification purposes.

The use of AI tools is strictly prohibited for the preparation of peer review reports, ensuring that all evaluations are conducted entirely by human judgment.
Peer reviews must be written exclusively by human reviewers, preserving confidentiality, impartiality, originality, and ethical standards.
Uploading unpublished manuscripts to public AI systems constitutes a breach of editorial confidentiality and is expressly forbidden.

Editors and reviewers must base their decisions on critical analysis, academic expertise, and human judgment.
Technological tools may only be used for administrative purposes, such as plagiarism detection or formatting checks, provided that they do not expose unpublished content.

The journal reserves the right to conduct ethical investigations whenever there are indications of AI misuse, data manipulation, automated plagiarism, or a lack of transparency in AI disclosure. In such cases, the editorial board may request clarification or documentation from the authors.

Failure to comply with this policy — including omission or improper use of AI tools — may result in manuscript rejection or, in severe cases, retraction of the published article, following the best editorial practices recommended by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

 

9) Preprint Submission Policy

The Revista da EMERJ accepts the submission of manuscripts previously deposited in widely recognized preprint servers, as part of its commitment to the principles of Open Science. This practice contributes to the early dissemination of knowledge, broadens access to scientific information, and fosters collaboration among researchers.

At the time of submission, authors must inform in the “Comments for the Editor” field whether the manuscript has been previously made available as a preprint and provide the name of the server and the persistent link (DOI or URL) to the deposit.

The preprint must be properly cited and referenced within the article, in accordance with the journal’s citation standards. This transparency ensures traceability of the manuscript and acknowledges the contribution of the preprint to the development of the research.

Authors are encouraged to include complementary information about datasets, methodologies, and supplementary materials, promoting reproducibility and transparency in the scientific process.

Ad hoc reviewers will be instructed to consider the preprint as an integral part of the research process, ensuring fair, ethical, and constructive evaluation.

 

10) Publication Ethics and Best Practices Guidelines

The Revista da EMERJ strictly adheres to the ethical standards and best editorial practices recommended by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the Brazilian Association of Scientific Editors (ABEC Brasil), and other international research integrity bodies.

This policy governs the conduct of authors, reviewers, editors, and the editorial team, ensuring that all stages of publication — from submission to dissemination — are guided by transparency, integrity, impartiality, and academic responsibility.

Responsibilities of Editors and the Editorial Team

Editors are responsible for conducting the editorial process with impartiality, diligence, and respect for diverse academic perspectives. They must:

  1. Base their decisions solely on the scientific relevance, originality, and methodological quality of manuscripts;
  2. Ensure that the editorial process occurs without discrimination based on gender, race, origin, sexual orientation, religious belief, nationality, institutional affiliation, academic status, political position, or personal convictions;
  3. Maintain the confidentiality of all submitted content until publication;
  4. Take proportionate measures (correction, retraction, or expression of concern) in confirmed cases of ethical misconduct, following COPE Retraction Guidelines;
  5. Refrain from participating in editorial decisions involving manuscripts where they may have a conflict of interest — whether personal, professional, institutional, or financial — and ensure that no unpublished material is used in their own research without the author’s written consent;
  6. Use plagiarism detection tools: the Revista da EMERJ employs Plagius software to verify the originality of all submitted manuscripts. Editors are responsible for performing these checks before peer review;
  7. Periodically update editorial policies to reflect the latest best practices in ethics and scientific integrity.

Authors’ Responsibility
Authors are primarily responsible for the originality, accuracy, and integrity of the information presented in their manuscripts. They must:

  1. Originality and authenticity: Submissions must be original, presenting accurate results and well-founded discussions. Fraudulent data or misleading statements constitute unethical behavior.
  2. Plagiarism and self-plagiarism: Authors must ensure the originality of their work and that all third-party materials are properly cited and referenced. Plagiarism in any form is unacceptable.
  3. Redundant publication: Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal without prior authorization from the editors is prohibited.
  4. Acknowledgment of sources: The contributions of other authors must be properly acknowledged through appropriate citations. Information obtained privately (such as personal communications, project reviews, or reports) should not be used without explicit permission.
  5. Authorship and collaboration: Authorship should include only those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, execution, or interpretation of the research. All co-authors must have reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript.
  6. Conflicts of interest: Authors must disclose any financial or institutional relationships that could influence the content of the article.
  7. Errors and corrections: If an author identifies a significant error in their published article, they must promptly notify the editor and cooperate in correcting or retracting the work if necessary.
  8. Research ethics: Studies involving human participants or sensitive data must include approval from the relevant ethics committees and comply with applicable Brazilian and international ethical standards.

