Author Guidelines

Contemporary Law Annual Review welcomes original scholarly manuscripts in the fields of law, legal studies, constitutional law, criminal law, civil law, administrative law, international law, human rights law, business law, environmental law, digital law, legal reform, and contemporary socio-legal studies. Authors who wish to submit manuscripts to this journal must follow the guidelines below.

1. General Requirements

Manuscripts submitted to Contemporary Law Annual Review must be original, unpublished, and not under consideration for publication in any other journal or publication outlet. The manuscript may be based on empirical research, normative legal research, conceptual analysis, case studies, comparative legal studies, or critical review of contemporary legal issues.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that the manuscript complies with academic standards, ethical publication principles, and the focus and scope of the journal. Manuscripts that do not comply with the journal’s author guidelines may be returned to the authors for revision or rejected by the editorial team.

2. Manuscript Language

Manuscripts may be written in English or Indonesian. Authors are encouraged to use clear, formal, academic, and grammatically correct language. Manuscripts written in English should use consistent academic English, while manuscripts written in Indonesian should follow proper Indonesian academic writing standards.

3. Manuscript Length

The manuscript should generally consist of 5,000 to 8,000 words, including tables, figures, footnotes, and references. Shorter or longer manuscripts may be considered if they provide strong academic contribution and are approved by the editorial team.

4. Manuscript Format

Manuscripts should be prepared using Microsoft Word format. The general formatting requirements are as follows:

Paper size: A4.
Font: Times New Roman.
Font size: 12 pt.
Line spacing: 1.15 or 1.5.
Margins: normal margin or according to the journal template.
File format: .doc or .docx.
Manuscript should follow the journal template when available.

5. Manuscript Structure

Manuscripts submitted to Contemporary Law Annual Review should generally be arranged in the following order:

Title
Author Name(s)
Author Affiliation(s)
Corresponding Author Email
Abstract
Keywords
Introduction
Research Method
Results and Discussion
Conclusion
Acknowledgment, if any
References

6. Title

The title must be concise, specific, informative, and reflect the main issue discussed in the manuscript. The title should avoid unnecessary words and should clearly represent the legal topic or research focus of the article.

7. Author Name and Affiliation

Author names should be written without academic titles, professional titles, or institutional positions. Each author must provide clear affiliation information, including department or faculty, institution name, city, country, and email address.

The corresponding author must be clearly indicated and is responsible for communication with the editorial team during the submission, review, revision, and publication process.

8. Abstract

The abstract should be written in one paragraph and should contain a brief explanation of the background, research objective, method, main findings, and conclusion. The abstract should be clear, concise, and not contain citations, tables, figures, or uncommon abbreviations.

The abstract should generally consist of 150–250 words.

9. Keywords

Keywords should consist of 3–5 words or phrases that represent the main concepts of the manuscript. Keywords should be written below the abstract and separated by semicolons.

Example: Constitutional Law; Legal Reform; Human Rights; Judicial Review; Public Policy.

10. Introduction

The introduction should explain the background of the study, legal problems, research gap, urgency of the topic, novelty, and research objectives. The introduction should be supported by relevant literature, legal norms, court decisions, policies, or previous studies.

The introduction should clearly state the research problem and explain why the topic is important in the context of contemporary legal development.

11. Research Method

The research method section should describe the type of research, approach, legal materials or data sources, data collection techniques, and data analysis method. Authors may use normative legal research, empirical legal research, socio-legal research, comparative legal research, doctrinal research, or other appropriate legal research methods.

For normative legal research, authors should explain the statute approach, conceptual approach, case approach, comparative approach, or historical approach used in the manuscript. For empirical or socio-legal research, authors should explain the research location, participants or informants, data collection techniques, and analysis procedures.

12. Results and Discussion

The results and discussion section should present the main findings and provide critical analysis of the legal issues discussed in the manuscript. Authors should not merely describe legal norms but should analyze, interpret, compare, and evaluate the legal problem based on relevant theories, regulations, cases, and previous studies.

The discussion should demonstrate the academic contribution of the article and explain how the findings respond to the research questions or objectives. Authors are encouraged to present strong legal arguments and clear reasoning.

13. Conclusion

The conclusion should answer the research objectives and summarize the main findings of the study. The conclusion should not repeat the abstract or discussion section. It should provide a concise statement of the article’s contribution and may include recommendations for legal reform, policy improvement, future research, or practical implementation.

14. Tables and Figures

Tables and figures may be used when necessary to support the explanation of data or analysis. Each table and figure must be numbered, titled, and referred to in the manuscript. Tables and figures must be clear, readable, and relevant to the discussion.

Authors must ensure that tables, figures, diagrams, or images taken from other sources are properly cited and have obtained permission when required.

15. Citation and Reference Style

Authors must cite all sources used in the manuscript accurately and consistently. Citations may include statutes, regulations, court decisions, books, journal articles, reports, official documents, and other relevant academic sources.

Authors are strongly encouraged to use reference management software such as Mendeley, Zotero, or EndNote to ensure citation consistency.

All references cited in the text must appear in the reference list, and all references listed must be cited in the manuscript.

16. Reference Examples

Book:

Friedman, Lawrence M. The Legal System: A Social Science Perspective. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1975.

Journal Article:

Nugraha, Xavier. “Legal Reform and the Development of Constitutional Democracy in Indonesia.” Journal of Indonesian Legal Studies, vol. 7, no. 2, 2022, pp. 245–268.

Legislation:

Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 12 of 2011 concerning the Formation of Laws and Regulations.

Court Decision:

Constitutional Court Decision Number 90/PUU-XXI/2023.

Online Source:

United Nations. “Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” Available at: https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights.

17. Plagiarism and Originality

Manuscripts submitted to Contemporary Law Annual Review must be original and free from plagiarism. The journal may use similarity detection software to check the originality of submitted manuscripts. Manuscripts with high similarity, plagiarism, duplicate publication, or improper citation may be rejected.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that all sources are properly cited and that the manuscript does not violate academic integrity or publication ethics.

18. Submission Process

Manuscripts must be submitted through the journal’s online submission system. Authors must register as users, complete the submission metadata, upload the manuscript file, and follow all instructions provided in the submission system.

Authors must ensure that the submitted manuscript file does not contain incomplete information and complies with the journal’s template and author guidelines.

19. Revision Process

Authors who receive revision requests must revise their manuscripts according to the comments and recommendations provided by editors and reviewers. Revised manuscripts should be submitted within the time specified by the editorial team.

Authors are expected to provide a clear response to reviewers’ comments and explain the changes made in the revised manuscript. If authors disagree with certain comments, they must provide a clear academic explanation.

20. Copyright and Licensing

Authors retain responsibility for the content of their published articles. By submitting a manuscript to Contemporary Law Annual Review, authors agree to the journal’s copyright and licensing policy. Authors must ensure that the manuscript does not infringe the copyright or intellectual property rights of any third party.

21. Final Statement

By submitting a manuscript to Contemporary Law Annual Review, authors agree to comply with these author guidelines, publication ethics, peer-review process, and editorial policies established by the journal.