Editorial Guidelines

Editorial Guidelines

I. Scope

Derecho, Ambiente y Cambio Climático publishes original and unpublished works, in Spanish or English, on matters related to environmental and climate law, with both national and international scope, and preferably with interdisciplinary approaches. The Journal publishes research articles, case law comments, and other current-interest contributions.

Research articles: these are works whose purpose is to analyze a specific issue in environmental and climate law, from a domestic, international, and/or comparative law perspective. The manuscript must result from a process of research and critical reflection, use up-to-date and relevant bibliography, and offer an original viewpoint that constitutes a contribution to the doctrinal development of the subject addressed.

Case law comments: these are works whose purpose is to analyze a judicial decision related to environmental and climate law, whether issued by a national or international court, or by courts in other jurisdictions. The manuscript must result from a process of research and critical reflection, use up-to-date and relevant bibliography, and offer an original viewpoint that constitutes a contribution to the doctrinal development of the subject addressed.

Other current-interest contributions: this category includes texts that, without falling within the previous categories, are relevant because they address current issues in environmental and climate law at the global, regional, or national level. This category may include legal opinions, reports on bills currently under legislative consideration, book reviews, and interviews with relevant stakeholders.

II. Manuscript preparation

1. General requirements

Manuscripts submitted to the Journal must meet the following formal requirements:

i. Length: manuscripts must not exceed 12,000 words, including the main text and footnotes. The final bibliography and any annexes are not included in the word count.

ii. Title and abstract: manuscripts must include a title in Spanish and English. They must also include an abstract in Spanish and English, which should at minimum introduce the subject addressed and briefly set out the main conclusions or issues discussed.

iii. Keywords: manuscripts must include at least five (5) keywords, in Spanish and English.

iv. Structure: the main text must be organized using numbered headings and subheadings.

v. Final reference list: manuscripts must include a final reference list indicating all sources cited in the text, including scholarly literature, legislation/regulations, and case law.

vi. File format and submission: manuscripts must be submitted as a Word document (.doc or .docx) through the Academic Journals Platform of the University of Concepción. The general formatting (font type, size, and spacing) is at the author’s discretion, without prejudice to subsequent editorial formatting to match the Journal’s layout.

vii. Anonymization: manuscripts must be submitted anonymized and therefore must not include author-identifying information in the body of the text. Authorship information must be provided in a separate document including the following for each author:

a. Full name.
b. Professional degree, indicating the university where the studies were completed.
c. Academic degrees held, indicating the awarding university.
d. Institutional affiliation, if any.
e. Email address.
f. ORCID.

2. Citations and references

In order to facilitate academic production and make it accessible to national and international audiences, the Journal has adopted the APA Style (7th edition) of the American Psychological Association as its citation standard (see https://normas-apa.org/wp-content/uploads/Guia-Normas-APA-7ma-edicion.pdf).

  • Sources must be cited within the text, indicating in parentheses the author’s surname, followed by the year of the source and the page number cited.

  • Footnotes should be used only for additional comments the author(s) may wish to include.

  • Full source details must be included in the reference list at the end of the manuscript.

III. Manuscript evaluation

1. Evaluation criteria

Manuscripts submitted for evaluation will be assessed on the basis of the following criteria: relevance and originality; clarity and argumentative coherence; appropriateness and coherence of structure; proper use of language, writing, and spelling; and relevance and currency of the sources used.

2. Evaluation procedure

i. Initial screening (admissibility): once a manuscript is submitted, it will undergo an initial screening to assess whether it meets the minimum requirements set out in these editorial guidelines and whether it fits within the Journal’s scope. This stage will take a maximum of 15 business days.

ii. External peer review (double-blind): once admissibility is confirmed, the manuscript will be sent for external peer review by two reviewers with recognized expertise in the subject matter, under a double-blind model.

iii. Third review: after receiving the peer-review reports, the handling editor may request a third review if deemed advisable.

iv. Consolidated comments and revisions: once all reviews have been received, the Journal will prepare a consolidated report systematizing the reviewers’ comments together with the Editorial Team’s own observations. This report will be sent to the author(s) so they may respond to each comment and revise the manuscript as appropriate, within a reasonable deadline.

v. Second editorial assessment and possible re-review: once the author(s) submit the revised version along with their responses, the Editorial Team will review the manuscript again. If necessary, the handling editor may request that one or more of the original reviewers issue a new recommendation based on the revised version.

vi. Editorial decision: based on all the information gathered, the Editor-in-Chief will issue a reasoned decision on the manuscript, which may include acceptance, rejection, or returning the manuscript to the author(s) with further comments. If the manuscript is returned with further comments, the process described in item v and following will be applied again. If the manuscript is rejected, the decision shall be final and not subject to appeal.

The Journal will seek to ensure that the total processing time for a manuscript, from receipt to final decision, does not exceed six months.

IV. Authorship, plagiarism, and the use of artificial intelligence

Manuscripts submitted to the Journal must be original and unpublished. Only those who have made a substantial contribution to the content of the manuscript may be listed as authors. Other minor contributions may be acknowledged in an acknowledgements note.

Authors are solely responsible for ensuring that each and every source consulted for the preparation of their manuscripts is properly cited, including any prior works of their own authorship. The reuse of texts that have been previously published, regardless of the format or medium, will not be accepted.

The Journal will review submitted manuscripts to detect potential plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and improper use of Artificial Intelligence. A tolerance of no more than 10% of content obtained through Artificial Intelligence is permitted. Manuscripts will be screened using specialized software to determine similarity with other published sources or improper AI use.

The Journal reserves the right to reject manuscripts at any stage of the editorial process if plagiarism or AI misuse is detected. In such cases, the Journal will issue a report identifying the relevant sections and will notify the author(s) so they may submit explanations. Once all information has been gathered, the Journal’s Directorate will issue a reasoned decision, which shall be final and not subject to appeal.

V. Publication fees

The Journal does not charge any fees for the evaluation or publication of submitted manuscripts.