Before submitting an article for publication, please read the guidelines below. By submitting an article, you will be deemed to acknowledge that you understand these guidelines and agree to the terms of publication set out therein.
- LDD is an accredited journal – that is, approved by the Department of Education for the publication of subsidised research output. This means that all articles are subject to “peer review” – that is, assessment by anonymous, independent and suitably qualified referees whether the article is suitable for publication. This usually takes several weeks. Input from the referees may then be sent to authors for incorporation in the article, together with input from the editors, before the article is published.
- LDD is an open access electronic journal. This means that copyright in all published material remains vested in the author thereof, but the author grants permission for the material to be made available freely on LDD’s website. LDD may also make such material available for publication on other websites of a scholarly nature, including electronic repositories of research material. The material may be quoted, downloaded and/or copied, subject to the following conditions:
- the name(s), title(s) and institutional affiliation(s) of author(s), as well as a bibliographical reference to its original publication in LDD must be included by those who use it, and
- the copyright of the author(s) – for example, the right to republish or amend the material – remains intact.
- The purpose is to give maximum access to published research output as a means of encouraging research and promoting higher education. The effect is that articles published in his format enjoy far greater currency than those published commercially.
- Because it is accredited and subsidised, LDD only publishes original research output. This means that we cannot consider articles which have already been published in or submitted to another journal. Authors should only submit articles which are not being considered for publication elsewhere.
- LDD appears online in annual volumes, starting with Volume 14 (2010), with articles published in the sequence in which they are finalised. There are, in other words, no issues appearing at set intervals. This means that edited articles can be published immediately, without waiting for the due date of a forthcoming issue. However, the editors may also combine articles in special issues (for example, conference proceedings or a series of articles dealing with a common theme). In this case the special issue will be identified and provided with its own table of contents, in addition to the appearance of the relevant articles within the annual volume.
- In addition to peer-reviewed articles, LDD will continue to give space in its Forum to reviews, letters and other meritorious or informative material which may not be appropriate for the formal review process.
- All contributions to LDD should be uploaded on the website (“Submit Articles”). The procedure is very simple: after reading paragraph 7 below, please register as an author (by clicking on Author Registration), then click on Upload an Article and follow the instructions. The purpose is to make sure that your details – and your article – are safely in our system and that the process described above will happen smoothly. In particular, it will ensure that speedy feedback can be provided at all times. As a transitional arrangement, articles may also be sent by email to The Editor, Law Democracy and Development at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .