Editorial Policy Section

Publication Approach and Model

  • Continuous Publication: To reduce publication delays and align with the preferences of indexing systems such as SciELO, articles will be published individually as soon as they complete the editorial process.

  • Open Access: Hemiciclo will provide free and unrestricted access to all its content under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, allowing texts to be shared and adapted provided that proper credit is given. No article processing charges (APCs) will be applied.

Editorial Management and External Representation

  • Prevention of Institutional Inbreeding: To ensure academic rigor, at least 75% of the members of the Editorial Council shall be affiliated with institutions other than the Higher Institute of the Legislative Academy. Likewise, at least 60% of published works shall be authored by contributors external to the publishing institution.

  • Peer Review Process: Every original manuscript shall undergo a double-blind peer review process. Transparency shall be ensured by publishing the exact dates of receipt and acceptance in each article.

Peer Reviewers (External Evaluators)

Nature and Profile: Peer reviewers constitute the external evaluation body of the journal Hemiciclo. They are researchers and specialists of recognized standing, both national and international, with proven expertise in the subject areas of the manuscripts they evaluate. To ensure the impartiality of the review process, they must be independent of the publishing institution (ISAL) and the Editorial Committee.

Main Functions and Responsibilities:

  • Impartial Scientific Evaluation (Double-Blind): To assess the methodological rigor, originality, quality, and relevance of assigned articles under a double-blind review model, maintaining mutual anonymity between authors and reviewers and preserving at all times the confidentiality of unpublished manuscripts.

  • Issuance of Review Reports: To submit, within the established deadlines, a critical, objective, and constructive evaluation, providing the Editor with a clear recommendation regarding the final decision on the article: accepted for publication, accepted subject to minor or major revisions, or rejected.

  • Ethical Oversight and Plagiarism Detection: To act as guarantors of academic integrity. If a reviewer identifies indications of plagiarism, substantial copying, redundant publication, or data manipulation, they must immediately alert the Editor, communicate their concerns, and provide any relevant documentary evidence.

  • Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence: Responsibility for any judgment issued when recommending the acceptance or rejection of a scientific manuscript rests exclusively with the human reviewer, and interaction with Artificial Intelligence does not replace personal accountability. If a reviewer uses AI tools as a supplementary resource during the evaluation process, this use must be formally disclosed to the editorial team, specifying the name of the model, its version, the date of use, and the inputs taken into account in preparing the final observations.

  • Alignment with Open Science: In accordance with open science practices, reviewers may, with their express consent, disclose their identities and allow their review comments or reports to be published alongside the final article, thereby promoting a more transparent evaluation process.

Thematic Scope

Legislative Production: Development of knowledge and capacities related to the drafting, analysis, and evaluation of legislation and to the processes inherent in legislative production.

Public Policy Analysis: Study, analysis, formulation, and evaluation of public policies, with particular attention to their relationship with and impact on legislative activity.

International Comparative Legislation: Comparative study of legislation, legislative models, institutional systems, and international public policies in order to analyze different experiences and regulatory solutions.

Law: Study of the legal foundations related to the State, institutions, and the legislative function, with consideration given to constitutionality, democratic legality, and other relevant fields of law consistent with the Institute’s academic purposes.

Human Rights and Democracy: Study and promotion of fundamental rights, democratic principles, the rule of law, citizenship, and their relationship with the legislative function and public institutions.

Legislative and Public Service Ethics: Reflection and education concerning the ethical principles applicable to legislative practice and public service, including integrity, accountability, transparency, and good governance.

Political Philosophy: Study of the fundamental theories, concepts, and issues of political thought and their application to the analysis of the State, institutions, public policies, and legislative drafting and evaluation processes.

Communication and Argumentation: Development of knowledge and capacities related to effective communication, argumentation, deliberation, debate, and discourse-building in legislative and institutional contexts.

History: Analysis of historical processes and precedents relevant to understanding contemporary political, legislative, institutional, and social realities.

Information and Communication Technologies and Information Management: Critical study and application of digital technologies, information management and analysis, artificial intelligence, access to knowledge, transparency, and the ethical use of technologies in legislative, academic, and institutional settings.