Regulations of the Journal
"Canon Law. Legal and Historical Quarterly" ("Prawo Kanoniczne. Kwartalnik prawno – historyczny")

«Canon Law. Legal and Historical Quarterly» is a scholarly journal issued by the Institute of Canon Law at the Faculty of Canon Law of Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw.

1. The journal is classified under the academic discipline of canon law.
2. Articles in the field of law may also be published in the journal.

1. The journal publishes works presenting research achievements within the field of canon law.
2. Within the broader area of legal sciences, it primarily features studies in the fields of religious law, concordat law, and Roman law

1. «Canon Law» is a quarterly journal.
2. Four issues of the journal are published each calendar year.

1. The printed version is recognized as the official version of the journal.
2. The journal is also available in electronic form and is published on the University Journals Platform: www.czasopisma.uksw.edu.pl.

1. The primary language of publication is Polish.
2. Authors may also publish their works in the following conference languages: English, Italian, Spanish, German, and French.

The structure of the journal includes the following sections:
a) Articles and Dissertations;
b) Reviews and Review Articles;
c) Reports and Communications;
d) Information on the Activities of the Faculty of Canon Law.

The journal is published by the UKSW Academic Press (www.czasopisma.uksw.edu.pl), ul. Dewajtis 5, 01-815 Warsaw, Poland.

1. General Rules of Publication:
a) The Editorial Board accepts only texts that have not been previously published.
b) Before uploading materials intended for publication via the online platform, the author is requested to read the information regarding the “ghostwriting firewall” (see Ethical Standards) and to complete the relevant declaration (see Author’s Declaration), which should be sent to the Editorial Office.
c) The submitted file must include: (1) information about the authors and their ORCID number; (2) an abstract and keywords in Polish, as well as a faithful English translation of the publication title, abstract, and keywords; (3) a bibliography.
d) Articles lacking an abstract in English, or those without footnotes and a bibliography, may be published as communications.
2. Detailed editorial requirements for authors are available on the journal’s website at www.czasopisma.uksw.edu.pl
3. Authors are not charged any fees for publication.

1. All texts submitted to the journal «Canon Law» are subject to peer review.
2. The Editorial Board conducts an initial assessment of each submitted text.
3. Upon receiving a positive preliminary evaluation, the Deputy Editor, with the author’s personal data removed, forwards the text for review to two independent reviewers, ensuring anonymity.
4. The selection of reviewers is based on substantive criteria.
5. Reviewers affiliated with the same institution as the author are excluded from the review process.
6. All texts are reviewed confidentially.
7. Reviewers are required to prepare a written review using the form available on the journal’s website.
8. The review must conclude with a substantive recommendation to either accept or reject the text for publication. Any critical remarks made by the reviewer must be addressed by the author. The final decision on acceptance for publication rests with the Editorial Board.
9. The Editorial Board may request that the author incorporate the revisions suggested by the reviewer(s) or approve editorial corrections introduced by the Board.
10. If two positive reviews are received, the Editorial Board proceeds with the publication of the text.
11. The Editorial Board does not cover the costs of the reviews.

1. The Director of the Institute of Canon Law appoints members of the Editorial Board and the Scientific Council for an indefinite or fixed term.
2. The dismissal of members of the Editorial Board or the Scientific Council may be initiated by any member through a written request with justification.
3. The Director of the Institute may dismiss the Deputy Editor-in-Chief, the Editorial Secretary, or members of the Editorial Board at the request of the Editor-in-Chief, after considering the reasons presented and hearing the member concerned.
4. The Director of the Institute may dismiss members of the Scientific Council upon the justified request of the Editor-in-Chief.
5. The Director of the Institute may dismiss the Editor-in-Chief after consulting the opinion of the Council of the Discipline of Canon Law and hearing the Editor-in-Chief, in the following cases:
a) a one-year delay in the publication of the journal;
b) failure to present the required annual report on the functioning of the journal;
c) serious operational difficulties within the journal that, in the opinion of the Council of the Discipline, the Editorial Board is unable to resolve.

1. The duties of the Editor-in-Chief include:
a) planning the layout of individual issues of the journal;
b) conducting the initial evaluation and acceptance of texts submitted for publication;
c) giving final approval for each issue of the journal before publication;
d) organizing meetings of the Editorial Board;
e) maintaining contact with the Scientific Council of the journal;
f) preparing annual reports on the journal’s activities for the Council of the Discipline, in the form of a report generated from the academic platform Index Copernicus.
2. The duties of the Deputy Editor-in-Chief include:
a) managing the journal’s website and uploading materials to the University Journals Platform www.czasopisma.uksw.edu.pl;
b) corresponding with the authors of submitted texts;
c) overseeing the review process;
d) carrying out specific tasks assigned by the Editor-in-Chief as needed.
3. The duties of the Editorial Secretary include:
a) assigning DOI numbers;
b) overseeing the editorial preparation of texts for publication;
c) preparing reports and announcements;
d) compiling a list of publications by the staff of the Institute of Canon Law for inclusion in the last issue of the following year;
e) conducting annual statistical analyses concerning authors and published texts;
f) managing correspondence between the authors and the Publishing House;
g) preparing copyright transfer agreements.
4. The duties of the Editorial Board members include:
a) cooperating with the Editorial Secretary in the preparation of materials for publication;
b) performing internal proofreading of texts prior to publication;
c) carrying out editorial work on materials intended for publication.

1. At the beginning of each calendar year, the Editor-in-Chief submits to the Council of the Discipline a report on the journal’s activities for the previous year.
2. The report takes the form of a document generated from the academic platform Index Copernicus

1. The Scientific Council, in cooperation with the Editorial Team, oversees the implementation of the programmatic objectives of the journal.
2. Members of the Scientific Council, in consultation with the Editorial Team, determine the directions and areas of research undertaken by the authors within individual issues of the journal.
3. The task of the Scientific Council is to exercise substantive supervision over the accepted publications and to include them in the publishing plan.
4. The Scientific Council decides on the scholarly profile and development directions of the journal Canon Law and provides opinions on other matters concerning the journal.
5. The Scientific Council proposes candidates for the Editorial Team, who should actively contribute to the development and effective management of the journal.
6. The Scientific Council formulates recommendations regarding the functions and duties of the members of the Editorial Board.
7. Members of the Scientific Council co-develop and approve the Ethical Standards of the journal «Prawo Kanoniczne».
8. Members of the Scientific Council promote the journal «Canon Law» within the national and international academic community.

1. The journal provides free access to all its content, in accordance with the principle that open access to research enhances and accelerates the global development of science and the exchange of knowledge.
2. The journal is published in accordance with the Open Access Policy defined in Annex No. 3 to Ordinance No. 74/2024 of the Rector of Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw, dated 5 December 2024.