Reviews are conducted to ensure that only high-quality scientific and professional papers are published. The Comparative Maritime Law journal seeks to ensure the objectivity, excellence, and originality of all works published. Reviewers play a crucial role in maintaining these high standards. For this reason, all submitted manuscripts undergo peer review to achieve the aforementioned level of quality.
The initial assessment of the manuscripts is carried out by the editor-in-chief or deputy editor-in-chief who first evaluates all submitted manuscripts. Manuscripts rejected at this stage are typically not sufficiently original, contain serious professional and scientific shortcomings, are poorly written, or do not align with the goals and scope of the journal.
Comparative Maritime Law employs a double-blind peer review process, meaning that reviewers remain anonymous to the author(s) during and after the evaluation process, and the identity of the author(s) is unknown to the reviewers. Reviewers are selected from members of the Editorial Board, as well as external associates, based on their expertise in the subject matter of the submitted manuscript. Reviewers are requested to carefully read and evaluate the manuscript in accordance with the guidelines provided in the peer review form.
The time required for the review process varies depending on the speed of the reviewers’ responses. For Comparative Maritime Law, the typical duration of the first round of the review process is one month from the receipt of the manuscript. If the reviewers’ reports are not in agreement with each other or if the review process is unreasonably delayed, the editor-in-chief may seek a third expert opinion.
After receiving the reviews, the editorial team informs the author(s) and forwards them the reviewers’ recommendations.
It is customary to send the revised manuscripts to the reviewers for re-evaluation, during which they may request additional changes (second round of the review process). The entire review process may involve three rounds, especially if the reviewers have raised more complex requests for manuscript revision, or if they request revisions before conducting a re-review of the paper. Ultimately, after the revision, the reviewer may accept the revised paper, request additional changes, or reject the paper. The editor-in-chief makes the final decision, which is irrevocable.
After the completion of the review, all accepted papers are sent for language editing. All linguistic elements are checked regardless of whether they are written in Croatian, English, or any other European language, including the title, abstract, and keywords.
The form for peer reviewers is available here.
