1. Peer Review Process

All manuscripts submitted to the journal undergo a preliminary evaluation by the Editorial Board, which determines whether they are suitable for publication based on the journal's scope, editorial policy, and compliance with the Author Guidelines.

If the manuscript is approved by the Editorial Board, it is sent to external anonymous peer reviewers under a double-blind review process. The reviewers determine whether the manuscript is suitable for publication. If one reviewer recommends acceptance and the other recommends rejection, a third reviewer will be appointed to make the final decision.

The possible outcomes of the review process are:

• Accepted for publication.
• Accepted subject to the implementation of the recommended revisions.
• Rejected.

In all cases, authors will be notified of the editorial decision regarding their manuscript. The entire review process, including both the Editorial Board's assessment and the external peer review, is expected to take approximately three months.

 

2. Declaration and Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools

If the preparation of a submission involves the use of artificial intelligence tools, the author must upload the AI Declaration Form, which must be completed and signed by hand. Download it by clicking here.

The use of artificial intelligence tools does not, by itself, constitute grounds for rejection, provided that such use has been properly disclosed.

 

3. Editorial Ethics

3.1. Institutional Ethical Commitment

Editorial UPB and the Editorial Board of the Revista de la Facultad de Derecho y Ciencias Políticas declare their ethical commitment to all participants involved in the editorial process.

These guidelines are based on the analysis of mechanisms and strategies established in the international policies of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and the Council of Science Editors (2012), among others. They are also grounded in the guidelines of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the legal framework established by the Constitution of Colombia, the Colombian National Copyright Office, and the internal regulations of the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana (2015).

The journal's editorial work is supported by an academic and research process that recognizes transparency and honesty as essential principles for the responsible management and dissemination of knowledge. Members of the Editorial Board will not accept contributions that are not original or unpublished, that fabricate, falsify, or manipulate data, or that constitute fragmented publication, duplicate publication, self-plagiarism, excessive self-citation, or the inclusion of references that were not consulted, while acting in good faith toward authors, who remain responsible for any breach of these obligations.

 

3.2. General Principles of Research Integrity

• Fraud and plagiarism, in any form, are considered violations of research integrity, international intellectual property standards, and Colombian intellectual property law.
• A conflict of interest exists when members of the journal's editorial team (the Editorial Board or peer reviewers) have any relationship with a submitted contribution that could compromise their impartiality.
• For reasons that benefit research dissemination, a previously published contribution may be republished in another language or another country provided that the authors obtain the consent of both editorial teams at no cost, comply with the agreed publication interval, the second publication is intended for a different readership, and the original publication is properly acknowledged in a footnote.
• Authors will be informed of the status of their manuscript throughout the editorial process.
• The Editorial Team uses Turnitin to detect text overlap and similarity in submitted manuscripts. If plagiarism is detected, the manuscript will be withdrawn from the review process, and the Editorial Team will take the appropriate measures.

 

3.3. Authors' Ethical Responsibilities

• By submitting a manuscript, authors declare that their contribution is original, unpublished, derived from research, based on appropriate management of data and sources, and free from any form of fraud or plagiarism. They also authorize the journal to publish it in print or electronic format.
• Authors guarantee that the manuscript is not simultaneously under review elsewhere and has not been accepted, published, or committed for publication by another journal. They also agree not to withdraw it before the editorial process is complete. If this guarantee is found to have been violated, the manuscript will be withdrawn from the review process, and all parties will be notified in writing.
• Authors guarantee that they hold the necessary economic copyright permissions, that the content is their own, and that it respects the intellectual property rights of third parties.
• Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to use, reproduce, and publish any material they do not own (tables, graphs, maps, diagrams, photographs, etc.) and accept full responsibility for the use of images, photographs, and any other materials accompanying the manuscript.
• Authors authorize the journal to include their manuscripts, in whole or in part, individually or collectively, in future special issues, catalogs, databases, bibliographic indexes, print or digital publications—whether open access or subscription-based—as well as in national and international indexing services where the journal is or may later be included. They also authorize its inclusion in educational materials produced by the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana.
• Authors must remain available throughout the editorial process, including peer review, revision, and publication.
• Authors must disclose all sources of research funding, as well as the research group or institution from which the manuscript originates.
• All individuals who made a significant contribution to the manuscript must be recognized as authors, and individuals who did not contribute must not be listed.
• If an author identifies a substantive error in a published article that affects its scientific quality, they may request its correction or withdrawal. If a third party identifies plagiarism, prior publication, unethical conduct, or another serious error, the author is required to issue a public retraction, after which the journal will immediately publish a correction or retraction in its next issue.

