ISSN 2523-1367 printed version
ISSN 2663-323X online version

INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS

 

Journal Scope

African Human Rights Yearbook – AHRY spearheads studies on the promotion and protection of human rights, and provides a forum for constructive engagement about the African human rights system with academics and other human rights commentators on the continent.

The journal publishes Original Articles on African human rights systems and international human rights law in Africa. Articles are accepted in English, French, Arabic and Portuguese.

 

 

Editorial Policy

Post–submission: Screening and Review

  • Screening for plagiarism: The African Human Rights Yearbook has a strict policy of screening manuscripts for plagiarism. The AHRY uses the Turnitin software to detect plagiarism prior to considering a submitted manuscript for review. Manuscripts displaying plagiarism may be rejected on this ground alone. Authors not adhering to the AHRY's policy that verbatim quotes must be clearly indicated as such may be requested to revise their articles in light of this requirement.
  • In–house substantive screening: All manuscripts then undergo an in–house substantive screening by the Editors. Manuscripts may at this stage be rejected without undergoing anonymous peer review, on grounds such as: the AHRY style guidelines were not followed; the manuscript does not conform with formal submission requirements; the language use significantly impedes comprehension; the manuscript does not present a substantiated argument. Authors of manuscripts rejected at this stage are informed about the in–house screening decision.
  • Peer–review process: Selected manuscripts are then sent for anonymous peer review by at least two experts in the relevant field, for their views on whether the submitted manuscript is publishable. The review process is double blind, in the sense that reviewers are not aware of authors’ identity, and authors are not aware of reviewers’ identities. Reviewers are required to engage in an objective assessment and should indicate if they have any conflict of interest. After peer review reports are received, the Editors decide on whether to invite authors to submit a revised version of the article together with a report on how authors have implemented comments from the reviewers. On receipt of the revised version, the Editors decide on whether to publish.
  • The Editors reserve the right to modify manuscripts that have successfully passed through the peer–review process, to bring them in conformity with the house style, to improve accuracy, to eliminate mistakes and ambiguity, and to bring the manuscript in line with the tenets of plain legal language.

Publication ethics and publication malpractice statement of the African Human Rights Yearbook

Authors should observe high standards with respect to publication ethics as set out in the guidelines adopted by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), https://publicationethics.org/retraction-guidelines). Any cases of ethical misconduct will be treated very seriously and will be dealt with in accordance with these guidelines.

In the event that the African Human Rights Yearbook publisher or editors are made aware of any allegation of research misconduct, the publisher or editor will investigate and act upon such allegations.

When information comes to the attention of the publisher or editors of the AHRY that requires the retraction or correction of a published article, the matter must be investigated and acted upon appropriately. The AHRY is committed to publishing corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies when so required, in the issue immediately following, in line with COPE guidelines.

Conflict of interest

Authors should declare if they consider that they may be reasonably perceived to have a conflict of interest in respect of the content of the manuscript they submit. The ground for the potential perception of a conflict of interest must be acknowledged in the manuscript.

Editors must refrain from participating in the selection of articles about which they may reasonably be perceived to have a conflict of interest.

External reviewers are expected to refrain from participating in the selection of articles about which they may be reasonably perceived to have a conflict of interest.

The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) states in its Guidelines on Good Publication Practice (2003) as follows:

‘Conflicts of interest arise when authors, reviewers, or editors have interests that are not fully apparent and that may influence their judgments on what is published. They have been described as those which, when revealed later, would make a reasonable reader feel misled or deceived.’

Conflict of interest include any personal involvement in a case or other matter related to a manuscript under consideration for publication that may reasonably be perceived to lead to bias, such as having a meaningful financial interest in a related matter, having received funding, having an interest in the outcome of a case being discussed in a manuscript, or having a personal relationship.

AHRY Submissions Policy and Ethics Downloadable.

 

 

Preparation and Style of Manuscripts

Download AHRY Manuscript Style Guidelines.

 

 

Manuscript Submission

The editors will consider only material that complies with the following requirements:

  • The submission must be original.
  • The submission should not already have been published or submitted elsewhere.
  • Articles that do not conform to the African Human Rights Yearbook style guidelines will be rejected out of hand.
  • The African Human Rights Yearbook utilises plagiarism detection software. Please ensure that submissions do not infringe other persons’ intellectual property rights.
  • Papers should average between 5 000 and 10 000 words (including footnotes) in length.
  • If the manuscript is not sent by e–mail, it should be submitted as hard copy and in electronic format (MS Word).
  • The manuscript should be typed in Arial, 12 point (footnotes 10 point), 1½ spacing.
  • Authors of contributions are to supply their university degrees, professional qualifications and professional or academic status.
  • Authors should supply a summary of their contributions of not more than 300 words.
  • Footnotes must be numbered consecutively. Footnote numbers should be in superscript without any surrounding brackets. The manuscript will be submitted to a referee for evaluation. The editors reserve the right to change manuscripts to make them conform with the house style, to improve accuracy, to eliminate mistakes and ambiguity, and to bring the manuscript in line with the tenets of plain legal language.
  • The following general style pointers should be followed:
  • First reference to books: eg UO Umozurike The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (1997) 21.
  • First reference to journal articles: eg C Anyangwe ‘Obligations of states parties to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights’ (1998) 10 African Journal of International and Comparative Law 625.
  • Subsequent references to footnote in which first reference was made: eg Patel & Walters (n 34 above) 243.
  • Use UK English.
  • Proper nouns used in the body of the article are written out in full the first time they are used, but abbreviated the next time, eg the United Nations (UN).
  • Words such as ‘article’ and ‘section’ are written out in full in the text.
  • Where possible, abbreviations should be used in footnotes, eg ch; para; paras; art; arts; sec; sees. No full stops should be used. Words in a foreign language should be italicised. Numbering should be done as follows:
    1
    2
    3.1
    3.2.1
  • Smart single quotes should be used; if something is quoted within a quotation, double quotation marks should be used for that section.
  • Quotations longer than 30 words should be indented and in 10 point, in which case no quotation marks are necessary.
  • The names of authors should be written as follows: FH Anant.
  • Where more than one author are involved, use ‘&’: eg FH Anant & SCH Mahlangu.
  • Dates should be written as follows (in text and footnotes): 28 November 2001.
  • Numbers up to ten are written out in full; from 11 use numerals.
  • Capitals are not used for generic terms ‘constitution’, but when a specific country’s constitution is referred to, capitals are used ‘Constitution’.
  • Official titles are capitalised: eg ‘the President of the Constitutional Court’.

Contact pulp@up.ac.za for further instructions on manuscript submission.

 

 

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African Human Rights Yearbook
Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria,
Hatfield, Pretoria, Gauteng, ZA, 0002,
Tel: +27(0) 12 420 4948



pulp@up.ac.za