General guidelines of the Revista Española de Derecho Internacional

(adopted by the Governing Board of the AEPDIRI on 12 March 2018, at the proposal of the Editorial Board of the REDI, and ratified by the General Assembly of the AEPDIRI on 20 September 2019, as amended in 2023)

1.GENERAL GUIDELINES. CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVES

1.1. The Revista Española de Derecho Internacional (hereinafter, the REDI or the Journal) is a scientific publication of the Asociación Española de Profesores de Derecho Internacional y Relaciones Internacionales (hereinafter, the AEPDIRI or the Association), published every six months, in electronic format, with open access through its website (www.revista-redi.es), and print-on-demand. It is the Association's aim to place and maintain the Journal at the highest level in prestigious academic indexes.

1.2. The organs of the Journal are: a) the Editor-in-Chief; b) the Editorial Board; c) the Associate Editor-in-Chief; and d) the Advisory Board.

1.3. All the organs of the Journal, as well as the authors, reviewers and editors involved in the editorial process, must respect the Journal's Ethical Guidelines, published on its website.

1.4. The Journal will publish manuscripts on subjects relating to public international law, private international law and international relations, in line with the multidisciplinary nature of the Association. It will seek to achieve a proportionate annual representation of manuscripts relating to the aforementioned disciplines in the Studies Section and shall encourage the publication of contributions from the different disciplines in the other Sections.

1.5. The publication of manuscripts in the Journal shall be open to both Spanish and foreign specialists. The Journal will preferably publish texts in Spanish; the Editorial Board may exceptionally accept foreign authors to publish in English or French.

1.6. The only determining criteria for the publication in the Journal of manuscripts received or requested are their interest and appropriate scientific development, the focus and scope, as well as their scientific quality.

1.7. It is the responsibility of the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board to ensure the application of these Guidelines. The Governing Board of the Association, in accordance with these Guidelines, shall appoint the Editor-in-Chief and the Associate Editor-in-Chief and shall submit proposals to the General Assembly of the Association for the appointment and, where appropriate, renewal of the members of the Boards of the Journal. The General Assembly shall receive periodic reports from the Editor-in-Chief and shall submit to the latter any observations it deems appropriate on the development of the publication.

2. THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

2.1. The Editor-in-Chief shall be proposed by the Editorial Board from among its members, by majority vote, and appointed by the Governing Board of the Association.

In successive appointments to the Editor-in-Chief, the Editorial Board of the Journal and the Governing Board of the Association shall ensure adequate representation of the different disciplines that make up the Association.

2.2. The term of office of the Editor-in-Chief shall be for a period of 4 years, renewable once for the same period in accordance with the procedure set out in the previous section.

2.3. In addition to other functions attributed to it by these Guidelines, the Editor-in-Chief shall have the following functions:

a) To represent the Journal;

b) To convene and chair the meetings of the Editorial Board;

c) To propose to the Editorial Board the Associate Editor-in-Chief of the Journal;

d) To make proposals and promote the work of the Editorial Board and to coordinate the manuscripts of the different Sections of the Journal, ensuring the periodicity of their publication, the scientific quality and the academic value of the published manuscripts;

e) To report periodically to the Governing Board of the Association on the development of the Journal, as well as to the General Assembly of the Association when the Governing Board deems it appropriate.

3. THE EDITORIAL BOARD

3.1. The Editorial Board will be composed of 9 members, experts of recognized prestige in the field of knowledge of the Journal. Their full names, as well as the institutions in which they work and their contact details will appear on the Journal's website. The members will be distributed as follows:

a) 4 shall belong to the discipline of public international law;

b) 3 members shall be from the discipline of private international law;

c) 2 from the field of international relations.

3.2. The Editorial Board will be elected by the General Assembly of the Association in accordance with the Association's Guidelines and Rules on the Conduct of Elections to the Boards of the Journal.

To this end, the Governing Board of the Association may make proposals to the General Assembly and shall transmit to the General Assembly, in good time, the proposals received from the members of the Association.

3.3. The Editorial Board will be responsible for:

a) To propose to the Governing Board of the Association the appointment of the Editor-in-Chief;

b) To establish the Focus and Scope of the Journal and, eventually, the editorial lines of the Journal and its different Sections, promoting the publication of manuscripts on subjects of interest or current scientific interest, including monographic subjects;

c) To approve, at the initiative of the Editor-in-Chief, the programming of the issues of the Journal, ensuring the appropriate periodicity of publication and the scientific quality of the manuscripts published. Likewise, it shall establish the style standards to which the manuscripts corresponding to the different Sections of the Journal must conform, and the Ethical Guidelines of the Journal.

d) To propose to the Governing Board of the Association the adoption of those measures that entail financial consequences or refer to the publication of the Journal.

3.4. The Editorial Board, at the proposal of the Editor-in-Chief, shall appoint Section Coordinators from among its members, taking into account the appropriate representation of the different disciplines on which the manuscripts are based.

3.5. The Editorial Board shall meet whenever convened by the Editor-in-Chief, and in any case at least twice per calendar year.