 

3.4. Ethical Responsibilities of the Journal Editor

• Ensure a transparent review process characterized by clarity, originality, and the relevance of the submitted contribution.
• Contact the author directly whenever misconduct is suspected or there is evidence of behavior that violates the journal's ethical policies.
• Provide authors with clear submission guidelines that support compliance with scientific and editorial quality standards and ethical requirements, including plagiarism detection and proper data management.
• Make the final decision on acceptance or rejection based on peer review recommendations, editorial assessment, and criteria such as quality, significance, originality, and contribution to the discipline.
• Identify and address any conflicts of interest that arise during the review process.
• Select reviewers based on their academic background, expertise, and scholarly work in the relevant subject area.
• Ensure the anonymity of authors and reviewers throughout the review process.
• Refrain from participating in the review or selection process whenever a member of the journal submits a manuscript.
• Respect the author's intellectual position and the ideas expressed in the manuscript.
• Refrain from using information contained in submitted or under-review manuscripts for personal research until the work has been published.

 

3.5. Ethical Responsibilities og the Editorial Board

• Use appropriate and respectful communication channels when interacting with authors.
• Maintain strict confidentiality regarding submitted manuscripts and refrain from using data, arguments, or interpretations without the authors' authorization.
• Inform the editor of any inappropriate conduct identified in submitted manuscripts.
• Provide advice on scientific matters, dissemination, visibility, and impact whenever requested.

 

3.6. Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers

• Inform the Editorial Team if they identify any personal or professional conflict of interest that could affect their assessment of the manuscript.
• Notify the Editorial Team if they detect similarities between the manuscript under review and another manuscript that is under consideration for publication or has already been published.
• Accept a review assignment only when they believe they have the necessary academic expertise to provide a comprehensive assessment of the manuscript's contributions and areas for improvement.
• Evaluate the manuscript impartially and respectfully.
• Provide, based on their expertise, sufficient guidance to help the author strengthen the manuscript.
• Refrain from using the contents of the manuscript under review for their own benefit or that of third parties until it has been published.
• Notify the Editorial Team if they suspect that the manuscript contains plagiarism or falsified data, so that the appropriate verification procedures can be carried out.
• Submit their review within the deadlines agreed upon with the Editorial Team once they have accepted the review assignment.

 

4. Copyright and Licensing

Authors who publish in this journal agree to the following terms:

• Authors retain copyright to their work and grant the journal the right of first publication. The published work will simultaneously be licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) license, which allows others to share the work provided that proper attribution is given and the material is not used for commercial purposes.
• Authors may enter into additional non-exclusive licensing agreements for the distribution of the published version of their work (for example, by depositing it in an institutional repository or publishing it in an edited volume), provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged.
• Authors are permitted and encouraged to disseminate their work online (for example, through institutional repositories, personal websites, or academic social networks) before and during the submission process, as this may foster valuable exchanges and increase citations of the published work.

Any full or partial reproduction of published articles must acknowledge the original source.

 

5. Open Access Policy

This journal provides free access to all of its content based on the principle that making research freely available to the public promotes a broader exchange of scientific knowledge. No fees are charged for manuscript submission or for the editorial processing and publication of accepted articles.

 

6. Digital Preservation

The journal's files are digitally preserved and backed up automatically through weekly backups stored on an international cloud server. They are also available through the UPB Institutional Repository, accessible at: https://repository.upb.edu.co/