Article Processing Charges

Contemporary Issues on Indonesian Human Rights Law and Policy applies an Article Processing Charge (APC) of IDR 5,000,000 (five million Indonesian rupiah) per article accepted for publication.

For authors making international payments, the APC is approximately equivalent to USD 300 (three hundred United States dollars). The applicable amount in foreign currency may vary depending on the prevailing exchange rate and payment processing conditions at the time of payment.

The APC policy is established to ensure transparency concerning publication costs and to support the journal's commitment to sustainable, high-quality, and open scholarly publishing.

1. Purpose of the APC

The APC contributes to the operational and technical costs associated with the publication of accepted scholarly articles.

Depending on the journal's publishing arrangements, these costs may include:

• Editorial and manuscript management;
• Administration of the peer review process;
• Copyediting and language editing;
• Typesetting and formatting;
• Preparation of the final Version of Record;
• Online publication;
• DOI registration and maintenance;
• Metadata creation and dissemination;
• Digital archiving and preservation;
• Maintenance of the journal's online publishing platform;
• Website and journal infrastructure;
• Publication administration;
• Long-term accessibility of published content; and
• Other reasonable costs associated with scholarly publishing.

The APC does not constitute payment for acceptance and does not purchase a favorable editorial decision.

2. Amount of APC

The standard APC is:

IDR 5,000,000 (five million Indonesian rupiah) per accepted article.

For international authors:

Approximately USD 300 (three hundred United States dollars) per accepted article.

The journal may update the APC from time to time. Any change to the APC will be publicly announced on the journal's website and will not normally be applied retrospectively to manuscripts that have already received a formal acceptance decision.

3. When the APC Is Charged

The APC is charged only after the manuscript has received a formal acceptance decision.

The publication process may be summarized as follows:

Submission → Editorial Screening → Similarity Check → Peer Review → Revision → Final Editorial Decision → Acceptance → APC Payment → Production → Publication

Authors are not required to pay the APC:

• At the time of submission;
• During initial editorial screening;
• Before peer review;
• In order to obtain peer review;
• In order to influence an editorial decision; or
• Before a formal acceptance decision has been issued.

No payment is required merely to submit a manuscript for consideration.

4. No Submission or Peer Review Fee

The journal does not charge separate fees for:

• Manuscript submission;
• Initial editorial assessment;
• Similarity/plagiarism screening;
• Peer review;
• Reviewer evaluation; or
• Editorial decision-making.

The APC is payable only for manuscripts that have been formally accepted for publication.

5. Editorial Independence

Payment of an APC has no influence on the editorial or peer review process.

Editorial decisions are based exclusively on scholarly considerations, including:

• Originality;
• Academic quality;
• Relevance to the journal's scope;
• Theoretical contribution;
• Methodological rigor;
• Quality of analysis;
• Reliability of evidence;
• Clarity of argument;
• Ethical compliance; and
• Contribution to human rights law and policy scholarship.

Editors and reviewers do not make decisions based on an author's financial circumstances or willingness to pay an APC.

Similarly, an author's inability to pay an APC does not constitute a reason to reject a manuscript that has otherwise met the journal's academic standards.

6. Separation of APC Administration from Editorial Decisions

Where administratively feasible, APC administration is kept separate from editorial evaluation.

Information concerning whether an author has paid, requested, or received an APC waiver or discount should not influence peer reviewers or editorial decisions.

A manuscript will not be accepted because an APC has been paid, and payment cannot be used to secure or accelerate acceptance.

7. Payment After Acceptance

Following formal acceptance, the corresponding author will receive an APC invoice or payment instructions from the journal.

Authors should not make payments to individuals or accounts that are not officially designated by the journal.

The payment communication should identify, where applicable:

• Article title;
• Corresponding author;
• Manuscript or article identification number;
• APC amount;
• Payment currency;
• Payment deadline;
• Official payment method; and
• Contact information for payment-related questions.

8. Payment Methods

The journal may accept APC payments through officially designated payment methods, which may include:

• Bank transfer;
• Institutional payment;
• Other authorized electronic payment methods; or
• International payment mechanisms made available by the publisher.

The journal will provide the applicable payment instructions after acceptance.

Authors should retain proof of payment for their records.

9. Currency and Exchange Rate

The standard APC is denominated in Indonesian Rupiah (IDR).

For international authors, the APC is approximately USD 300.

The USD equivalent is provided for convenience and may vary according to:

• The applicable exchange rate;
• Bank conversion rates;
• International transaction fees;
• Payment service provider charges; and
• Other applicable transaction costs.

