Journal Policy

Indonesian Sports Justice Review is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal dedicated to the publication and dissemination of high-quality research in sports law, sports justice, dispute resolution, sports governance, athlete rights, sports regulation, and related interdisciplinary fields.

The journal is committed to maintaining rigorous academic standards, editorial independence, transparency, research integrity, and responsible scholarly publishing. This Journal Policy provides the general framework governing the journal's publication practices and should be read together with the journal's specific policies on publication ethics, plagiarism prevention, peer review, authorship, conflicts of interest, corrections and retractions, copyright, and the use of artificial intelligence.

1. Scope and Objectives

The journal publishes scholarly works that make a substantive contribution to the understanding, development, and application of legal and justice-related issues in sport.

Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • sports law and regulation;
  • sports justice and dispute resolution;
  • sports arbitration and mediation;
  • athlete rights and protection;
  • sports governance and accountability;
  • disciplinary proceedings in sport;
  • sports organizations and regulatory bodies;
  • anti-doping law and policy;
  • sports contracts and employment law;
  • sports integrity and ethics;
  • gender equality and non-discrimination in sport;
  • safeguarding and protection of athletes;
  • sports-related human rights;
  • intellectual property and commercial issues in sport;
  • international and comparative sports law;
  • constitutional and administrative aspects of sport;
  • digital technology, artificial intelligence, and sport regulation; and
  • interdisciplinary research concerning law, justice, governance, and sport.

2. Publication Frequency

Indonesian Sports Justice Review is published quarterly, with four regular issues released each year:

  • January
  • April
  • July
  • October

The journal may publish special issues in addition to its regular issues when a specific scholarly theme warrants dedicated treatment and sufficient high-quality manuscripts are available.

Special issues are subject to the same editorial, peer-review, ethical, and quality standards as regular issues.

3. Types of Publications

The journal accepts the following types of scholarly contributions.

3.1 Research Articles

Research Articles present original and substantial research findings addressing significant questions within the journal's scope.

A Research Article should normally include:

  • a clear research problem or question;
  • relevant literature and theoretical or conceptual framework;
  • appropriate research methodology;
  • analysis and discussion;
  • clear findings or arguments;
  • conclusions; and
  • appropriate references.

Both doctrinal/legal research and empirical or interdisciplinary research are welcome where they make a clear contribution to sports justice and related fields.

3.2 Review Articles

Review Articles provide a critical and systematic synthesis of existing scholarship on a significant topic within the journal's scope.

Review Articles should do more than summarize existing literature. They should identify developments, debates, methodological issues, research gaps, or emerging directions in the field.

3.3 Case Commentaries and Case Analyses

The journal may publish scholarly analyses of significant judicial decisions, arbitral awards, disciplinary decisions, regulatory decisions, or other authoritative developments relevant to sports law and justice.

Case analyses should provide critical legal or scholarly analysis rather than merely describe the decision.

3.4 Policy and Regulatory Analysis

The journal may publish scholarly analyses of sports policies, regulations, institutional frameworks, legislative developments, and regulatory reforms.

Such contributions should demonstrate analytical depth and provide a meaningful contribution to scholarly or policy debates.

3.5 Book Reviews

The journal may publish critical reviews of recently published books that are relevant to sports law, sports justice, sports governance, or related fields.

Book reviews are subject to editorial assessment and may be reviewed at the editor's discretion.

3.6 Editorials and Commentaries

Editorials and scholarly commentaries may be commissioned or accepted at the discretion of the editorial team.

They may address significant developments, emerging debates, methodological issues, or matters of importance to the journal's readership.

Editorials and commentaries are not necessarily subject to the same peer-review process as Research Articles. The applicable review process will be determined by the editorial team and stated transparently where appropriate.

3.7 Special Issue Contributions

The journal may publish contributions as part of a special issue organized around a clearly defined scholarly theme.

All special issue manuscripts must comply with the journal's editorial, ethical, authorship, plagiarism, and peer-review policies.

Participation in a special issue does not guarantee acceptance or publication.

4. Article Classification

The Editor-in-Chief or designated editor has final authority to determine the appropriate publication category for an accepted manuscript.

Authors may indicate their preferred article type during submission; however, the editorial team may recommend a different classification where appropriate based on the manuscript's content, methodology, structure, and scholarly purpose.

5. Submission Policy

Manuscripts must be submitted through the journal's designated submission system or according to the submission procedures specified by the journal.

By submitting a manuscript, authors confirm that:

  • the manuscript is original;
  • the manuscript is not simultaneously under consideration by another journal;
  • all authors have approved the submission;
  • all relevant sources have been appropriately acknowledged;
  • relevant conflicts of interest have been disclosed;
  • ethical requirements have been fulfilled where applicable; and
  • the manuscript complies with the journal's publication policies.

The journal reserves the right to reject manuscripts that fall outside its scope or fail to meet basic academic, ethical, or editorial requirements.

6. Editorial Screening

All submissions undergo an initial editorial assessment before peer review.

