1. About the Journal
Previously known as the International Journal of Rural Law and Policy, the International Journal of RRR Law and Policy (IJ RRR LP) is the only Australian journal dedicated primarily to the research of regional rural and remote socio-legal, governance, natural resource, and sustainability regulation issues. The Journal is committed to creating knowledge, promoting scholarly debates, and disseminating research outcomes to the widest communities. The Journal welcomes articles on a broad spectrum of legal developments, laws and policies that advance the understanding of the regional, rural and remote issues and governance. The journal is peer-reviewed by highly qualified, distinguished researchers and is not limited to any geographic location and follows an open access policy for its publications. The primary audience for this journal include the academic legal community, practitioners, policymakers, educators, researchers, and students, who have an interest in contemporary issues, policies and practices relating to regional, remote and rural areas.
The journal aims to publish two issues per year with one edition a year dedicated to a chosen RRR theme. These editions will give preference to articles on the given theme but may also include other unsolicited papers. The Journal will also publish editions containing unsolicited, relevant papers on an ad hoc basis. We also invite comment (see the comment link to each paper) upon all papers published in the Journal. On a periodic basis, the comments will be reviewed and a ‘commentary’ published in the journal thereby generating and supporting a lively community of scholars of RRR law and policy, as well as contributing innovative and valuable ideas to the field.
2. Focus and Scope
Many excellent journals deal with legal doctrine and practice, policy and institutions. None, however, concentrate specifically upon the unique issues and features of regional, rural and remote (RRR) law and policy. Such issues are sufficiently distinctive and important to justify the specialist focus of this journal.
People in RRR areas encounter many of the same law and policy issues that challenge their urban counterparts: crime, for example, the struggle for social justice, property and commercial transactions, and the pursuit of sustainability. However,RRR people face these challenges from within distinct environments that affect the character of the challenges themselves as well as the feasible responses to them. Out of such features arise many law and policy issues that are critical to RRR people but which may be of marginal interest to major population clusters in large urban areas. Natural resources law and policy, Indigenous social justice, and equity of access to services, transport, and the justice system are illustrative of such issues. There are also many issues that may not be uniquely RRR preoccupations but which take on a particular character in a RRR, setting, including sexual freedom, personal reputation or professional ethics in small communities, and the challenges of creating viable enterprise networks when distant from urban centres where most consumers reside.
These special considerations for RRR law and policy are relevant throughout the world. In these times of seismic shift in political, social and economic circumstances there is arguably more than ever before both the need and the opportunity to learn from each other how to conceptualise, design and develop better governance systems, innovative legislative frameworks, and improved policies.. The IJ RRR LP provides a platform through which to explore and share this important learning.
3. Journal History
Since its inception in 2011, IJ RRR LP has contributed significantly to the publication of articles on rural and regional issues. The first publication was launched in November 2011. The articles in that first issue resulted from a colloquium on water law convened by the University of New England in January 2011. Since that time, the Journal has published several special issues concerned with REDD+ and mangroves, soil governance, mining law and policy, and rural, regional legal issues. The journal has also published a diverse range of articles, from the application of family violence law in rural Australia to policies to seed banks, rural crime and more.
The current Board of Editors is indebted to the former editors and managers for their dedication and hard work in establishing the Journal and building its reputation. Former Chief Editors, Amanda Kennedy, Wei Wei, Ciprian Radavoi and Same Varayudej, and Journal Manager, Miriam Veerbeek, are to be congratulated for their excellent contributions. Their considerable efforts have brought the Journal to the place from where it is now possible to take it to next level.
4. Submission Process
4.1 Author’s guideline
The International Journal of RRR Law and Policy provides a platform for critical voices on law and policy questions
a) Articles should comprise between 6,000-10,000 words maximum, including footnotes; they should also include an abstract of 200 words maximum
b) Short notes, comments to cases and materials should range between 3,000 and 5,000 words
c) Book reviews should range from 1000 to 2000 words.
Submissions should comply with the Journal’s style policy and AGLC style when it is accepted for publication. A declaration that the manuscript has not been submitted, published or accepted elsewhere must accompany the submission. To ensure anonymity during the peer review process, please submit:
a) a title page, including the authors’ contact details; and
b) a separate document including the text of the submission.
Authors are encouraged to refer to research material published in English and other languages. Manuscripts must be submitted via the journal webpage. A decision whether to submit the manuscript for peer-review will be made by the Editorial Board within five days of receipt of submission and a definitive answer on acceptance will be given within four weeks from submission.
4.2 General guidelines:
a) Submitted manuscripts must be original and not published or under consideration elsewhere.
b) All correspondence must be via e-mail and should be addressed to: Chief Managing Editor (smarimut@une.edu.au).
c) Authors must complete all relevant metadata sections before submitting articles for consideration.
d) The preference is to publish a head and shoulders image of the author(s) – except in cases where there are more than four authors.
