Instructions to Authors
Scope
Submission
Preparation
Style Requirements
Footnotes and References
Copyright
Open Access
Scope
The International Journal of Law and Information Technology publishes articles on the application of computer technology to the law, including:
- electronic discovery
- document drafting
- litigation support
- expert systems
- communications
- case-flow management
- artificial intelligence
- client management and communication systems
- cloud computing
The journal also looks at Information and Communications Technology and Cyberspace law - covering, for example:
- intellectual property rights
- cybercrime
- regulations of Web 2.0 and virtual worlds
- jurisdictional issues associated with the internet
- e-commerce law
- online privacy and data protection
- online service provider liability
- software contracts
- domain name issues
- internet governance
- electronic payment systems
- online banking
- telecommunications law
- liability for defective systems
Contributions that bring together these fields will be particularly welcome.
Submission
Authors are required to state that the piece submitted has not been sent to any other journal, as the editors will not consider submissions sent to other journals in any form.
Authors must also ensure that they have the relevant Intellectual Property Rights to publish the material contained in their submissions and have not copied someone else's work without the relevant permissions and attribution.
All articles must be submitted online through Scholar One Manuscripts.
The online submission process is straightforward. If you haven't used Scholar One Manuscripts (formerly Manuscript Central) before, first you must register as a new user (see top right hand menu on Scholar One Manuscripts, below 'New User'). Once registered as a new user, click on 'login' and then upload your manuscript in the Author Center of Scholar One Manuscripts. If you experience problems, please refer to the instructions.
Authors will be notified as soon as possible of the Editors' decision on the acceptability of their paper. The Editors will be happy to advise in advance on the suitability of a synopsis of the proposed article.
Crossref Funding Data Registry
In order to meet your funding requirements authors are required to name their funding sources, or state if there are none, during the submission process. For further information on this process or to find out more about CHORUS, visit the CHORUS initiative.
Preparation
Manuscript files should be submitted in Microsoft Word or rtf format. They should include the author's details, including title and job description and affiliations as these are to appear in the Journal; address, telephone, and email details. Each paper should contain an Abstract no longer than 150 words, as well as 5–10 keywords.
When the files are ready, please follow the Online Submission instructions.
Language Editing
Particularly if English is not your first language, you may wish to have your manuscript edited for language before submission. This is not a mandatory step, but may help to ensure that the academic content of your paper is fully understood by journal editors and reviewers. Language editing does not guarantee that your manuscript will be accepted for publication. Further information on this service can be found here. Several specialist language editing companies offer similar services and you can also use any of these. Authors are liable for all costs associated with such services.
Figure accessibility and alt text
Incorporating alt text (alternative text) when submitting your paper helps to foster inclusivity and accessibility. Good alt text ensures that individuals with visual impairments or those using screen readers can comprehend the content and context of your figures. The aim of alt text is to provide concise and informative descriptions of your figure so that all readers have access to the same level of information and understanding, and that all can engage with and benefit from the visual elements integral to scholarly content. Including alt text demonstrates a commitment to accessibility and enhances the overall impact and reach of your work.
Alt text is applicable to all images, figures, illustrations, and photographs.
Alt text is only accessible via e-reader and so it won’t appear as part of the typeset article.
Detailed guidance on how to draft and submit alt text.
Style Requirements
This journal follows The Oxford Standard for Citation Of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) style. OSCOLA is designed to facilitate accurate citation of authorities, legislation, and other legal materials.
Please ensure your manuscript adheres to OSCOLA by using our mini style checklist.
Footnotes and References
Footnotes should be numbered consecutively and should not be embedded within the text. References should be included in the footnotes. Authors are responsible for checking the accuracy of all footnotes and references.
Copyright
Upon receipt of accepted manuscripts at Oxford Journals authors will be invited to complete an online copyright licence to publish form.
Please note that by submitting an article for publication you confirm that you are the corresponding/submitting author and that Oxford University Press ("OUP") may retain your email address for the purpose of communicating with you about the article. You agree to notify OUP immediately if your details change. If your article is accepted for publication OUP will contact you using the email address you have used in the registration process. Please note that OUP does not retain copies of rejected articles.
You will need to confirm that any necessary permissions have been obtained from the copyright owners of any third party material included in the article (please contact the Commissioning Editor for further details).
This ensures that requests from third parties to reproduce articles are handled efficiently and consistently and will also allow the article to be as widely disseminated as possible.
In granting this exclusive license contributors may use the material in reworked form in other publications provided that the journal is acknowledged as the original place of publication and Oxford University Press is notified in writing and in advance.
Open Access
International Journal of Law and Information Technology offers the option of publishing under either a standard licence or an open access licence. Please note that some funders require open access publication as a condition of funding. If you are unsure whether you are required to publish open access, please do clarify any such requirements with your funder or institution.
Should you wish to publish your article open access, you should select your choice of open access licence in our online system after your article has been accepted for publication. You will need to pay an open access charge to publish under an open access licence.
Details of the open access licences and open access charges.
OUP has a growing number of Read and Publish agreements with institutions and consortia which provide funding for open access publishing. This means authors from participating institutions can publish open access, and the institution may pay the charge. Find out if your institution is participating.
Third-Party Content in Open Access papers
If you will be publishing your paper under an Open Access licence but it contains material for which you do not have Open Access re-use permissions, please state this clearly by supplying the following credit line alongside the material:
Title of content
Author, Original publication, year of original publication, by permission of [rights holder]
This image/content is not covered by the terms of the Creative Commons licence of this publication. For permission to reuse, please contact the rights holder.
Additional Author Resources
For additional information regarding submitting a manuscript, what to expect through the publication process, and guidance on how to promote your published article, please see our Author Resources.