The editorial screening may consider:

  • relevance to the journal's scope;
  • originality and potential contribution;
  • academic quality;
  • methodological or legal rigor;
  • clarity and structure;
  • compliance with author guidelines;
  • plagiarism or inappropriate text reuse;
  • ethical considerations; and
  • conflicts of interest.

Manuscripts that do not meet the journal's basic requirements may be rejected without external peer review.

7. Peer Review Policy

Research Articles, Review Articles, Case Analyses, and other scholarly contributions requiring substantive academic evaluation are subject to peer review in accordance with the journal's Peer Review Policy.

The journal generally uses a double-blind peer-review process, in which the identities of authors and reviewers are concealed from each other.

The journal aims to obtain evaluations from independent reviewers with appropriate expertise.

Editorial decisions may include:

  • accept;
  • minor revision;
  • major revision;
  • reject and resubmit; or
  • reject.

Peer review is intended to improve scholarly quality and does not guarantee publication.

8. Publication Ethics

The journal follows internationally recognized principles of publication ethics and research integrity.

The journal is committed to preventing:

  • plagiarism;
  • fabrication and falsification;
  • duplicate or redundant publication;
  • inappropriate authorship;
  • citation manipulation;
  • peer-review manipulation;
  • undisclosed conflicts of interest; and
  • other forms of research or publication misconduct.

Detailed requirements are provided in the journal's Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement and Plagiarism Prevention Policy.

9. Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship must reflect substantial scholarly contributions to the work.

All listed authors must:

  • have made a meaningful contribution to the research;
  • participate in drafting or critically revising the manuscript;
  • approve the final version; and
  • accept responsibility for the integrity of the work.

Individuals who do not meet the authorship criteria should not be listed as authors but may be acknowledged where appropriate.

Changes to authorship after submission require justification and agreement from all affected authors.

10. Conflict of Interest

Authors, reviewers, editors, and guest editors must disclose any financial, professional, institutional, personal, or other interests that could influence or reasonably appear to influence the publication process.

The journal will take reasonable measures to manage conflicts and preserve editorial independence.

11. Research Ethics

Authors must ensure that their research complies with applicable ethical, legal, and institutional requirements.

Where research involves human participants, personal data, vulnerable populations, or other ethically sensitive subjects, authors should provide appropriate information regarding ethical approval, informed consent, and participant protection where applicable.

12. Plagiarism and Similarity Screening

Submitted manuscripts may be screened using appropriate similarity-detection tools.

The journal does not rely solely on a numerical similarity score to determine plagiarism. Editorial assessment considers the nature, location, source, context, and extent of overlapping material.

Serious plagiarism may result in rejection or post-publication corrective action in accordance with the journal's plagiarism and publication-ethics policies.

13. Artificial Intelligence and AI-Assisted Technologies Policy

13.1 General Principle

Indonesian Sports Justice Review recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies are increasingly used in academic research and scholarly communication.

The journal permits responsible use of AI tools, provided that such use does not compromise academic integrity, originality, transparency, confidentiality, or accountability.

Authors remain fully responsible for the content, accuracy, originality, and integrity of their manuscripts regardless of whether AI tools have been used.

13.2 AI Tools as Authors

AI systems, including generative AI tools, cannot be listed as authors or co-authors.

Authorship requires human responsibility for the scholarly work, including the ability to review, approve, and take responsibility for the final manuscript.

13.3 Permitted Uses of AI

Authors may use AI-assisted tools for limited and responsible purposes, including:

  • grammar and language improvement;
  • spelling and punctuation correction;
  • translation assistance;
  • formatting and editorial assistance;
  • improving clarity and readability;
  • assistance with coding or technical tasks, provided the output is independently verified; and
  • other administrative or non-substantive assistance.

Authors remain responsible for verifying all AI-assisted output.

13.4 Substantive Use of Generative AI

Where generative AI is used substantially to generate text, analysis, ideas, coding, data processing, images, or other substantive elements of a manuscript, authors must disclose the nature and extent of the use.

The disclosure should identify:

  • the AI tool or system used;
  • the purpose for which it was used; and
  • the relevant part or stage of the research or manuscript development in which it was used.

AI-generated content should not be presented as independently produced scholarly work without appropriate disclosure.

13.5 Prohibited Uses of AI

Authors must not use AI tools to:

  • fabricate or manipulate research data;
  • fabricate references, citations, quotations, cases, statutes, or legal authorities;
  • generate false or unverifiable research findings;
  • conceal plagiarism;
  • misrepresent the source or originality of scholarly content;
  • manipulate peer review or editorial processes;
  • create deceptive authorship or contributorship records; or
  • process confidential or sensitive information in a manner that violates privacy, ethical, legal, or institutional requirements.

The use of AI does not relieve authors of responsibility for plagiarism, copyright infringement, fabrication, falsification, or other forms of misconduct.

13.6 AI and Legal Research

Because the journal focuses on sports law and justice, authors must exercise particular caution when using AI for legal research.

