Requirements for the Content and Formatting of Article Manuscripts

Before submitting a manuscript to the editorial office of the Ukrainian Journal of Constitutional Law, authors should familiarize themselves with these requirements, the Procedure and Guidelines for the Peer Review of Articles, the Ethical Standards, the Copyright and Licensing Policy, and the Artificial Intelligence Use Policy.

Submission of a manuscript signifies that the author(s) agree to the publication terms, confirm the originality of the manuscript, the accuracy of the information presented therein, proper attribution of authorship, and compliance with applicable requirements concerning copyright, academic integrity, and open access.

I. General Provisions and Types of Materials

The Ukrainian Journal of Constitutional Law is a scholarly publication that publishes materials in the field of constitutional law and related areas of law and the social sciences.

The editorial office accepts materials in Ukrainian and English. The final classification of a submission, its section, and its corresponding editorial status are determined by the editorial office during the editorial process.

The journal may publish the following types of materials:

• Research Articles;
• A Word to Young Scholars;
• Research Reports;
• Analytical Materials;
• Topical Interviews;
• Contributions to the Discussion;
• European Integration Issues;
• European Standards of Constitutionalism;
• Constitutional Review;
• Constitutional Process Practice;
• Legal Heritage;
• Reviews;
• Book and Article Reviews;
• From the Editors.

Double-blind peer review applies to materials submitted to the “Research Articles” section. Other types of materials do not have the status of research articles and are not subject to the double-blind peer review procedure established for research articles. Their acceptance for publication is determined by the editorial office in accordance with the nature and purpose of the relevant section.

The editorial office reserves the right to determine the section to which a submitted material belongs, taking into account its content, purpose, and the editorial policy of the journal.

II. Requirements for Research Articles

Research articles accepted for publication must present original research in the field of constitutional law, comparative constitutional law, and related fields of knowledge, including European and international law, political science, and legal theory and philosophy.

A research article manuscript must contain a clearly formulated research problem, a justification of the relevance of the study, an analysis of the relevant scholarly literature, the purpose of the research, the methodology employed, the principal findings, a discussion of those findings, and conclusions.

The basic structure of a research article includes:

• Introduction – formulation of the problem, its relevance, and its relationship to scholarly or practical tasks;
• Review of Recent Research and Publications – an overview of the scholarly works underpinning the study and identification of unresolved aspects of the problem;
• Purpose of the Article – a clear formulation of the purpose and objectives of the research;
• Methodology – a description of the methods and approaches used in the study;
• Research Findings and Discussion – presentation and scholarly substantiation of the results obtained;
• Conclusions – a summary of the findings and, where appropriate, prospects for further research.

Depending on the nature of the study, individual structural elements may be combined or presented differently where this is justified by the content of the work.

The recommended maximum length of a research article is 25 pages in the prescribed format. The final decision on whether a longer manuscript may be published is made by the editorial office, taking into account the scholarly value and substantive completeness of the research.

Exception: the structural and length requirements applicable to research articles may differ for materials submitted to other sections of the journal.

III. Requirements for Metadata and Manuscript Formatting

3.1. Language

Research articles may be submitted in Ukrainian or English.

To ensure full identification and international accessibility, each article must contain its title, abstract, and keywords in both Ukrainian and English.

3.2. Technical Formatting of the Manuscript

The manuscript must be submitted in Microsoft Word format (.doc or .docx), on A4-size paper, in portrait orientation.

• font – Times New Roman, 14 pt;
• line spacing – 1.5;
• alignment of the main text – justified;
• first-line paragraph indent – 1.25 cm;
• margins – top, bottom, and left 2 cm; right 1 cm;
• automatic hyphenation and macros must not be used.

