About the Journal
The Journal of Portuguese-Speaking Law (RDL), run by the International Research Network on Lusophone Law (REDIL), is designed to bring forth legal studies with a robust interdisciplinary component and an attentive eye on contemporary issues of tangible significance to the Portuguese-speaking world and to the world at large.
It publishes articles devoted to a monographic theme — stipulated for each issue — as well as articles covering a broader spectrum of legal matters.
It also includes a section exclusively geared towards the study of paradigmatic case law from the courts of Portuguese-speaking countries and regions, above all from the higher courts.
It also has a section for reviewing articles, books, and book chapters, preferably those authored by Portuguese-speaking scholars or covering matters of Portuguese-speaking law.
Finally, there is room for news of events and other scientific initiatives involving REDIL members.
Language
The RDL publishes in Portuguese and includes an abstract plus keywords in Portuguese and English. Each article is released alongside a digest in English.
Peer review process
The works submitted to the RDL are first appraised by the Executive Committee as to whether they comply with the editorial standards of the RDL and meet the requirements for the relevant issue. Subsequently, at least two members of the Coordinating Board assess whether the article falls within the scope of the RDL. Manuscripts that do not conform to the technical specifications are returned to the authors for rectification prior to being forwarded to the reviewers.
In keeping with the stipulations of the RDL, manuscripts are to undergo peer review (double-blind), abiding by established international criteria. Should the reviewers issue recommendations, the author takes responsibility for carrying out the corresponding amendments, and the changes will then be ratified by at least two members of the Coordinating Board. Should the manuscript be rejected by the peers, it will be handed back to the author, along with the opinions issued by the reviewers.
If reviewers reach conflicting positions, at least one expert in the matter from the Scientific Council of the RDL will be called upon to weigh up the manuscript against the two conflicting reviews and issue a recommendation as to whether it should be published. In the light of the latter, a minimum of two members of the Coordinating Board shall pass final judgement and issue a final order addressed to the author, incorporating the conflicting reviews, the recommendation of the scientific advisor, and the final decision of the Coordinating Board.
The final version of the article will include the date it was received, accepted, and published.
Periodicity
Annual (with rolling submission and continuous publication).
Open access policy
Authors are not charged for publishing in the RDL.
Content published on the RDL becomes immediately available in full open access, rendering research widely available to the public.
Unless otherwise specified, all content on the RDL is under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
Editorial responsibility and copyright
The RDL is not responsible for the content of the articles it publishes. Every author is at full liberty to decide on their contents and the editorial team of the RDL is in no way bound by them. The fact that an article has been accepted for publication does not entail agreement with its content.
The editorial team shall not be held liable for any violation of intellectual property rights on the part of the author or for any unlawful behaviour connected with the respective article.
We welcome and encourage all authors to deposit and distribute the material they have published in the RDL across every platform and by all means at their disposal and which they deem appropriate.
Works published in the RDL have not been previously published and, while copyright rests with the author(s) of each published work, we request that all subsequent publications of the work expressly refer to the fact that the work was first published in the RDL.
Ethical guidelines
Although authors are acknowledged to have unfettered freedom of creation and expression, they are expected to act ethically, in line with the principles espoused by the RDL, substantially consistent with the best practice guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