Reviewers’ Responsibility
Ad hoc reviewers play a crucial role in ensuring the scientific quality and credibility of the journal. They must conduct the evaluation process with ethics, impartiality, and strict confidentiality. They must:

  1. Contribution to editorial decisions: Reviews should assist editors in making editorial decisions and support authors in improving their manuscripts.
  2. Timeliness: Reviewers who feel unqualified to evaluate a given manuscript, or who cannot meet the review deadline, must promptly inform the editor.
  3. Confidentiality: Manuscripts received for review are confidential documents and must not be shared, discussed, or used for personal purposes.
  4. Standards of objectivity: Reviews must be technical, clear, and well-founded, avoiding personal or disparaging remarks.
  5. Acknowledgment of sources: Reviewers should identify relevant works not cited and alert the editor to any possible overlaps, plagiarism, or duplicate publications.
  6. Conflicts of interest: Reviewers must declare any potential personal, professional, or financial conflicts of interest and decline reviews that could compromise their impartiality.
  7. Use of Artificial Intelligence: The use of AI tools to prepare review reports is strictly prohibited, to ensure that evaluations are conducted entirely through human judgment.
  8. Integrity and confidentiality: Information obtained during the review process must remain confidential and must never be used for personal or third-party benefit.

The Revista da EMERJ will periodically review this policy to ensure continuous compliance with international standards of ethics, integrity, and best editorial practices.

 

11) Copyright and Licensing

The copyrights of the articles published in the Revista da EMERJ remain with their authors, who grant the journal the right of first publication of the work.
This policy ensures the preservation of authorship and the public recognition of individual scientific contributions.

All published content is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
This license allows third parties to copy, distribute, adapt, transform, and build upon the published material — including for commercial purposes — provided that proper credit is given to the original work and to the Revista da EMERJ.

Authors have the right to share and archive their published versions in institutional or personal repositories, or on preprint platforms, provided that the DOI and full citation of the article are indicated.

The Revista da EMERJ maintains a completely free publication model, with no submission, review, or article processing charges (APCs).
This policy aligns with the Diamond Open Access model, ensuring free access, use, and reuse of all published scientific content.

Partial or complete reproduction of articles must always comply with the terms of the Creative Commons license and must clearly acknowledge the original source of publication.

 

12) Author Rights Statement

Authors publishing in this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which allows others to share the work with acknowledgment of its authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are allowed to enter into additional non-exclusive agreements for the distribution of the published version of their work (e.g., posting it in institutional repositories or including it as a book chapter), provided that authorship and initial publication in this journal are properly acknowledged.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to publish and distribute their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on personal websites) at any point before or during the editorial process, as this may lead to productive exchanges and increase the visibility and citation impact of the published work (see The Open Access Effect).

 

13) Privacy Statement

The Revista da EMERJ ensures that all names, email addresses, and personal information provided by users during submission, evaluation, or publication will be used exclusively for editorial and administrative purposes.

Such data will not be shared, disclosed, or used for any other purposes, nor made available to third parties, except in cases required by law.

The journal adopts security, confidentiality, and integrity measures in accordance with the Brazilian General Data Protection Law (Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados Pessoais – LGPD, Law No. 13.709/2018), ensuring that the handling of information occurs ethically, transparently, and strictly within the editorial scope.

By submitting a manuscript or registering in the Open Journal Systems (OJS), the user agrees to this Privacy Statement and authorizes the use of their information solely for scholarly communication and editorial management purposes within the scope of the publication.

 

14) Archiving Policy

  1. All issues are stored and can be accessed through the Library of the Court of Justice – EMERJ.
  2. The LOCKSS system is permitted to store and distribute the content of this journal through the LOCKSS Publisher Manifest.
  3. The CLOCKSS system is activated to preserve and distribute the journal’s content through participating libraries via a Publisher Manifest.
  4. The interoperability of metadata is ensured through the OAI-PMH protocol implemented in the OJS platform, allowing automatic harvesting of information by interoperable digital preservation systems and repositories.

 

15) Statement Against Predatory Journals

The Revista da EMERJ firmly reiterates its commitment to the integrity of academic research and strongly condemns predatory journal practices.
Such publications, which exploit the scholarly publishing system for financial gain without upholding ethical and academic standards, represent a threat to the credibility, transparency, and quality of scientific knowledge.

The Revista da EMERJ operates under rigorous ethical, editorial, and peer-review procedures in accordance with COPE, ABEC Brasil, and international indexing and evaluation standards, ensuring the reliability and legitimacy of its scientific production.