3.3. Structure of the Final Publication

The final layout of a research article is prepared by the editorial office after completion of the peer review and editorial processing. The principal elements appear in the following order:

1. UDC;
2. article title in Ukrainian;
3. article title in English;
4. author information;
5. author ORCID iD(s);
6. names and addresses of the authors’ affiliated institutions;
7. institutional email addresses of the authors, where used;
8. abstract in Ukrainian;
9. keywords in Ukrainian;
10. abstract in English;
11. keywords in English;
12. main body of the article;
13. funding information, where applicable;
14. conflict-of-interest statement, where required;
15. statement concerning the use of artificial intelligence, where required under the journal’s policy;
16. list of sources cited;
17. References.

3.4. Author Information

For each author, the following information must be provided:

• first name and surname;
• official name of the institution;
• department or other organizational unit and position, where necessary for identification;
• city;
• country;
• ORCID iD;
• institutional email address, where used.

ORCID iD is the principal international identifier of an author and is recommended for all authors. Any ORCID iD provided must be valid and must link directly to the corresponding author’s profile. The editorial office uses ORCID iDs in publication metadata and, where possible, in DOI metadata.

Other author identifiers may be provided in addition where they are actually used by the author.

3.5. Abstract and Keywords

Abstracts should concisely and informatively reflect the content of the study, its purpose, methodological approach, principal findings, and conclusions.

The Ukrainian- and English-language abstracts must correspond to one another in substance.

Each article must contain a sufficient number of keywords reflecting the principal concepts and subject matter of the research.

3.6. Publication Cycle Dates

For published research articles, the editorial office indicates the date on which the manuscript was received (Received), the date on which the manuscript was accepted for publication (Accepted), and the date of publication (Published).

The Received and Accepted dates are recorded by the editorial office in accordance with the actual course of the editorial and publishing process.

3.7. Illustrations, Tables, and Other Materials

Tables, graphs, charts, diagrams, and other illustrative materials must be directly relevant to the content of the research and appropriately captioned.

The text must contain references to all tables and illustrations.

Materials whose rights are held by third parties may be used only where an appropriate legal basis or permission exists, where such permission is required. Information concerning the rights holder, license, or other applicable terms of use must be properly indicated.

Authors are responsible for obtaining any necessary permissions for the use of third-party materials.

IV. Requirements for Citations and Reference Lists

4.1. Citation System

The journal uses a footnote citation system. Citations are indicated by superscript numerical markers corresponding to automatic footnotes at the bottom of the page.

Footnotes are numbered consecutively throughout the article.

4.2. Quotations

• Short direct quotations are enclosed in quotation marks and reproduce the source text accurately.
• Block quotations are presented as separate paragraphs in accordance with the journal’s editorial style.
• Omissions of text are indicated by ellipses without altering the original meaning.
• Paraphrases and summaries of source material must be accompanied by appropriate citations.
• Any modifications to quoted text must be clearly identified.

4.3. DOIs of Cited Sources

Where a cited scholarly source has been assigned a DOI, authors should provide it in the standardized URL format:

https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx

The DOI must be valid and must lead directly to the relevant record or publication.

4.4. List of Sources Cited

The list of sources cited is placed after the main body of the article.

The journal uses the MLA (Modern Language Association), 9th edition bibliographic style, adapted to the specific characteristics of legal sources, legal and regulatory acts, and judicial decisions.

The list of sources is presented in two interrelated sections:

1. Bibliography – scholarly books, monographs, research articles, conference proceedings, analytical reports, and other scholarly sources;
2. List of Legal Documents – normative legal acts, constitutions, international treaties, laws, and judicial decisions.

Sources within each section are arranged in alphabetical order.

4.5. References

Each research article must include an English-language References section corresponding in substance to the original list of sources cited.

For sources originally published in Cyrillic, the editorial office may transliterate and standardize bibliographic entries during the preparation of the material for publication. Authors must provide accurate bibliographic information in the original language and, for sources published in Cyrillic, an English translation of the source title where required by the journal’s editorial template.

Authors are responsible for the accuracy of the bibliographic information provided to the editorial office.

V. Authorship, Academic Integrity, Funding, and Conflicts of Interest

5.1. Authorship

Authorship must reflect the individual’s actual contribution to the research and preparation of the publication.

