Instructions to Authors

Scope And Aims Of The Journal

The Oxford Journal of Law and Religion publishes a range of articles drawn from various sectors of the law and religion field, including: foreground social, legal and political issues involving the relationship of law and religion in society; comparative law perspectives on the relationship of religion and state institutions; developments regarding human and constitutional rights to freedom of religion or belief; considerations of the relationship between religious and secular legal systems; and other salient areas where law and religion interact (e.g., theology, legal and political theory, legal history, philosophy, etc.)  If you have any questions about your submission, please contact the editorial office at [email protected].

• The ideal length of articles is 12,000 words including references. Shorter and longer manuscripts are admissible, within reason. OJLR publishes only articles, Book reviews and Case comments.
• An abstract of about 150 words should be included for articles.
• OJLR uses an anonymous submission process. In order to ensure an impartial review of your submission, please do not identify yourself in your manuscript. You will be required to submit an anonymous main document and a separate title page with acknowledgments (including all sources of funding and support, and substantive contributions of individuals), and co-author names, to allow anonymous review.
• Exclusive submission policy: all manuscripts must be original and not under consideration with another publication or in another form, such as a chapter of a book. Authors of submitted papers are obligated not to submit their paper for publication elsewhere until an editorial decision is rendered on their submission.
• Submissions are made through an online submission system.
• 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.

Presubmission Language Editing

If you are not confident in the quality of your English, you may wish to use a language-editing service to ensure that editors and reviewers understand your paper. Oxford University Press partners with Enago, a leading provider of author services. Prospective authors are entitled to a discount of 30% for editing services at Enago.

Enago is an independent service provider, who will handle all aspects of this service, including payment. As an author you are under no obligation to take up this offer. Language editing is optional and does not guarantee that your manuscript will be accepted. Edited manuscripts will still undergo peer review by the journal.

Alterations and Revisions

If the Editor is of the opinion that an article provisionally accepted for publication needs minor revisions - including minor shortening, correction of errors in punctuation, spelling and style - such proposed changes will be made by the Editors and will not be resubmitted to the author for approval prior to publication if they do not alter the meaning or sense of the original manuscript. Authors may be asked to resubmit articles in response to the peer review evaluation.

Style and format

Manuscripts should conform to the The Oxford Standard for Citation Of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) which is designed to facilitate accurate citation of authorities, legislation, and other legal materials.

Style and spelling: Oxford English spelling should be used. Authors whose first language is not English are requested to have their typescripts checked carefully before submission. This will help expedite the review process and avoid confusion. Check the final copy of your paper carefully, as any spelling mistakes and errors may be translated into the typeset version.

General format: Prepare your typescript text using a word-processing package, ideally Microsoft Word (save in .doc or .rtf format). Please do not submit text as a PDF file. Typescripts should be double-spaced, including text, tables, legends and footnotes. Number each page. Type unjustified, hyphenating only compound words. Use the TAB key once for paragraph indents. Where possible use Times New Roman for the text font and Symbol for any Greek and special characters. Use the word processing formatting features to indicate Bold, Italic, Greek, Maths, Superscript and Subscript characters. Please avoid using underline: for cases use italic; for emphasis use bold. Clearly identify unusual symbols and Greek letters. Differentiate between the letter O and zero, and the letters I and l and the number 1. Mark the approximate position of any figure or table.

Headings: The use of sub-headings at regular intervals through each article is encouraged, as it makes articles more easily readable. If you need to use more than one level of heading, please use a consistent hierarchy of headings to ensure that the relevant importance of each heading is clear, for example I. CAPITALS, then A. Bold, then (1) Italics.

Tables: Tables should be typed with double spacing, but minimising redundant space, and each should be placed on a separate sheet. Tables should be submitted, wherever possible, in a portrait, as opposed to landscape, layout. Each Table should be numbered in sequence using Arabic numerals. Tables should also have a title above and an explanatory footnote below.

