1. Scope and Purpose

The Law and Policy Review is a peer-reviewed academic publication dedicated to promoting excellence in legal research and scholarship. The Journal welcomes original and unpublished works that make a significant contribution to legal theory, practice, or policy. Submissions may engage with domestic, comparative, or international law and interdisciplinary approaches to legal studies.

2. Categories of Submissions

The Journal accepts the following types of manuscripts:

• Research Articles: 4,000–7,000 words (including title, references, tables, figures, annexures).
• Case Notes and Comments: 3,000–5,000 words.
• Legislative and Policy Reviews: 3,000–5,000 words.
• Book Reviews: 2,500–3,500 words.

Each submission should present clear arguments, critical analysis, and adequate referencing.

3. Submission Procedure

• Mode of Submission: Manuscripts must be submitted electronically to https://journals.umt.edu.pk/index.php/lpr/index.
• File Format: Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx).
• Anonymization: All submissions must be anonymized for double-blind peer review. Please send author names, institutional affiliations, acknowledgments, contact information, and any identifying information in a separate file.
• Declaration: Authors must confirm that the submission is original, unpublished, and not under consideration elsewhere.
• Similarity and AI index: The similarity index should be less than 18% (less than 4% from a single source), and the AI index should be less than 10%.

4. Formatting Guidelines

• Font and Spacing: Times New Roman, 12-point font for text. Single spacing should be used throughout the manuscript.
• Section of the Manuscript: Manuscript must include the following sections: Abstract, Keywords, Introduction (Literature Review can be a separate section or a part of the introduction), Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, Limitations, Implications, and Bibliography. The title of the article should be bold and title case (initial capital letter for proper nouns).
• Abstract and Keywords: The authors are requested to write an unstructured abstract of around 200-250 words. The abstract should explain the main points of your paper. The abstract must not be exaggerated or contain any new information that is not outlined in the main body of the text. 5-8 keywords must accompany the article.

• Introduction: The Introduction should offer a concise background to the research topic and present a clear rationale for why the issue warrants further scholarly investigation. Authors must situate their study within the context of existing theoretical and empirical work, demonstrating how it contributes to or extends current knowledge. The final paragraph of the introduction should clearly outline the paper's structure and organization.
• Literature Review: The Literature Review should build upon the background presented in the introduction. Authors are expected to identify and critically examine the most relevant prior studies and theories to position their research within the broader academic discourse. This section should highlight key theoretical frameworks and significant contributions from previous research, thereby establishing the paper’s relevance and scholarly significance.
• Methods: The Methods section must provide a clear, systematic, and rigorous description of the research design and data collection process. Authors should specify the methods employed, explain their appropriateness for the research question, and ensure that the approach demonstrates scientific validity and transparency.
• Results: The Results section should present the findings derived from the research clearly and concisely. This section should report factual outcomes only without interpretation or commentary based solely on the data obtained through the chosen methodology.
• Discussion: The Discussion should interpret the results and explain their implications in light of existing theories and previous research. Authors should connect their findings to the broader legal and academic context, referencing relevant sources where appropriate, and discuss how the results contribute to or challenge existing knowledge.
• Conclusion: The Conclusion must clearly state the study’s original contribution and summarize the key findings. Authors should discuss the practical and theoretical implications of the research, critically assess any limitations of the study, and suggest potential directions for future research.
• Tables and Figures: The tables should be in editable form, numbered, and with a heading and a note (below the table). The figures should be numbered, followed by a heading and a caption.

• Headings: Headings and sub-headings should follow the format presented by APA 7.

• Level 1: Centered, Bold, Title Case. Text begins indented as a new paragraph.
• Level 2: Flush Left, Bold, Title Case Heading. Text begins as a new paragraph.
• Level 3: Flush Left, Bold Italic, Title Case Heading. Text begins as a new paragraph.
• Level 4: Flush Left, Bold Italic, Title Case Heading. Text begins as a new paragraph.
• Level 5: Indented, Bold Italic, Title Case Heading, Ending with a Period. Text begins on the same line and continues as a regular paragraph.

• LPR requires all the contributing authors and co-authors to provide their ORCID IDs, as they are important for indexing and profiling, but also for enhancing their integral search visibility all over the internet. ORCID IDs are for a lifetime and can be obtained free of charge through a simple registration process at https://orcid.org/. 

5. Citation and Referencing

• The Journal follows the American Psychological Association (APA 7).
• All citations must appear in text, consistent with the bibliography at the end, formatted according to APA 7.
• Bibliography of a research article should be 15-50. (For Legislative and Policy Reviews, Book Reviews, and Case Notes, bibliography should be 15-20).
• Please click on the link APA STYLE TEMPLATE to format references according to APA 7.

6. Ethical and Legal Standards

• All manuscripts must be original and adhere to the highest standards of academic integrity.
• Plagiarism, data fabrication, or simultaneous submission to another publication will result in immediate rejection.
• Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce copyrighted material.
• Any conflicts of interest or funding disclosures must be stated upon submission.

7. Review and Editorial Process

• Each manuscript undergoes preliminary editorial screening.
• Suitable manuscripts are reviewed through a double-blind peer review process by experts in the relevant field.
• Authors may be asked to revise their work based on the reviewer's and editor’s feedback.
• The Editorial Team reserves the right to make editorial and formatting amendments to accepted manuscripts.

8. Post-Acceptance Procedure

• Accepted manuscripts will be subject to detailed copy-editing and proofreading.
• Authors will get an INVOICE for the payment of APC at the time of acceptance after careful compliance with the reviewers' comments. Please visit https://journals.umt.edu.pk/index.php/lpr/articleprocessingcharges  
• Authors are requested to respond to an editorial notification related to publication procedure within a timeline of 30 days; failing to do so would result in rejection of the manuscript.
• LPR also assigns Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) to all its issues and the contents to facilitate reaching their permanent links on the internet.

9. Copyright and Licensing

• Upon acceptance, authors grant Law and Policy Review the right of first publication.
• Authors retain copyright and may share the published version for academic and non-commercial purposes, with due acknowledgment.
• The Journal follows the Creative Commons Attribution License policy—please refer to the Journal’s copyright statement for details.
• An author is entitled to deposit her/his published article in any Open Access repository, subject to the condition that the format and layout shall not be changed. Depositing a post-publication version in any repository requires acknowledgement of the earlier version by indicating the Volume, Issue, and page numbers of the version published in Law and Policy Review.
• The names and email addresses submitted to and published in Law and Policy Review shall not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.

10. Contact Information

For all submissions and correspondence, please contact:

The Editorial Office
Law and Policy Review
School of Law and Policy, University of Management and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan
Email accounts: [email protected] and [email protected]
Website: https://journals.umt.edu.pk/index.php/lpr