IJHRL 2013 - The Istanbul Journal of Human Rights Law

Istanbul University, a prominent academic institution in Turkey and in Europe, will publish the peer-reviewed academic human rights law journal, the “Istanbul Journal of Human Rights Law” starting from January/February 2013. The Istanbul Journal of Human Rights Law will be published by the Istanbul University Centre for Research and Practice in Human Rights Law with the support of Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law.

The Journal seeks to promote and to encourage research, to raise awareness and to provide knowledge in the field of human rights law. The Journal will provide information and analysis on current topics related to the practice of States, with a particular focus on Turkey, Eastern Europe, Middle East, Caucasus and Central Asia, as well as international developments with regard to respect for and promotion of human rights. It is worth noting that Turkey becomes a very important actor in the process of enlargement of EU and the regional leader in the Middle East and Asia. Thus, the Istanbul Journal of Human Rights Law will attract all legal scholars working in this field.

The Istanbul Journal of Human Rights Law aims to be of interest for academicians, researchers, students as well as practitioners in the field of human rights law.

Research-focused, critical and analytical articles concerning different aspects of human rights, international human rights law, constitutional law, international humanitarian law, international criminal law and international law, and book reviews will be published in the Journal. The Journal will have a section regarding the jurisprudential developments both at the national, regional and international levels and will contain updates from the United Nations and other international mechanisms, including the regional human rights protection systems, in particular, the Council of Europe. The Journal will also publish translations of relevant Turkish legislation, significant Turkish doctrinal articles and important domestic case-law into English.

The Istanbul Journal of Human Rights Law will be published twice a year, once in January/February, once in July/August, in two languages: Turkish and English. Each issue of the Journal will have a general theme. The Journal will be published in hard copy and will also be available online.

The Director of the Istanbul University Centre for Research and Practice in Human Rights Law will serve as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal. The Editorial Board will work closely with Editor-in-Chief in developing the editorial content and will receive the submissions, examine them in terms of scientific quality and will make a decision as to which articles should be published or not in each issue, in accordance with the Journal’s peer review policy. The Advisory Board will have the mandate to provide recommendations on the general publication policy of the Journal and advise the Editorial Board and the Editor-in-Chief if the latter asks for expert opinions on a specific legal issue regarding the articles.

Author Spectrum: All scholars around the world, especially those from Turkey and neighboring regions, are invited and encouraged to send manuscripts to the Journal.

Peer Review Policy: The review process shall be handled by three referees (the Editor-in-Chief and two members of the Editorial and/or the Advisory Boards). The Editor-in-Chief will make the initial screening of all manuscripts received and send those selected to two members of the Editorial and/or Advisory Boards who have specialization and expertise in the relevant field, after removing all information identifying the author(s) in order to ensure anonymity. A manuscript needs to be given publication approval by at least two of the referees to be published in the Journal. The referees may give conditional approval for the publication of a manuscript. In this case, the author will be required to make the changes and corrections suggested by the referees. The Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to send manuscripts to a fourth referee who is specialized on the subject matter of the article for another review to ensure the academic quality of the articles published in the Journal. The peer review system is closed, that is, reviewers' confidentiality is maintained and reports are not made publicly available.

Instructions for the Submission of Manuscripts

1. Manuscripts should be submitted to the Editor-in-Chief, (insanhaklari-AT-istanbul.edu.tr) accompanied by an assurance that the article has not been published, submitted or accepted elsewhere. The deadline for the submission of articles for the first issue is 15 November 2012.
2. Manuscripts should be submitted in electronic format (preferably by email attachment with the use of Microsoft Word).
3. A 150-word abstract and 5 key words should be included in the article. A current CV, including affiliation information of the author should be attached to the submission e-mail along with the manuscript.
4. Manuscripts should be double spaced with 1,5 inch margins, in no smaller than 12 point type face (in Times New Roman format). Manuscripts should be maximum 12,000 words in length, including footnotes.
5. Authors are required to follow the Journal’s style and citation guide.
6. Evaluations consider both academic excellence and publishing concerns e.g., the need for a balance of topics, the Journal’s particular areas of interest, prior acceptance of articles on similar topics.
7. The final decision concerning manuscripts is made by the editors who reserve the rights to refuse a text, or if they accept a manuscript, to add certain corrections or shorten it.
8. Authors will normally be notified of the outcome within 10 weeks of receipt of the manuscript.
9. One hard copy of the issue in which the article appears will be sent to the author free of charge.