Where payment is made in a currency other than IDR, the final amount may therefore differ slightly from the stated USD equivalent.

10. Bank and Transaction Charges

Any bank charges, international transfer fees, currency conversion fees, or payment processing charges imposed by the author's bank or payment provider may be the responsibility of the payer unless otherwise agreed.

The journal will not ordinarily increase the published APC to cover charges imposed independently by the author's financial institution.

11. APC Waivers

The journal recognizes that publication charges may create financial barriers for some authors.

Authors experiencing genuine financial hardship may request a full or partial APC waiver.

A waiver request should normally be submitted after acceptance or in accordance with the journal's stated waiver procedure.

A waiver request may include a brief explanation of:

• The author's financial circumstances;
• Institutional funding limitations;
• Availability or lack of research funding; and
• Other relevant circumstances.

Waiver requests are considered confidentially and separately from the editorial decision-making process.

12. Country-Based Waivers

Where applicable, the journal may provide full or partial APC waivers or discounts for authors affiliated with institutions in eligible low-income or lower-middle-income countries.

Eligibility may be determined with reference to recognized international classifications or other criteria adopted by the journal.

Country-based eligibility does not guarantee a waiver where the journal's available funding or waiver scheme imposes additional conditions.

13. Institutional and Funder Support

Authors are encouraged to determine whether their:

• University;
• Research institution;
• Government agency;
• Research funder; or
• Other sponsoring organization

provides funding for open access publication.

Where appropriate, the journal may cooperate with institutional or funder arrangements designed to support open access publishing.

14. Multiple Authors

The APC is charged per accepted article, not per author.

Where an article has multiple authors, the corresponding author is normally responsible for coordinating payment unless the authors or their institution make alternative arrangements.

The journal does not charge an additional APC based solely on the number of authors.

15. International Authors

International authors are subject to the same academic, editorial, peer review, and publication standards as authors based in Indonesia.

The APC does not differ in principle based on the nationality of the author.

For convenience, the journal provides an approximate international equivalent of USD 300.

International authors should contact the Editorial Office if they require clarification regarding payment in foreign currency.

16. Special Issues

Articles accepted for publication in approved Special Issues are subject to the standard APC of IDR 5,000,000 per accepted article, unless a different APC arrangement has been formally announced by the Editorial Board before submissions are invited.

Any special APC arrangement must be communicated transparently to prospective authors.

Guest Editors, conference organizers, institutional partners, or other Special Issue coordinators may not impose additional publication charges on authors without prior approval from the journal.

Special Issue articles remain subject to the same:

• Editorial standards;
• Peer review requirements;
• Plagiarism screening;
• Authorship requirements;
• Research ethics standards; and
• APC principles

as articles published in regular issues.

17. Invited Articles

Invited articles may be eligible for an APC waiver where expressly approved by the Editor-in-Chief.

Any waiver for an invited contribution must be determined independently of the scholarly assessment of the work.

The journal may invite scholars to contribute articles without implying that acceptance or publication is guaranteed.

18. Conference-Based Submissions

Where manuscripts originate from academic conferences, seminars, workshops, or research events, participation in the event does not automatically guarantee publication.

Conference organizers may not represent conference participation or payment of a conference fee as payment of the journal's APC unless an explicit and formally approved publishing arrangement exists.

All conference-based manuscripts must undergo the journal's applicable editorial and peer review procedures.

19. APC and Article Quality

Payment of the APC does not affect:

• The number of peer reviewers;
• The identity of reviewers;
• The outcome of peer review;
• The editorial decision;
• The amount of revision required;
• The article's placement in an issue; or
• The journal's assessment of scholarly quality.

The journal reserves the right to reject manuscripts that do not meet its academic, ethical, or editorial standards regardless of an author's willingness or ability to pay.

20. No Guarantee of Publication

Payment of an APC does not guarantee:

• Acceptance;
• Publication in a particular issue;
• Faster publication;
• Favorable peer review;
• Citation performance; or
• Indexing in any particular database.

Indexing decisions are made independently by the relevant indexing services.

21. APC and Publication Schedule

Once the APC has been paid and all production requirements have been completed, the accepted article will proceed through the journal's publication workflow.

Publication timing may depend on:

• Completion of copyediting;
• Author proof approval;
• Production schedules;
• Issue composition;
• Editorial priorities; and
• Technical publication requirements.

Payment alone does not guarantee publication on a specific date.

22. Refund Policy

APC payments are generally non-refundable once the article has entered the production stage.