4. THE ASSOCIATE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

4.1. The proposal for appointment to the Associate Editor-in-Chief shall be made by the Editor-in-Chief, after consultation with the Editorial Board. The appointment shall be made by the Governing Board of the Association.

4.2. The term of office of the Associate Editor-in-Chief shall be for a period of 4 years and may be renewed for another equal period in accordance with the provisions of the previous section.

4.3. The Associate Editor-in-Chief shall have the following responsibilities:

a) To execute the agreements and decisions of the Editorial Board on the programming and publication of manuscripts and to assume, where appropriate, the specific tasks attributed to it by the Journal's Editor-in-Chief, as well as those relating to authors, reviewers and editors of the Journal;

b) To supervise, together with the publisher, the reception of manuscripts submitted for publication, through the Open Journal Systems software for the administration of journals, with the possibility of previously providing the authors with the appropriate indications regarding the Authors’ Guidelines for the manuscripts submitted;

c) To ensure compliance with the technical characteristics of the edition and the publication schedule of the journal agreed with the publisher;

d) To ensure the correction of proofs according to the timetable, verifying the dates of distribution of the Journal by the publisher;

e) Drafting and, once approved by the Editorial Board, keeping the minutes of the meetings of the Editorial Board.

5. THE ADVISORY BOARD

5.1. The Advisory Board will comprise 12 professors elected by the General Assembly of the Association for a term of office of 6 years, in accordance with the Association's Guidelines and Rules on the Conduct of Elections to the Boards of the Journal and the Recommendations for Good Governance for the Journal Advisory Board approved at the 2015 General Assembly in Seville. The former Editors-in-Chief of the Journal shall be ex officio members of the Advisory Board.

For the purpose of the election of members of the Advisory Board, the Governing Board of the Association may make proposals to the General Assembly and shall transmit to the latter, with sufficient notice, those received from the members of the Association.

The composition of the Advisory Council shall take into account the outstanding scientific and academic prestige and the specific contribution to the work of the Journal of its members, ensuring an adequate representation of the disciplines of Public International Law, Private International Law and International Relations.

5.2. The members of the Advisory Board will elect its Chairperson by majority vote.

5.3. The Advisory Board will be responsible for:

a) To examine the development of the Focus and Scope of the Journal and, where appropriate, the editorial lines approved by the Editorial Board, assessing the results achieved annually by the Journal;

b) To formulate in this respect any observations and proposals they deem appropriate to the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal, to the Editorial Board and, where appropriate, to the Governing Board of the Association;

c) To request a report from the Editorial Board on complaints or discrepancies addressed to the Chairman of the Advisory Board by members of the Association regarding manuscripts submitted to the Journal for publication;

d) Any other function of a consultative or advisory nature which, in relation to the Journal, may be assigned to it by the Editor-in-Chief.

Any other function of a consultative or advisory nature which, in relation to the Journal, may be assigned to it by the Editor-in-Chief.

5.4. Joint meetings of the Editorial and Advisory Boards may be held at the proposal of the Advisory Board, the Editorial Board or the Editor-in-Chief, which shall be co-chaired by the Editor-in-Chief and the Chairman of the Advisory Board.

6. EDITORIAL PROCESS

6.1. Manuscript selection process. Selection of reviewers

6.1.1. For manuscripts classified as Studies, and provided that it is not rejected at a preliminary stage by the Editor-in-Chief, reports will be sought, through the Associate Editor-in-Chief, from two specialists in the subject matter of the paper (double-blind peer review method). If one of the recommendations issued is negative and the other positive, a third opinion will be sought by the Editor-in-Chief.

The Editorial Board is ultimately responsible for all decisions concerning the publication of such manuscripts, which will be made on the basis of the quality of the manuscripts, their importance for the Journal and its readers, the recommendations of the reviewers and the rules concerning copyright. The decisions of the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board will be communicated to the authors by the Associate Editor-in-Chief of the Journal.

6.1.2. The review process is intended to assist the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board in making decisions on the manuscripts to be published in each issue of the Journal as Studies and, at the same time, to help authors to improve manuscripts that are likely to be published as Studies.

The review reports will be assigned to specialists in the subject matter of the paper outside the Editorial Board and the Advisory Board. The Editor-in-Chief will not commission reports to persons whose impartiality may be questioned due to employment, personal or any other relationship with the author of the manuscript. The Associate Editor-in-Chief will take all necessary measures to ensure that no trace is left of the identity of the reviewers or, during the editorial process, of the authors.

6.1.3. The Editor-in-Chief may reject in a preliminary phase those manuscripts whose content does not fit in with the Focus and Scope of the Journal or, in a notorious manner, does not comply with the Authors’ Guidelines or does not reach the minimum quality threshold to be submitted to the review process, of which it will inform the Editorial Board. Only manuscripts that pass this first phase will be submitted for double-blind peer review.

6.1.4. The reviewers will not be able to know the identity of the author whose paper is subject to evaluation. If this is the case, they should abstain; if they have any doubts in this respect, they should consult the Associate Editor-in-Chief or the Editor-in-Chief.