AI-generated legal authorities may contain inaccurate, incomplete, outdated, or fabricated information. Authors are therefore responsible for independently verifying all:

  • cases and judicial decisions;
  • arbitral awards;
  • statutes and regulations;
  • treaty provisions;
  • institutional rules;
  • legal citations;
  • quotations; and
  • other legal authorities.

AI-generated legal references must not be relied upon without verification against authoritative sources.

13.7 AI and Peer Review

Reviewers and editors must protect the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts.

Reviewers and editors should not upload unpublished manuscripts, confidential peer-review materials, personal information, or other sensitive editorial content into public or third-party AI systems where confidentiality cannot be adequately assured.

AI tools may not be used as a substitute for the reviewer's or editor's independent scholarly judgment.

Reviewers remain responsible for the confidentiality, accuracy, and integrity of their evaluations.

13.8 AI-Generated Images and Other Materials

AI-generated images, figures, tables, or other visual materials must comply with applicable copyright, licensing, ethical, and disclosure requirements.

Authors must ensure that AI-generated materials do not misrepresent research findings or create misleading representations of evidence.

Where AI-generated material forms a substantive part of a publication, its use should be transparently disclosed.

14. Data and Research Transparency

Authors are encouraged to provide sufficient information concerning their methodology, data sources, analytical procedures, and research materials to enable readers to understand and assess the research.

Where appropriate and ethically permissible, authors should provide information about data availability and supporting materials.

Confidential, personal, or legally protected information must not be disclosed inappropriately.

15. Copyright and Licensing

Authors are responsible for ensuring that submitted manuscripts comply with applicable copyright and intellectual property requirements.

All third-party material must be properly attributed and, where necessary, used with appropriate permission.

The journal's copyright, licensing, and reuse conditions shall be clearly communicated to authors and readers.

16. Open Access and Accessibility

The journal supports the dissemination of scholarly knowledge and seeks to make published research accessible to the academic community and the public in accordance with its applicable open-access and licensing arrangements.

The journal's website shall clearly state any applicable publication charges, article processing charges, waivers, or other publication-related fees.

No undisclosed publication fee shall be imposed on authors.

17. Publication Fees and Editorial Independence

Any applicable publication fees or article processing charges must be transparently disclosed before submission.

Payment of a publication fee does not influence editorial decisions, peer review, acceptance, or publication priority.

Editors must maintain independence from financial considerations when evaluating manuscripts.

18. Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

The journal is committed to maintaining the accuracy and integrity of the published scholarly record.

Where necessary, the journal may publish:

  • corrections;
  • retractions;
  • expressions of concern; or
  • other post-publication notices.

The journal will follow appropriate publication-ethics procedures when determining the need for corrective action.

19. Complaints and Appeals

Authors and other stakeholders may submit legitimate complaints or appeals concerning editorial decisions, peer review, publication practices, or ethical matters.

Complaints and appeals will be handled fairly, confidentially, and as independently as reasonably possible.

The journal will not tolerate harassment, threats, discrimination, or abusive conduct toward authors, reviewers, editors, or editorial staff.

20. Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions are based on academic and scholarly considerations, including originality, relevance, rigor, quality, and contribution to the field.

Editorial decisions shall not be improperly influenced by:

  • commercial interests;
  • financial considerations;
  • political interests;
  • institutional pressure;
  • personal relationships; or
  • other non-academic considerations.

The Editor-in-Chief has final responsibility for editorial decisions, subject to the journal's established policies and procedures.

21. Special Issue Policy

The journal may publish special issues addressing specific and significant themes within its scope.

Special issue proposals must be approved by the Editor-in-Chief or Editorial Board.

Guest editors, where appointed, must comply with the journal's publication ethics and conflict-of-interest requirements.

All manuscripts submitted to special issues remain subject to appropriate editorial screening and independent peer review.

Special issues shall not compromise the journal's editorial independence, publication frequency, or quality standards.

22. Archiving and Preservation

The journal is committed to preserving published scholarly content and maintaining long-term access to the academic record.

Appropriate digital preservation and archiving mechanisms shall be used in accordance with the journal's technical capabilities and applicable publishing standards.

23. Policy Review

This Journal Policy shall be periodically reviewed and updated by the editorial team to reflect developments in scholarly publishing, research integrity, open-access practices, technology, artificial intelligence, and international publication standards.

Any substantive changes to the policy will be communicated transparently through the journal's official website.

24. Governing Principles

Where a specific issue is not expressly addressed in this Journal Policy, the journal may refer to applicable international principles and guidelines concerning scholarly publishing, research integrity, publication ethics, peer review, and responsible use of technology.

The journal is committed to aligning its practices, where applicable, with recognized standards and recommendations of organizations and initiatives such as the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association (OASPA), World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), and other relevant international scholarly publishing bodies.

Indonesian Sports Justice Review reserves the right to take appropriate and proportionate action where necessary to protect academic integrity, editorial independence, and the reliability of the scholarly record.