ARTICLE STRUCTURE AND FORMATTING
The journal accepts original manuscripts in Polish, English, Italian, French, German. Manuscripts must not have been published previously in any language and must not be under review elsewhere.
Authors are asked to prepare their manuscripts in accordance with the structure and formatting rules below. This ensures a smooth editorial process and consistency across all articles published in «Prawo Kanoniczne» (PK).
Authors are required to use the official PK Word template when preparing their manuscripts. The file should be saved in Word (.docx) format.
Please read this page together with the template before you start writing.
1. TEXT FORMATTING (basic settings)
File format: Microsoft Word.docx.
Font (also in the footnotes at the bottom of the page): Times New Roman, 12 pt.
Line spacing: 1.5.
Margins: 2.5 cm on all sides.
Use bold only for emphasis in the main text and headings (according to the template).
Use italics only for titles of cited works and foreign expressions.
Do not use:
manual tabs to align text,
non-breaking spaces to shape lines,
manual line breaks to force line endings,
manual editing of letter spacing or deleting characters at the end of lines.
Use Word’s built-in tools for paragraphs, lists, headings and tables.
Hierarchy of Headings
For all section and subsection titles, use Word’s built-in heading styles:
Heading 1 – main sections (e.g. “1. Introduction”, “2. Background”, “3. Discussion”, etc.).
Heading 2 – subsections (e.g. “2.1. …”),
Heading 3 – sub-subsections, if necessary. Do not create headings by manually changing the font size or only applying bold.
Headings should not be created by manually changing font sizes or simply bolding the text.
2. MANUSCRIPT LENGTH AND STRUCTURE
The manuscript (including abstract, main text, references and all Statements) must not exceed 50,000 characters with spaces.
Follow the structure given in the official template. A typical research article should contain:
Author(s), affiliation(s), ORCID, e-mail
Title in the language of publication and in English
Table of contents aligned with the division into smaller editorial units
Introduction
Section 2 – main body (e.g. theoretical background, methods, case study)
Section 3 – results and/or discussion
Conclusions
Statements (Author Contributions, Funding, etc.)
References, categorized by sources and literature
Abstract (150–200 words) in the language of publication and in English
Keywords (3–10) in the language of publication and in English
Appendix (if needed)
If you need to present large data tables, detailed methodological annexes or additional figures, please place them in an Appendix cited in the main text.
Review articles may follow a more flexible internal structure than research articles; however, they must still include:
an abstract,
a set of keywords,
and a References section citing no fewer than four scholarly publications.
Review articles should be clearly organised and must respect academic and ethical standards.
3. ABSTRACT AND KEYWORDS
Abstract
Length:150–200 words.
The abstract should briefly present:
background and rationale of the study,
main aim,
methods,
key results,
main conclusions.
The abstract must accurately reflect the content of the article and must not exaggerate the findings.
Avoid references and uncommon abbreviations in the abstract.
Keywords and SDGs
Provide 3–10 keywords.
Use terms that are specific to your article but common in the discipline, to facilitate indexing and searching.
Where appropriate, add Sustainable Development Goal identifiers (SDG codes) as keywords, for example: SDG 3; SDG 12; SDG 13, when the paper explicitly addresses these goals.
4. FIGURES, TABLES AND ACCESSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
In accordance with the European Accessibility Act (EAA) and relevant accessibility regulations, PK requires that all graphic elements be accessible to readers with disabilities. This applies to figures (photos, drawings, diagrams, maps, charts, logos, etc.) and tables.
4.1. Figures (content, files and alt text)
Number figures consecutively: Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3, …
Each figure in the manuscript must have:
A title (caption) placed under the figure,
information about the source (if applicable).
Uploading graphic files
In addition to figures embedded in the manuscript file:
Upload each figure as a separate high-resolution graphic file (e.g. JPG, PNG or another standard graphic format) to the journal’s online submission system together with the manuscript.
Name the files clearly according to their order in the text, for example: Figure-1, Figure-2, Figure-3, etc. (you may add a short keyword if needed, e.g. Figure-1-map).
Editable charts
If your figures are charts or graphs prepared in Excel, please provide them in an editable Excel file.
Collect all charts in a single Excel file and upload it to the submission system together with:
the manuscript file,
the separate graphic files.
Alt text for figures (alternative descriptions)
To comply with accessibility requirements, each figure must have a short alternative text (alt text) that can be read by screen readers. In PK, alt text is not inserted directly into the figure properties in the manuscript. Instead:
Prepare a separate Word file titled, for example:“Alt text for figures – [short title of the article]”.
List all figures in the order in which they appear in the manuscript.
For each figure, first provide the full caption, then add the alt text on a new line. Example structure:
Figure 1. Full title of the figure
Alt text: …
Figure 2. Full title of the figure
Alt text: …
The alt text should:
be short and informative (usually 1–3 sentences),
explain what the figure shows and why it is important for the article,
describe the essential information that a sighted reader obtains from the figure (main objects, relationships, variables, axes, units, trends or key comparisons),
for charts and graphs: mention the variables on each axis, the units, the time period (if applicable) and the main trend or comparison (e.g. which group has the highest value),
be factually accurate and consistent with the main text.