4.3 Specific Guidelines
a) Format: Manuscripts must be submitted in .doc or .docx Any other formats will be returned to the author for reformatting.
b) Typeface/Font: Black throughout. Any font is acceptable for submission but the font style will be changed to that of the journal’s before publication.
c) Abstract: An ‘abstract’ of no more than 300 words must precede the body of work.
d) Keywords: Include a list of ‘keywords’ (separated by semicolons) at the end of the article
e) Word Limits: Articles: 6,000-10,000 words; Short notes, comments to cases and materials: 3000-5000 words; and book reviews: 1000-2000 words
f) Headings:
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- Do not use more than three levels of headings.
- Avoid stacked headings.
- Use numbered headings (e.g. 1; 1.1; 1.1.1; 2, 2.1) to indicate level of heading.
- Capitalise only proper nouns and the first letter of first word in headings. Avoid long headings (no more than six words
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g) Quotes:
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- Use singe quotation marks (and double quotation marks for quotes within quotes) for quotes within text.
- Quotes longer than 40 words, should be indented from the left margin, in a smaller font size, and without quotation marks.
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h) Spelling: Use Australian English (choose the option ‘English (AUS)’ for your online Word dictionary.
i) Tables/Figures:
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- Each table, illustration and figure must have a consecutive number and caption (e.g. Table 1: xyz, Table 2: abc, Figure 1: ghi, Figure 2: jkl).
- Table captions appear at the top of the table; Figure captions appear at the bottom of the figure.
- Place tables, figures and illustrations at appropriate place in the body of the article (not at the end).
- Embed clear .jpg or .tiff files for figures. If using drawing tools in Word, ensure that all items are ‘selected’ then ‘grouped’.
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j) Referencing: Use the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (AGLC 4th ed)https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TGvYqdqQnOU-GtSV3I25ft6EyYIx_w4U/edit.
k) Include all author and author details in the metadata section of author submissions.
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- Referencing follows the numbered footnoting style.
- Include a bibliography: invert author last name and first name for bibliography and list references in alphabetical order (see AGLC guidelines)
- If using URLs, unlink them before submitting the manuscript.
- Include DOIs for references where available.
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4.4. Submission Preparation Checklist
As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission’s compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors who do not adhere to these guidelines.
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- The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
- The article complies with Journal word limits
- All author identification has been removed from the submission to ensure anonymity for the double-blind peer-review process.
- The submission file is in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) format
- Author details (including co-author details) have been included in the metadata section of the author submission
- The reference style used is as specified in the Australian Guide to Legal Citation. This guide can be found at: http://www.law.unimelb.edu.au/mulr/aglc.
- In addition to footnote citations, a bibliography is included at the end of the article. Each reference in the bibliography must have a DOI if one is available. For assistance on locating the DOIs, please go to the free service http://www.crossref.org/SimpleTextQuery/to retrieve all available DOIs to add to the bibliography.
- The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines
- Metadata of the author submission section has been comprehensively completed
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5. Complaints Procedure
Authors who wish to submit a complaint related to the peer review process or other editorial decisions should contact the Chief Editor as a first point of contact. Issues which cannot be resolved satisfactorily by the Chief Editor may be escalated to the Editorial Advisory Board.
For further information, please see the COPE Code of Conduct for Journal Editors and Publishers.
6. Peer Review Process
Each article is peer-reviewed initially by the editor before it is sent to least two reviewers (blind review) for review. Article is accepted for publication after authors attend to the suggestions (if any) by reviewers.
Each submitted manuscript is evaluated on the following criteria:
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- the originality of its contribution to the field of scholarly publishing
- the soundness of its theory and methodology given the topic
- the coherence of its analysis
- its ability to effectively communicate to readers (grammar and style)
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7. Open Access Policy
This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.
This Journal has no submission or article processing charges.
Authors of published articles remain the copyright holders and grant others the right to use, reproduce, adapt and share their articles according to the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License.
Authors are permitted to self-archive works on their personal or institutional webpages and repositories.
8. Disclaimer
The views expressed in this journal are those of the authors and do not, and should not, be considered representative of International Journal of RRR Law and Policy or The University of New England, Armidale, NSW.
At all times the journal will maintain the highest standards of academic integrity. Editorial decisions are not affected by the origins of manuscripts, including nationality, ethnicity, race, nor religion of the authors. In addition, editorial decisions are not determined by the policies of governments or other agencies outside of the journal itself.
9. Complaints Handling
Complaints related to International Journal of RRR Law and Policy should be directed in the first instance to the journal’s Chief Managing Editor. Complaints will be investigated according to recommendations by the Committee on Publication Ethics (see COPE Flowcharts). Authors with complaints related to the peer review or editorial process should refer to the Author Guidelines
10. Handling of Suspected Misconduct
Issues of suspected misconduct will be handled in accordance with the guidelines set out by the COPE Code of Conduct for Journal Editors.
11. Corrections and Retractions
Corrections and retractions will be treated in accordance with the guidelines set out by the COPE Code of Conduct for Journal Editors.