Prior to giving full consideration to submitted manuscripts, all submissions are checked for plagiarism via Plag.

The editors of Public Governance, Administration and Finances Law Review (PGAF LR) will not review manuscripts that are currently under consideration for publication or that have been published in another English language journal. However, manuscripts based on previous research reports, or articles published in another language in non-English language journals will be considered. Papers will only be sent to review if the Editor-in-Chief determines that the paper meets the appropriate quality and relevance requirements (initial editorial decision on send for review or desk reject). Such papers are reviewed, then, anonymously by two external peer reviewers who are experts in the given field and are neither personally, nor institutionally associated with the author(s).

The decision to accept, revise, or reject a manuscript is determined by the following rules:

• If both reviews are favorable, the final decision on acceptance is taken by the editors.
• If both reviews suggest revisions, the author is invited to revise and resubmit the manuscript which is then assigned to a second-review round where the original reviewers are asked to take a look at the revisions made.
• If both reviews are unfavorable, the final decision on rejection is taken by the editors.
• If the reviewers fail to reach a consensus, the editors either assign a third reviewer, or put the article forward to an editorial decision on acceptance, or rejection.

Reviewers are expected to thoroughly comply with the COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers, and they are expected to be specific about the reviewed submission’s strengths and weaknesses and to explain each of the issues they found necessary to be addressed.

Initial editorial decision

The Editor-in-Chief takes charge of each submitted manuscript within two weeks from submission. Within this two weeks period, the Editor-in-Chief makes the initial editorial decision on sending the manuscript for review or rejects it (desk reject). Manuscripts are desk-rejected if they fail to meet the journal’s scope, do not comply with the journal’s applicable policies, or do not merit a thorough review for their argument being underdeveloped, etc.

Peer Review

Manuscripts sent for review are assigned to an Editor (Editor in Charge) who organizes and oversees, under the Editor-in-Chief, the manuscript’s external peer review. Editors make best efforts to conduct the peer review procedure within three months from the date of submission. Once the external evaluation reports (peer reviews) are submitted, the Editor in Charge makes a recommendation on how to proceed with the manuscript to the Editor-in-Chief. Editorial decisions (accept, revise & resubmit, reject) are taken by the Editor-in-Chief.