Author Guidelines

A. General Requirements

The Asian Journal of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice accepts original scholarly manuscripts that have not been previously published and are not under consideration by any other journal. All submitted manuscripts must be free from plagiarism and must comply with the journal’s manuscript template and author guidelines.

Manuscripts must fall within the scope of the journal, particularly in the areas of criminal law, criminology, criminal justice, criminal procedure, penal policy, comparative criminal law, and the relationship between criminal law and human rights within the Asian context. The journal gives priority to manuscripts that offer a clear academic contribution to the development of criminal law scholarship, criminal justice reform, or human rights discourse in Asia.

Submissions may examine a single jurisdiction, but manuscripts focusing on one national legal system must clearly demonstrate their broader relevance to Asian criminal law amd criminal justice discourse. Authors are encouraged to position their arguments within regional, comparative, or transnational debates involving Asian jurisdictions.

The manuscript must be written in clear, coherent, and consistent British English. Authors should avoid American English spelling and terminology. For example, authors should use offence, defence, judgement, criminalisation, behaviour, analyse, centre, and programme, unless a specific legal term, statute, case title, or quoted material requires otherwise.

Each author must have an ORCID iD, and the ORCID link must be included in the manuscript. The manuscript must also include the full name of each author, institutional affiliation, city, province, country, and the active email address of the corresponding author. In certain cases, the editorial team may request valid proof that the manuscript has undergone professional proofreading.

B. Scope of Manuscripts

The journal welcomes manuscripts that address, but are not limited to, the following areas:

  1. Criminal law and criminal justice theory and doctrine in Asian jurisdictions.
  2. Comparative criminal law and criminal justice across Asian countries.
  3. Criminal procedure, due process, and fair trial rights.
  4. Criminal law reform and penal policy.
  5. Human rights protection in criminal law and criminal justice systems.
  6. The relationship between security, public order, and individual liberty.
  7. Criminological perspectives on crime, punishment, and justice in Asia.
  8. Criminalisation, decriminalisation, and overcriminalisation.
  9. Judicial practice, prosecutorial discretion, policing, and defence rights.
  10. Transnational crime, cybercrime, corruption, terrorism, environmental crime, and other emerging criminal law issues relevant to Asia.

Manuscripts with a purely national focus may be considered only when they provide sufficient analytical contribution beyond descriptive discussion. Authors should explain how the issue contributes to broader debates on criminal law, criminal justice, criminology, or human rights in Asia.

C. Writing Rules

The manuscript must be between 6,000 and 9,000 words, including footnotes but excluding the references section. The title must be concise, specific, and must not exceed 18 words.

Authors are required to provide at least 30 references. References should preferably be drawn from scholarly and authoritative sources, especially journal articles, academic books, legal materials, court decisions, official reports, and other credible sources relevant to the topic. Authors are encouraged to use recent references, particularly sources published within the last five years, while still allowing the use of older foundational works where necessary.

Citations must be presented exclusively in footnotes, not as in-text citations. For Mendeley, authors must use Chicago Manual of Style 17th Edition (full note). For Zotero, authors must use Chicago Manual of Style 18th edition (notes and bibliography, subsequent ibid.). Authors are strongly encouraged to manage citations using Mendeley or Zotero to ensure accurate, consistent, and standardized footnote formatting.

References must be written clearly and completely. For journal articles, authors should provide a valid DOI link whenever available. For online sources, direct and valid URLs must be included. All sources cited in the footnotes must appear in the references list, and all entries in the references list must be cited in the manuscript.

D. Structure of the Manuscript

The manuscript must be arranged in the following order:

  1. Title

The title must be concise, specific, and no longer than 18 words. It should reflect the central issue, legal focus, and analytical direction of the manuscript. Titles should avoid overly broad, vague, or promotional wording.

  1. Author Identity

The manuscript must include the full name of each author, institutional affiliation, city, province, country, and ORCID link. The corresponding author’s active email address must also be provided.

  1. Abstract

The abstract must not exceed 250 words. It should clearly state the research objective, main legal issue, method, key findings, and conclusion. The abstract must be written as a single standalone summary and must not contain citations. The abstract must be written in clear and consistent British English.

  1. Keywords

Authors must provide 3 to 5 keywords in English, separated by semicolons. Keywords should reflect the central legal concepts, jurisdictional focus, and analytical theme of the manuscript.

  1. Introduction

The introduction must clearly explain the background of the study, urgency of the issue, significance of the topic, and scholarly context of the manuscript. Authors must identify the legal problem or research gap being addressed.

The introduction should engage with relevant previous studies and explain the limitations of existing scholarship. Authors are expected to demonstrate the novelty of the manuscript and state the research objective clearly.

For manuscripts submitted to The Asian Journal of Criminal Law, the introduction should also explain the relevance of the topic to criminal law, criminal justice, criminology, or human rights in Asia. If the manuscript focuses on a single jurisdiction, the introduction should clarify how the analysis contributes to broader Asian or comparative legal discourse.

  1. Method

The method section must explain the research methodology in a clear and descriptive manner.