All persons listed as authors must have made a substantial contribution to the conception, conduct, analysis, or interpretation of the research and must approve the final version of the publication.

The use of artificial intelligence tools does not constitute grounds for listing such a tool as an author or co-author.

5.2. Originality and Simultaneous Submission

The submitted manuscript must be an original work.

The manuscript must not have been previously published as the same publication in another venue and must not be under consideration simultaneously by another journal, except in cases expressly permitted by editorial policy and properly disclosed to the editorial office.

Submission of a translated version of a previously published work is considered separately and must be expressly disclosed by the author at the time of submission.

5.3. Academic Integrity

The editorial office does not permit plagiarism, fabrication or falsification of data, duplicate publication, undisclosed substantial reuse of previously published text, or other violations of academic integrity.

Materials may be screened for textual similarity using specialized software.

Where substantial violations are identified, the editorial office acts in accordance with the Ethical Standards and the Procedure for the Retraction and Correction of Articles.

5.4. Funding

Authors must disclose the sources of funding for the research or preparation of the publication, where such funding was received.

Where the research was conducted under a grant or with the participation of an organization that funded the work, this must be clearly stated in the final version of the article.

5.5. Conflicts of Interest

Authors must disclose any financial, professional, or personal conflict of interest that could affect the content, interpretation, or presentation of the research findings.

Where no conflict of interest exists, the final publication may include a standard statement to that effect.

5.6. Ethical Approvals and Participant Consent

Where a submission involves research with human participants, personal data, interviews, or other information for which informed consent, authorization, or ethical approval is required by law or professional standards, the authors must obtain the relevant consent, authorization, or approval prior to submission and provide the corresponding information to the editorial office upon request.

VI. Use of Artificial Intelligence

The editorial office recognizes that artificial intelligence tools may be used in research and editorial work, provided that academic integrity and transparency are maintained.

The use of generative AI beyond routine spelling and grammar checking, stylistic editing, or formatting, where such use has materially affected the conceptualization, analysis, writing, or other substantive aspects of the manuscript, must be disclosed by the author in accordance with the Artificial Intelligence Use Policy.

AI tools may not be listed as authors or co-authors of a publication.

Authors retain full responsibility for the accuracy, originality, proper citation of sources, and final content of the submitted work, regardless of whether automated tools were used in its preparation.

Reviewers and editors are prohibited from using generative AI systems to prepare peer reviews or make editorial decisions in any manner that compromises the confidentiality of manuscripts.

Detailed rules are set out in the Artificial Intelligence Use Policy.

VII. Copyright, Licensing, and Open Access

The journal operates under a Diamond Open Access model. The full texts of published materials that constitute open-access journal content are available free of charge.

Publication of research articles is free of charge to authors: there are no article processing charges (APCs), submission fees, peer-review fees, editorial processing fees, page charges, or charges for color materials.

Author(s) retain copyright in the article. For publication purposes, the author(s) grant the publisher a non-exclusive right of first publication and other non-exclusive rights necessary for the editorial preparation, reproduction, distribution, archiving, and provision of open access to the publication.

Research articles are published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Upon submission, the author(s) confirm their agreement with the publication and licensing terms through the appropriate form on the journal’s website.

Detailed provisions are set out on the Copyright and Licensing page.

VIII. Manuscript Submission

Manuscripts are submitted through the official online submission form on the journal’s website.

8.1. Files to Be Submitted

To submit a research article, the author must upload:

1. An anonymized manuscript – a file containing no author names, institutional affiliations, ORCID iDs, or other information that may directly or indirectly disclose the author’s identity.
2. Author Information Form / Author Information – a separate file containing complete information about the author(s).

The file properties of the anonymized manuscript must also be cleared of information that could identify the author.

8.2. Information Submitted Through the Online Form

The author must provide, through the submission form, all mandatory metadata required by the editorial system, including:

• article title;
• language of the article;
• information for all authors;
• affiliations;
• ORCID iD;
• contact information;
• abstract;
• keywords;
• funding information, where applicable;
• conflict-of-interest information, where required;
• other metadata necessary for editorial processing and subsequent publication.

