Author Guidelines
Authors are invited to submit original, high-quality scholarly manuscripts that have not been previously published and are not under consideration for publication elsewhere. All submitted manuscripts must fall within the Aims and Scope of Lexa: Journal of Legal Studies and comply with the requirements set forth in these Author Guidelines.
1. MANUSCRIPT TYPES
Lexa: Journal of Legal Studies welcomes various types of scholarly manuscripts that contribute to the advancement of legal scholarship. The journal accepts Original Research Articles, Review Articles, Conceptual Papers, Case Studies, and Comparative Legal Studies. All submissions are expected to demonstrate scientific novelty, academic relevance, and meaningful theoretical and practical contributions to the field of law.
2. LANGUAGE
Manuscripts may be written in Indonesian or English, using clear, concise, systematic, and academically appropriate language that complies with accepted standards of grammar and scholarly writing. Authors who prepare manuscripts in English and are not native English speakers are strongly encouraged to have their manuscripts professionally proofread prior to submission to ensure that the language meets international academic publishing standards.
3. MANUSCRIPT ORIGINALITY
All submitted manuscripts must be original works that have not been previously published and are not under review by any other journal. Authors are responsible for ensuring that their manuscripts are free from plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, and duplicate publication, and that they fully comply with the journal's Publication Ethics. Before entering the peer-review process, all manuscripts will be screened using plagiarism detection software to verify their originality.
4. MANUSCRIPT LENGTH
Submitted manuscripts should contain 4.000 – 5.500 words, including the abstract, main text, tables, figures, and references. The main body of the article must consist of at least 4,000 words to ensure a comprehensive and in-depth presentation of the research.
5. MANUSCRIPT FORMAT
Manuscripts must be prepared using Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) on A4-sized paper, using Garamond 12-point font, 1.5 line spacing, and 2.5 cm margins on all sides. Authors are expected to follow the journal template to facilitate the editorial, copyediting, and typesetting processes efficiently.
6. MANUSCRIPT STRUCTURE (IMRAD)
Manuscripts submitted to Lexa: Journal of Legal Studies must be organized systematically following the IMRAD format (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion), which is the internationally recognized standard for scholarly writing. In addition to the core IMRAD components, manuscripts must include a Title, Author Information, Abstract, Keywords, Conclusion, Conflict of Interest Statement, Acknowledgements (if applicable), and References. The manuscript should be organized as follows:
A. Title
The title should be concise, clear, specific, and informative, accurately reflecting the substance and primary focus of the research. It must not exceed 15 words and should be written in 14-point Garamond font. Authors are encouraged to use precise and effective wording while avoiding uncommon abbreviations, symbols, or ambiguous terminology.
B. Author Information
Author information must be presented accurately and completely to facilitate author identification and communication. It should include the author's full name (without academic titles), institutional affiliation (including the university or institution and country), ORCID iD (Open Researcher and Contributor ID), if available, and the active email address of the corresponding author. The corresponding author is responsible for all communications throughout the editorial process, peer review, and publication.
C. Abstract
The abstract must be written as a single paragraph of 150 - 200 words using 11-point Garamond font. It should provide a concise and comprehensive summary of the research, including the background, research objectives, research methods, main findings, and conclusion. The abstract should be self-contained and must not include citations, tables, figures, uncommon abbreviations, or references.
If the manuscript is written in Indonesian, the abstract must be provided in both English and Indonesian. Conversely, manuscripts written in English should include the abstract in English only.
D. Keywords
Keywords should be placed immediately below the abstract using 11-point Garamond font and consist of 3–5 words or phrases representing the main concepts of the study. Keywords should be separated by commas and selected carefully to facilitate indexing, retrieval, and discoverability in academic databases.
If the manuscript is written in Indonesian, the keywords must be provided in both English and Indonesian. Conversely, manuscripts written in English should provide keywords in English only.
E. Introduction
The Introduction should provide a systematic scientific foundation for the study. It should present the research background, the significance of the topic, the legal issues under investigation, and a relevant literature review illustrating the state of the art and positioning the study within existing scholarship. Authors should identify the research gap, clearly state the research objectives, and explain the research novelty or scholarly contribution of the study. Where appropriate, research questions or hypotheses (for quantitative studies) may also be included. The Introduction should conclude with a brief explanation of the study's contribution to legal scholarship, public policy, or legal practice. This section is recommended to comprise approximately 20 - 30% of the total manuscript.
F. Methods
The Methods section should describe the research procedures systematically and in sufficient detail to enable readers to understand, evaluate, and replicate the study. The methodology should be appropriate to the type of legal research conducted, including normative legal research, empirical legal research, socio-legal research, or other relevant legal approaches. At a minimum, this section should describe the research approach, research design, research location or object (where applicable), population and sample or research subjects (for empirical studies), data sources or legal materials, data or legal material collection techniques, research instruments (if applicable), data analysis techniques, and ethical considerations, where required.
For normative legal research, authors should explain the legal approaches employed, such as the statute approach, conceptual approach, case approach, historical approach, comparative approach, or other relevant approaches, together with the sources of legal materials, methods of legal material collection, and legal analysis techniques. For empirical or socio-legal research, authors should describe the research design, research setting, characteristics of respondents or informants, sampling techniques, data collection methods, research instruments, data analysis procedures, and measures taken to ensure data validity and reliability.
