Peer Review Process

Lexa: Journal of Legal Studies implements a Double-Blind Peer Review system to ensure the objectivity, scientific quality, and academic integrity of every article published. Under this review model, the identities of both authors and reviewers remain anonymous throughout the review process.

Every manuscript submitted to the journal undergoes the following editorial and peer review procedures:

1. Manuscript Submission

Authors are required to submit their manuscripts through the Open Journal Systems (OJS) in accordance with the journal’s Author Guidelines and Aims and Scope. Submitted manuscripts must be original, unpublished, and not under consideration for publication in any other journal.

2. Initial Editorial Screening

Upon submission, each manuscript undergoes an initial evaluation conducted by the Editorial Office to assess:

  • Compliance with the journal’s aims and scope.

  • Adherence to the Author Guidelines and manuscript formatting requirements.

  • Completeness of the submission and supporting documents.

  • Originality, academic quality, and potential scholarly contribution.

  • Compliance with the journal’s publication ethics.

At this stage, the Editorial Board reserves the right to reject a manuscript without external review (desk rejection) if it falls outside the journal's scope, fails to meet academic standards, or does not comply with the submission requirements.

3. Plagiarism Screening

Manuscripts that pass the initial editorial screening are subjected to plagiarism detection using Turnitin or equivalent plagiarism detection software. Manuscripts containing excessive similarity, plagiarism, duplicate publication, or other forms of academic misconduct may be returned to the authors for revision or rejected, depending on the severity of the findings.

4. Reviewer Assignment

Eligible manuscripts are assigned to at least two independent reviewers with expertise relevant to the manuscript's subject area. Reviewers are selected based on their academic qualifications, research experience, and absence of any conflict of interest with the submitted work.

5. Double-Blind Peer Review

Each reviewer independently evaluates the manuscript based on several criteria, including:

  • Originality and novelty of the research.

  • Significance of the contribution to legal scholarship.

  • Clarity of the research objectives.

  • Appropriateness and rigor of the research methodology.

  • Quality of legal analysis and discussion.

  • Logical consistency of legal arguments.

  • Validity of the conclusions.

  • Relevance and adequacy of references.

  • Overall quality of academic writing.

Reviewers provide constructive comments and recommend one of the following editorial decisions: Accept, Minor Revision, Major Revision, Reject

6. Editorial Decision

Based on the reviewers' recommendations, the Editor-in-Chief or the assigned Handling Editor will make one of the following decisions: Accept,  Accept with Minor Revisions, Accept with Major Revisions, Reject.

If the reviewers' recommendations differ significantly, the editor may appoint an additional reviewer before making the final decision.

7. Manuscript Revision

When revisions are requested, authors are required to:

  • Revise the manuscript in accordance with the reviewers' comments.

  • Submit a revised manuscript together with a detailed Response to Reviewers explaining how each comment has been addressed.

  • Return the revised manuscript within the timeframe specified by the Editorial Office.

Where necessary, the revised manuscript may be sent back to the reviewers for further evaluation.

8. Final Decision

After all required revisions have been completed and the manuscript has satisfied the journal's academic standards, the Editor-in-Chief will make the final decision regarding publication.

The Editor-in-Chief's decision is final.

9. Copyediting, Layout Editing, and Proofreading

Accepted manuscripts proceed to the production stage, which includes:

  • Professional copyediting.

  • Layout editing and typesetting.

  • Final proofreading.

During the proofreading stage, authors are given the opportunity to review the final version of their manuscript before publication.

10. Publication

After successfully completing all editorial and production stages, the article will be published as an Open Access publication in the scheduled issue of the journal. Each published article will receive a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) to ensure permanent identification and facilitate accurate citation.

Principles of Peer Review

Throughout the editorial and peer review process, Lexa: Journal of Legal Studies adheres to the following principles:

  • Fairness and impartiality.

  • Confidentiality of authors and reviewers.

  • Transparency and professionalism.

  • Independence from conflicts of interest.

  • Academic integrity and ethical publishing.

  • Compliance with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices.

By implementing a rigorous Double-Blind Peer Review process, Lexa: Journal of Legal Studies is committed to publishing high-quality scholarly work that makes a significant contribution to the advancement of legal studies and meets internationally recognized standards of academic publishing.