8.3. Mandatory Confirmations upon Submission

To complete the submission, the author must confirm through the online form:

• consent to the processing of personal data;
• acknowledgment and acceptance of the publication terms, copyright, and licensing provisions;
• that the author is authorized to act on behalf of all co-authors and that all co-authors have been informed of the submission;
• the originality of the manuscript and that it is not simultaneously under consideration by another publication, except in cases expressly provided for by editorial policy.

The editorial office may request additional documents or explanations from the author where necessary to verify authorship, the lawful use of materials, academic integrity, or other aspects of the submission.

8.4. Withdrawal of a Manuscript before Acceptance

An author may request withdrawal of a manuscript by submitting a written request to the editorial office before the manuscript has been accepted for publication. The request must be sent from the relevant author’s email address and must include the manuscript title and information about all co-authors.

The journal does not charge a fee for manuscript withdrawal.

IX. Publication of Foreign-Language and Translated Versions

Where a single article is published in two language versions, each language version is treated as a separate publication record and is assigned a separate DOI.

The translated version must be clearly identified as a translation of a previously published article and must contain a reference to the original version.

The corresponding DOIs and other metadata for the two versions must indicate their relationship as the original and translated versions.

Publication of a translation must not create the impression that it constitutes a new independent research study. Such publication is intended to make previously published scholarly material available in another language.

For publication of a translation, the editorial office must have the appropriate rights to use the original work and its translated version.

Where the translated version is published by the journal on an open-access basis, it must contain the relevant copyright and licensing information.

X. Manuscript Review and Editorial Decision-Making

10.1. Research Articles

Research articles undergo the procedure set out in the Procedure and Guidelines for the Peer Review of Articles.

Research articles are peer-reviewed under a double-blind peer review model. At least two independent external reviewers with appropriate scholarly expertise are involved in the evaluation.

Members of the editorial board must not act as external independent reviewers of the same article.

The decision on publication is made by the editorial office taking into account the results of peer review, the scholarly quality of the manuscript, its relevance to the journal’s thematic scope, and compliance with editorial and ethical requirements.

Editorial decisions must not be based on the author’s race, sex, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political views.

10.2. Other Types of Materials

Materials submitted to other sections are considered by the editorial office with due regard to their purpose, subject matter, and conformity with the editorial policy. They are not subject to the double-blind peer review procedure established for research articles.

10.3. Editorial Processing

Following acceptance, a manuscript may undergo literary, linguistic, bibliographic, and technical editing. Corrections that do not alter the scholarly substance of the material may be made by the editorial office as part of the editorial preparation process.

Where changes may affect the content, conclusions, or factual data, the editorial office consults the author and obtains the author’s approval.

10.4. Decisions on Corrections and Retraction

Following publication, the editorial office may publish a correction, an editorial notice, or a retraction in accordance with the Ethical Standards and the Procedure for the Retraction and Correction of Articles.

Pre-Submission Checklist

• The manuscript falls within the journal’s thematic scope.
• The manuscript is original and is not simultaneously under consideration by another journal.
• The anonymized file contains no information identifying the authors.
• All authors are correctly identified and have provided the required information.
• The authors’ ORCID iDs have been verified.
• The title, abstracts, and keywords are provided in both Ukrainian and English.
• All tables, figures, and other materials have appropriate source attributions or the necessary permissions for use.
• All quotations are supported by appropriate bibliographic references.
• DOIs of cited sources have been verified, where available.
• Funding and conflict-of-interest information is provided where applicable.
• Any use of AI has been disclosed in accordance with the journal’s policy where such disclosure is required.
• The authors have reviewed the publication terms, copyright and licensing policy, and confirmed their acceptance through the online submission form.

The editorial office may return a submitted manuscript for correction of technical or formal deficiencies before the editorial review process begins.

The editorial office may periodically update these requirements. Unless otherwise communicated by the editorial office to the author, the version of the editorial policy in effect at the time of submission shall apply to the manuscript.