G. Results and Discussion
Results
The Results section should present the research findings systematically, objectively, and consistently with the research objectives, research questions, or problem formulation. Findings may be supported by tables, figures, graphs, charts, maps, or other relevant illustrations. Each table and figure must be numbered consecutively, provided with a clear title, cited in the text, and accompanied by the source if adapted from another publication.
This section should present only research findings without extensive interpretation or discussion. Results should be reported accurately, objectively, and concisely as the basis for subsequent analysis. For quantitative research, results may include descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing, analytical models, or statistical software outputs. For qualitative research, results may consist of field findings, thematic analyses, interview excerpts, observations, or relevant documents. For normative legal research, findings may include analyses of legislation, judicial decisions, legal doctrines, legal principles, and other legal materials relevant to the research issue.
Discussion
The Discussion is the core of the manuscript and should interpret, analyze, and explain the significance of the research findings. Rather than merely restating the results, authors should relate the findings to legal theories, legal concepts, legislation, judicial decisions (where applicable), legal doctrines, and previous studies. The discussion should demonstrate the study's scholarly contribution to the development of legal science and the resolution of legal issues.
The discussion should be organized systematically according to the research objectives or research questions. Authors are expected to compare their findings with previous studies, provide well-supported scholarly arguments based on current references, and emphasize the research novelty in terms of theory, methodology, approach, or implications for legal scholarship.
For normative legal research, the discussion should include critical analyses of legal norms, legal principles, doctrines, legislation, judicial decisions, and legal developments. For empirical or socio-legal research, it should interpret empirical findings in relation to relevant theories, concepts, previous studies, and social realities.
The discussion should conclude by outlining the theoretical implications and practical implications of the research, highlighting its contribution to legal scholarship, policymaking, legal practice, and future research.
H. Conclusion
The Conclusion should be concise, coherent, and directly address the research objectives or research questions by synthesizing the principal findings of the study. It should not merely repeat the results or discussion but should highlight the study's scholarly contribution.
Authors are encouraged to discuss the theoretical and practical contributions of the research, acknowledge the limitations of the study, and provide recommendations for future research, policy development, regulatory improvement, or legal practice.
The conclusion should be written in narrative form without numbering, tables, figures, citations, or introducing issues that have not been discussed previously.
I. Conflict of Interest Statement
Authors must disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest that could influence the research or publication process. If no conflict of interest exists, authors may include the following statement:
"The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest regarding the research and publication of this article."
J. Acknowledgements (Optional)
Acknowledgements may be included to recognize financial support, institutional assistance, or individuals who made significant contributions to the research.
K. References
The References section must include all sources cited in the manuscript and be formatted according to the APA Style, 7th Edition. References should be arranged alphabetically by the surname of the first author and include the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) or a persistent link whenever available.
A minimum of 20 references is required, with at least 90% consisting of primary sources, particularly articles published in reputable national and international scholarly journals within the last ten years. Books, legislation, judicial decisions, official government reports, and other legal documents may also be cited where relevant and used proportionately.
To ensure consistency in citation and referencing, authors are strongly encouraged to use reference management software such as Mendeley, Zotero, or EndNote.
7. TABLES AND FIGURES
All tables and figures must be consecutively numbered, provided with clear and informative titles, cited in the main text, presented in an editable format whenever possible, and accompanied by an appropriate source if adapted from another publication.
8. CITATION STYLE
Lexa: Journal of Legal Studies adopts the APA Style, 7th Edition as the official standard for both in-text citations and references. Authors are responsible for ensuring that every source cited in the manuscript is included in the reference list, and that every reference listed has been cited appropriately within the text.
To ensure consistency and accuracy in citation and referencing, authors are strongly encouraged to use reference management software such as Mendeley, Zotero, or EndNote.
Examples of In-Text Citations
Single Author
- According to Rahardjo (2021), law is an essential instrument for achieving social justice.
- Law functions as an important instrument for achieving social justice (Rahardjo, 2021).
Two Authors
- According to Arif and Santoso (2022), legal protection of personal data has become increasingly important in the digital era.
- Personal data protection has become a rapidly evolving legal issue (Arif & Santoso, 2022).
Three or More Authors
- Previous studies indicate that legal reform requires a multidisciplinary approach (Pratama et al., 2023).
Multiple Sources in One Citation
- Several studies have reported significant developments in digital law (Rahardjo, 2021; Arif & Santoso, 2022; Pratama et al., 2023).
Examples of References
Journal Article
Rahardjo, S. (2021). Legal reform in Indonesia: Challenges and opportunities. Journal of Legal Studies, 15(2), 125–140. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxx
Journal Article with DOI
Arif, M., & Santoso, A. (2022). Personal data protection in the digital era. Indonesian Journal of Law, 18(1), 45–61. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxx
Book
Friedman, L. M. (2016). The legal system: A social science perspective. Russell Sage Foundation.
Book Chapter
Cotterrell, R. (2018). Sociology of law. In M. Freeman (Ed.), Law and society (pp. 45–63). Oxford University Press.
Legislation
Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code.
Court Decision
Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia. (2021). Decision Number 91/PUU-XVIII/2020.
Website
Ministry of Law of the Republic of Indonesia. (2024). National Legal Documentation and Information Network (JDIHN). https://jdihn.go.id
Authors are responsible for ensuring that all in-text citations and references are prepared consistently in accordance with the APA Style, 7th Edition before submitting their manuscripts through the Open Journal Systems (OJS).
By submitting a manuscript to Lexa: Journal of Legal Studies, authors confirm that they have read, understood, and agreed to comply with these Author Guidelines, the journal's Publication Ethics, and all applicable editorial policies.