However, a refund or partial refund may be considered in exceptional circumstances, including:

• Duplicate payment;
• Administrative error;
• Payment made for an article that is subsequently withdrawn by the journal for reasons unrelated to author misconduct; or
• Other circumstances determined by the Editorial Office or publisher.

No refund will normally be provided where an article is withdrawn by the author after acceptance without a valid and documented reason, particularly where substantial production work has already been undertaken.

23. Withdrawal After Acceptance

Authors are expected to carefully consider their submission before acceptance.

Withdrawal of an accepted manuscript after the APC has been paid may result in administrative or production costs that cannot be recovered.

Where withdrawal occurs because of serious ethical concerns, plagiarism, fabricated data, fraudulent authorship, or other forms of misconduct, any refund request will be assessed separately and may be denied.

24. No Hidden Charges

The journal does not impose hidden publication charges.

The standard APC is the amount publicly stated in this policy.

Any additional charge that may exceptionally arise, such as charges associated with specific author-requested services or extraordinary production requirements, must be clearly communicated to the author before the charge is incurred.

Authors will not be required to pay undisclosed fees as a condition of publication.

25. Taxes and Government Charges

Where applicable, taxes, withholding requirements, or other government-imposed charges may apply in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations.

Authors or institutions making payment from outside Indonesia are responsible for complying with applicable local financial and tax requirements.

The journal will provide reasonable documentation required for legitimate institutional payment processes where available.

26. APC and Open Access

The APC supports the journal's immediate open access publishing model.

All accepted and published articles are made freely accessible to readers without subscription or paywall barriers.

The APC therefore contributes to the costs of maintaining an open scholarly publishing infrastructure while enabling readers worldwide to access the published research without payment.

27. APC and Copyright

Payment of the APC does not transfer copyright ownership to the journal or publisher.

In accordance with the journal's Copyright and Licensing Policy, authors retain full copyright of their published work without restriction.

Published articles are made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), unless otherwise expressly stated.

The APC is therefore a publication-processing charge and is not a copyright licensing fee.

28. APC and Repository Deposit

Payment of the APC does not restrict the author's right to archive or share the published article.

Authors may deposit and disseminate the Version of Record through appropriate:

• Institutional repositories;
• Subject repositories;
• National repositories;
• Personal academic websites; and
• Other legitimate scholarly platforms.

No embargo is imposed on repository deposit under the journal's standard policy.

29. Financial Transparency

The journal is committed to transparent communication concerning publication-related costs.

The APC amount, payment stage, waiver arrangements, and relevant conditions are publicly stated on the journal's website.

The Editorial Board periodically reviews the APC to ensure that it remains appropriate to the journal's publishing infrastructure and operational requirements.

Any material changes will be publicly communicated.

30. APC and Publication Ethics

The APC system operates independently of the journal's publication ethics procedures.

Authors, editors, reviewers, and Guest Editors must comply with the journal's standards concerning:

• Research integrity;
• Authorship;
• Plagiarism;
• Conflicts of interest;
• Data integrity;
• Peer review confidentiality;
• Ethical research conduct; and
• Corrections and retractions.

Financial considerations must never override publication ethics or scholarly standards.

31. Complaints Concerning APCs

Questions, concerns, or complaints concerning APCs should be directed to the Editorial Office through the journal's official communication channel.

Complaints may concern:

• Incorrect invoices;
• Payment processing;
• Waiver decisions;
• Currency conversion;
• Duplicate payments;
• Refund requests; or
• Other publication-related charges.

The journal will seek to address legitimate concerns fairly and transparently.

32. APC Summary

For transparency, the journal's standard APC arrangements are summarized below:

33. Commitment to Fair and Transparent Publishing

Contemporary Issues on Indonesian Human Rights Law and Policy is committed to maintaining a fair, transparent, and academically independent publication system.

The journal recognizes that publication charges should support, rather than compromise, scholarly communication.

Accordingly, the journal maintains the following principles:

• APC is charged only after acceptance.
• There is no submission or peer review fee.
• Payment does not influence editorial decisions.
• Waiver consideration is separated from peer review.
• The APC is charged per article, not per author.
• Special Issues follow the same standards unless otherwise announced.
• No hidden publication charges are imposed.
• Authors retain full copyright without restriction.
• Articles are published under CC BY 4.0.
• Articles are immediately open access.
• Authors may freely deposit and share their published work.

The journal considers transparency in publication costs an essential component of responsible scholarly publishing and is committed to maintaining clear, equitable, and internationally appropriate APC practices.