For doctrinal or normative legal research, authors should explain the legal materials used, such as statutes, court decisions, international instruments, legal doctrines, and scholarly literature. Authors should also explain the approach used, such as statutory, conceptual, case-based, comparative, historical, or philosophical analysis.

For comparative legal research, authors should identify the jurisdictions being compared, justify their selection, and explain the basis of comparison.

For socio-legal or empirical research, authors should describe the research context, data sources, data collection methods, and data analysis method.

For review-based manuscripts, authors should explain the topic under review, theoretical or legal framework used, and scope or limitation of the analysis.

  1. Results and Discussion

This section is the core of the manuscript. It must present the main findings, legal analysis, or scholarly arguments in a clear, structured, and concise manner. Authors may use subheadings where necessary.

The discussion should not merely describe legal provisions or previous literature. It must provide critical analysis, demonstrate the significance of the findings, and explain how the manuscript contributes beyond previous publications.

For manuscripts focusing on criminal law and human rights, the discussion should examine how criminal law affects individual rights, procedural fairness, liberty, equality before the law, access to justice, or other relevant human rights concerns.

For comparative manuscripts, the discussion should identify both commonalities and differences between jurisdictions and explain their legal, institutional, or policy significance.

Tables and figures must be placed in the centre, clearly readable, and properly cited in the text. Images should have a minimum resolution of 300 dpi. Tables should use an open format without vertical lines.

  1. Conclusion

The conclusion must directly answer the research objective and summarise the main argument or finding of the manuscript. It should be concise and should not merely repeat the abstract or restate the discussion in detail.

Where appropriate, the conclusion may include implications or recommendations derived from the findings. Recommendations should be analytical, relevant, and based on the discussion presented in the manuscript.

  1. Declaration of Conflicting Interest

Authors must state whether there is any conflict of interest related to the publication or the research. If there is no conflict of interest, authors may write:

The authors declare no conflict of interest in the publication of this article.

  1. Funding Information

Authors must provide information about financial support for the research. If no funding was received, authors may write:

None.

  1. Acknowledgement

This section may be used to acknowledge individuals, institutions, or funding bodies that supported the research and writing process. Acknowledgements should be concise and relevant.

  1. References

The bibliography must be written consistently in accordance with the Chicago Manual of Style, Full Note format. All cited sources must appear in the references list. Authors are responsible for ensuring the accuracy and completeness of all bibliographic data.

  1. Author Biography

Each submission must be accompanied by a short biography of each author in a separate file. Each biography must be descriptive and should not exceed 150 words. The biography may include academic position, institutional affiliation, research interests, and selected areas of expertise.

E. Footnotes and References

Citations must be presented exclusively in footnotes, not as in-text citations. For Mendeley, authors must use Chicago Manual of Style 17th Edition (full note). For Zotero, authors must use Chicago Manual of Style 18th edition (notes and bibliography, subsequent ibid.). Authors are strongly encouraged to manage citations using Mendeley or Zotero to ensure accurate, consistent, and standardized footnote formatting.

Footnotes may contain source information and, where necessary, brief explanatory notes. However, authors should avoid excessive explanatory footnotes that distract from the main argument.

References must be relevant, accurate, and predominantly drawn from scholarly sources. The manuscript must contain at least 30 references. Authors should prioritise authoritative legal scholarship, peer-reviewed journal articles, academic books, legislation, court decisions, international instruments, official reports, and credible institutional publications.

Authors must ensure that all references are complete. Journal articles should include DOI links whenever available. Online sources must include valid and accessible URLs.

F. Language and Style

The manuscript must use British English consistently. Authors should ensure that spelling, grammar, punctuation, and terminology are appropriate for academic legal writing.

Authors should use clear, precise, and formal language. Overly rhetorical, journalistic, or promotional expressions should be avoided. The manuscript should present arguments in a logical and coherent manner.

Authors should avoid vague expressions such as very important, highly interesting, or many problems without clear analytical explanation. Legal concepts should be defined where necessary, especially when they are jurisdiction-specific.

The use of first-person expressions should be avoided unless methodologically justified. Authors should maintain an academic tone throughout the manuscript.

G. Ethical Requirements

Authors must ensure that the manuscript is original and free from plagiarism, self-plagiarism, data fabrication, citation manipulation, and other forms of academic misconduct.

All authors listed in the manuscript must have made a substantial contribution to the research or writing process. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all co-authors have approved the final version of the manuscript before submission.

Where the manuscript involves empirical research, interviews, fieldwork, or sensitive data, authors must ensure that ethical principles have been followed, including informed consent, confidentiality, and protection of research participants where applicable.

Additional Notes

Manuscripts that do not comply with the journal template and author guidelines may be returned to authors for revision before entering the review process.

All submissions will first undergo editorial screening. Manuscripts that do not meet the journal’s standards, scope, formatting requirements, or language quality may be rejected before peer review.

Manuscripts that pass the initial editorial screening will be considered for further review in accordance with the journal’s editorial policy. Authors may be requested to revise the manuscript based on editorial or reviewer comments.

The editorial team may request proof of professional proofreading where the manuscript requires substantial language correction. Final responsibility for the accuracy of the content, citations, references, and legal analysis remains with the authors.