Figures: Where articles are to be accompanied by illustrative material, the review process will not begin until all figures are received. Figures should be limited to the number necessary for clarity and must not duplicate data given in tables or in the text. They must be submitted in electronic format and in a separate file to that of the typescript. Figures should be no larger than 125 (height) x 180 (width) mm (5 x 7 inches) and should be prepared at publication quality resolution (a minimum of 300 dpi at final printing size).

Photographs: Photographs should be of sufficiently high quality with respect to detail, contrast and fineness of grain to withstand the inevitable loss of contrast and detail.

Line drawings: Please provide these as clear, sharp illustrations, suitable for reproduction as submitted. All labeling should be on the original.

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. 

Reference Format

References should be given in footnotes. Full given names of the authors should be used in footnotes, unless initials are used on the original publications. Footnotes should be identified in the text by Arabic numerals and numbered in the order cited. Complete information should be given for each reference cited.

Citation examples:

Books:

JH Baker, An Introduction to English Legal History (3rd edn, 1990) 419–421

Malcolm D Evans, Religious Liberty and International Law in Europe (1st edn, CUP 2008) 342–62

Articles:

J Griffiths, ‘Copyright in English Literature: Denying the Public Domain’ [2000] EIPR 150, 151

Kimberly A Yuracko, ‘Education Off the Grid: Constitutional Constraints on Homeschooling’ (2008) 96 California Law Review 125.

Paul Craig, ‘Theory, “Pure Theory” and Values in Public Law’ [2005] Public Law 440.

Contributions to books:

A Ashworth, ‘Belief, Intent and Criminal Liability’ in J Eekelaar and J Bell (eds), Oxford Essays in Jurisprudence (3rd Series, 1987) 1, 6

Justine Pila, ‘The Value of Authorship in the Digital Environment’ in William H Dutton and Paul W Jeffreys (eds), World Wide Research: Reshaping the Sciences and Humanities in the Century of Information (MIT Press 2010).

Cases:

UK: Bowman v Fussy [1978] RPC 545, HL

ECJ: Case C–427/93 Bristol-Myers Squibb v Paranova [1996] ECR I-3457

EPO: T585/92 Unilever/Deodorant Detergent [1996] OJEPO 129

OHIM: R7/97-3 Orange Personal Communications Services/Orange [1998] ETMR 343

Copyright

It is a condition of publication in the Journal that authors grant an exclusive licence to Oxford University Press. 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 the licence, authors may use their own material 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. In consideration for granting the exclusive licence, the publisher will supply the author with free url access to their article. The free url allows readers free access to the full text of your paper whether or not they are a subscriber to the journal.

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.

Open Access Option For Authors

Oxford Journal of Law and Religion 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.

Proofs

Authors will receive a PDF proof of their article by email and it is essential that a current email address is supplied with all articles. Proofing instructions will accompany the PDF file but the proof should be checked immediately upon receipt and return as per covering instructions. Only essential corrections should be made at this stage.

Authors will receive a free URL link to their published paper online.

Availability of Data and Materials

Where ethically feasible, Oxford Journal of Law and Religion strongly encourages authors to make all data and software code on which the conclusions of the paper rely available to readers. We suggest that data be presented in the main manuscript or additional supporting files or deposited in a public repository whenever possible. Information on general repositories for all data types, and a list of recommended repositories by subject area, is available here.

Data and Software Citation

Oxford Journal of Law and Religion supports the Force 11 Data Citation Principles and the recommendations of the FORCE11 Software Citation Implementation Group. When data and software underlying the research article are available in an online source, authors should include a full citation in their reference list.

For details of the minimum information to be included in data and software citations see the guidance on Citing research data and software. 

Preprint Policy

Authors retain the right to make an Author’s Original Version (preprint) available through various channels, and this does not prevent submission to the journal. For further information see our Online Licensing, Copyright and Permissions policies. If accepted, the authors are required to update the status of any preprint, including your published paper’s DOI, as described on our Author Self-Archiving policy page.