6.1.5. The person invited to act as reviewer may refuse to carry out the review if he/she does not feel qualified to review the paper, or if he considers that he/she will not be able to carry out the review in a timely manner, informing the Associate Editor-in-Chief as soon as possible, so that he can be replaced in due time.

6.2. Duties of the reviewers

6.2.1. The review will conclude with a recommendation on whether or not to publish the original, with the selection of one of the alternatives expressed below.

a) That the paper can be published as submitted.

b) That the submission is publishable with minor modifications.

c) That the submission is publishable with major modifications.

d) That the submission is not publishable.

6.2.2. The reviewers' recommendations will normally include specific comments for the authors, the content of which should always be known to the authors.

6.2.3. The recommendations made by the reviewers are not binding on the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board, which may decide by majority vote whether or not to publish.

6.2.4. Reviews shall be conducted in an objective manner. The comments made throughout the process will be clear and will use solid and constructive arguments, so that they can be used by the authors to improve their manuscripts. Personal criticism and offensive comments of any kind will not be accepted.

6.3. Editorial revision. Editors

The Journal will be assisted by a team of editors from the three scientific disciplines, appointed by the Editorial Board, at the joint proposal of the Editor-in-Chief and the Associate Editor-in-Chief, following an examination of the merits presented in a public call. Manuscripts accepted for publication, once in their final version, will be subjected to an editorial review process to be carried out by a member of the editorial team. The editor may return the text to the author in the event that his/her intervention is considered appropriate (e.g. when the author has not complied with the Authors’ Guidelines) or necessary (e.g. when the editor detects incomplete paragraphs or footnotes, or in general a lack of information that only the author is in a position to provide).

7. THE AUTHORS

7.1. Authors must submit manuscripts in compliance with the Rules of Submission and the Authors’ Guidelines published on the Journal's website (length, composition, structure, etc.). They will not be reviewed if they do not respect these Rules and Guidelines.

7.2. Authors must ensure that the manuscript submitted is completely original. They will present in the paper, where appropriate, all the precise information on the research carried out and its conclusions. The manuscript must also contain sufficient details and references to enable it to be assessed by third parties. Authors shall also ensure that they have not used a third party's paper without citing it appropriately. Publications that have been instrumental in the preparation of the submitted paper must also be cited in an appropriate manner.

Wilfully making inaccurate or false statements constitutes unacceptable behaviour and will result in the immediate withdrawal of the submission from the editorial process.

7.3. Manuscripts that essentially coincide with the content of the author's previously published research, either in other journals or as part of collective works or monographs, will not be published in the Journal. Notwithstanding the above, the Editorial Board may exceptionally accept the publication of a paper containing data and conclusions similar or identical to those contained in a previously published document, when it considers that circumstances make this advisable. In this case, however, specific reference should be made to the circumstances and to the first publication. Likewise, in similar circumstances, the Editorial Board may authorise the subsequent edition of a paper previously published in the Journal, provided that the same specific references are made.

7.4. When the Editor-in-Chief, the Editorial Board or the Associate Editor-in-Chief become aware of the existence of errors through third parties, the author will be informed of the need to correct the manuscript as soon as possible or, in the case of plagiarism, to withdraw it from the editorial process and, if it has already been published, to withdraw it from publication, and the author's cooperation may also be required.

7.5. Authors must accept the double-blind peer review process and cooperate diligently when any action on their part is requested. When the result of the review requires the modification of the paper, the authors must take into account the comments of the reviewers in order to introduce the indicated modifications and resubmit the paper to the Journal within the indicated deadline. In the event that the author decides not to take into account the suggested modifications, he must inform the Editor-in-Chief or the Associate Editor-in-Chief of the reasons for his decision. The Editorial Board may also recommend modifications to the author and, in any case, will assess, in the light of the recommendations of the evaluations and, where appropriate, its own, and the author's arguments, whether the modifications made to the manuscript have been sufficient.

7.6. A manuscript (pre-print) submitted for publication in the Journal may not be published in any form prior to its review and acceptance by the Editorial Board. Once a paper has been accepted for publication, its author may publish it with the adaptations suggested by the reviewers or by the Editorial Board (post-print) only on his personal website or in an academic institutional repository with the reference to its acceptance in press by the Journal, indicating the volume. Once the publication in the Journal has materialised, the text must be replaced as soon as possible by the one finally published, in the pdf format provided by the publisher, and the author is free to disseminate it publicly by any means, making specific reference to the publication in the Journal.

ADDITIONAL PROVISION. Citation in the feminine gender of these General Guidelines

References to persons appear in these Guidelines in the masculine gender as unmarked grammatical gender. Where appropriate, the citation of the corresponding Guidelines in the feminine gender is valid.

FINAL PROVISION

These Guidelines, drawn up by the Editorial Board of the REDI, shall apply from the moment of their approval by the Governing Board of the Association, subject to subsequent ratification by the General Assembly of the Association.

Any modification of these Guidelines shall follow the aforementioned procedure.