If a figure is purely decorative and contains no relevant information, please mark it explicitly as: “Alt text: decorative image – no informational content.”
Alt texts are required so that readers who are blind, partially sighted or deaf-blind can access the same substantive information as sighted readers.
4.2. Tables and short descriptions
Number tables consecutively: Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, …
Each table must have:
a title (caption) above the table,
a short description placed between the table title and the table.
The short description (1–3 sentences) should:
briefly state what type of data are presented,
name the main columns and, where applicable, the units of measurement,
indicate the most important pattern, comparison or trend (e.g. which group has the highest mean value, how variables differ between scenarios).
These short descriptions are necessary to meet accessibility requirements and to help readers quickly understand the essential content of the table, including those using assistive technologies.
5. REFERENCES AND CITATION STYLE
Detailed guidelines for authors regarding the principles of preparing References and citations adopted by the PK are available in the document "Citation Format" (in the "For Authors" section of the journal's website).
The journal uses the Chicago author–date citation style (17th edition), adapted to the PK guidelines.
In the text, use in-text citations in the form: (Author year, page) – for example: (Jonas 1984, 25–27).
At the end of the manuscript, provide a reference list which:
includes all works cited in the text and only those works,
is arranged in alphabetical order by the authors’ surnames,
follows consistent punctuation, italics and order of elements (author, year, title, publication data).
In the Reference list:
For the first author, provide surname followed by first name.
For subsequent authors, provide first name(s) followed by surname.
Detailed guidance for authors on the citation rules adopted by PK is available in the “Citation Format” [podać jako link] (in the “For authors” section of the journal website) and in the PDF document available at the website
DOI and URL
Many journal articles have a DOI (Digital Object Identifier).
A DOI forms a stable URL beginning with https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxx.
When available, include the DOI in this URL form at the end of the reference. This DOI-based URL is preferred to long database-specific links (for example, from JSTOR or ScienceDirect).
For sources without a DOI, provide a short, stable URL to the journal, book or repository where the material can be accessed, or omit the URL if the source is a standard print-only publication.
6. ETHICAL AND LEGAL STATEMENTS
At the end of the manuscript, please include a Statements section with the following subsections (as applicable):
Author Contributions – For research articles with several authors, a short paragraph specifying their individual contributions must be provided. The following statement template should be used (with initials of the authors inserted in place of X.X., Y.Y., Z.Z.): “Conceptualization, X.X. and Y.Y.; methodology, X.X.; software, X.X.; validation, X.X., Y.Y. and Z.Z.; formal analysis, X.X.; investigation, X.X.; resources, X.X.; data curation, X.X.; writing—original draft preparation, X.X.; writing—review and editing, X.X.; visualization, X.X.; supervision, X.X.; project administration, X.X.; funding acquisition, Y.Y. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.”
This statement is required only for multi-authored articles.
Funding – state the funding sources or write“Not applicable.”
Institutional Review Board Statement –
if ethical approval was required:“The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board (or Ethics Committee) of NAME OF INSTITUTION (protocol code XXX and date of approval).”
if ethical approval was not required: write“Not applicable.”
Informed Consent Statement – where relevant for studies with human participants; otherwise:“Not applicable.”
Data Availability Statement – indicate where the data can be accessed (repository, on request from the authors, etc.), or “Not applicable.”
Acknowledgments – mention persons and institutions that supported the work and declare any use of generative AI tools (specifying which tool was used and for which task).
Conflicts of Interest – clearly state any conflicts of interest, or write “The authors declare no conflict of interest.”
If a given item does not apply to your article, do not delete the heading. Instead, write “Not applicable.” under that heading.
7. ADDITIONAL DECLARATIONS REQUIRED AT SUBMISSION
When submitting a manuscript to «Prawo Kanoniczne», the corresponding author is required to complete an online declaration form. In this form, the author indicates whether the submitted publication:
Addresses the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),
Concerns research on Polish history, religiosity, culture, literature or language as elements essential for preserving identity and memory of the past,
Takes into account a gender equality perspective in the design, implementation or interpretation of the research (where applicable).
Please fill in the declaration form at the time of submission:
https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/tSy0cq5cmX?origin=lprLink.
Completing this form is mandatory and helps the journal and the university meet national and international reporting requirements.
8. PUBLISHING AGREEMENT
For each accepted manuscript, the authors are required to sign a Publishing Agreement with the Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski Publishing House.
Download the Publishing Agreement form from the journal’s website:
Fill out the document, print it and sign it by hand.
Scan the signed version.
Upload the scanned Publishing Agreement to the journal’s online submission system together with the manuscript and all accompanying files (graphic files, Excel file with editable charts, alt-text file for figures).
The publication process cannot be completed without a correctly signed and submitted Publishing Agreement.
10.21697/pk
English
Język Polski
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