Submissions

Author Guidelines

1. Submission Requirements (being updated)

The University of Bologna Law Review requests that authors comply with the following standards. The manuscript must:

• be written in British English (American English may be considered in exceptional cases);
• be in OpenOffice, Microsoft Word, RTF, or Open Document Text document file format (Other formats such as PDF are not accepted);
• be anonymised by removing from the document any identifying information;
• use third person to refer to work the authors have previously published. For example, write “X and Y (2015) have demonstrated” rather than “we/the authors have previously demonstrated / footnote: X & Y, 2015", figures and tables should not contain any reference to author affiliations;
• contain a title, a subtitle (optional), an abstract (max. 500 words), up to 5 keywords and up to 3 JEL Codes (optional);
• include all references in footnotes; endnotes and in-text citation systems are not accepted. Manuscripts must follow The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (22nd ed.); manuscripts using OSCOLA are also accepted at submission and are converted to The Bluebook during production, with the assistance of the authors. Citation styles that rely on in-text references (e.g. APA, Harvard, Vancouver) are not accepted.
• refer to one of the following Editorial Sections and have an adequate length excluding metadata and footnotes (the Journal may consider manuscripts exceeding the 20,000 word limit in exceptional cases of outstanding scholarly contribution)
  • Articles (min. 8,000–max. 20,000 words)
  • Essays (min. 5,000–max. 12,000 words)
  • Notes (min. 3,000–max. 8,000 words)
  • Conference Papers (min. 4,000–max. 10,000 words).

The University of Bologna Law Review will not consider:

• previously published manuscripts, while manuscripts that have been previously published in another language, or as ISBN-assigned working papers may be submitted only with prior authorisation from the Editorial Office following a case-by-case evaluation for compliance with COPE and ICMJE guidelines. Deposited preprints are not considered prior publications but authors must inform the journal if the work submitted to the journal has been posted on a preprint server and provide a link to the preprint, whether the posting occurs prior to submission;
• simultaneous submissions along with other journals;
• complete PhD/post-graduate dissertations, not adapted into self-contained articles before submission.

Research materials and data

Authors are required to upload, using the corresponding component at Step 2 of the submission process (Upload Submission → Add Another File):

— Research Materials: unpublished or archival documents, decisions not available through public databases, foreign-language sources and their translations
— Data Set:  bodies of legal materials analysed systematically, and empirical data
— Data Analysis: codebooks, coding protocols and analysis scripts
— Research Instrument: interview or questionnaire protocols
— Research Results: supplementary tables or figures not reproduced in the article

Authors must provide the link for data deposited in a trusted data repository in accordance with the Journal's Data Policy

Authors must remove any information identifying them from the contents and the properties of each file, redact or pseudonymise personal data of third parties unless the source is already public in that form, and provide scanned documents in searchable form where possible. Material exceeding the size accepted by the system may be deposited in a repository and linked, or the Editorial Office may be contacted.

Where confidentiality obligations, professional secrecy or third-party rights prevent material from being shared, authors must state the reasons in the Comments for the Editor box; this does not affect the assessment of the manuscript.

Third-party materials and permissions

Where confidentiality obligations, professional secrecy or third-party rights prevent materials from being shared, authors must state the reasons in the Comments for the Editor box.

Authors must provide proper attribution and copyright information for any tables, graphs, figures, or images included in their submission. Authors are responsible for obtaining all necessary permissions for copyrighted materials and must provide documentation of such permissions when required.

Responsibility for the published content rests solely with the authors.

2. How To Submit

During a call for papers (see the Publication Frequency Policy), authors may submit their manuscripts exclusively through the UBLR website via the OJS platform. New users should register using the registration link, while existing users can submit directly through the login page. The Journal does not accept manuscripts submitted through alternative channels (e.g., email) or outside the designated call periods.

3. What To Expect Next

Within 48 hours of submission the corresponding author will receive either a confirmation of receipt or a desk rejection if the submitted manuscript does not comply with Author Guidelines. Submissions that receive a desk rejection may be amended only during the call for papers: it is not allowed to amend or resubmit manuscripts after the call for papers’ deadline.

Within 4 weeks of the confirmation of receipt, the corresponding author will receive the outcome of the preliminary assessment and the manuscript will either proceed to peer review or be declined.

The peer review process typically takes up to 12 weeks, depending on reviewers availability and manuscript complexity. Accepted manuscripts move to the production phase (copyediting, proofreading, and graphics) prior to publication.

For further details, see the Editorial Process. For any inquiries, support, or information about the Author Guidelines, please contact the Editorial Office.