Submissions

Author Guidelines

• Peer Review Process

The journal Cultura giuridica e diritto vivente adopts a peer review process aimed at ensuring the scientific quality, originality, and relevance of the articles it publishes.

Type of review

The journal uses a double-blind peer review system, in which the identity of the authors is not disclosed to the reviewers and the identity of the reviewers is not disclosed to the authors.

This system ensures fairness and independence in the evaluation process.

Review process

The editorial process consists of the following stages:

1. Preliminary editorial assessment
   The manuscript is initially evaluated by the Editorial Board to verify its compliance with the aims and scope of the journal, editorial guidelines, and minimum scholarly standards.
2. External peer review
   Suitable manuscripts are submitted to at least two anonymous reviewers, selected among scholars with expertise in the relevant field. Reviewers are required to confirm their availability within 7 days of receiving the review request. In case of acceptance, the evaluation of the submitted manuscript must be completed and returned within 30 days. Should this deadline lapse without a response, the Editorial Board reserves the right to assign the manuscript to another reviewer. 
3. Scholarly evaluation
   Reviewers assess the manuscript according to criteria such as:
   • originality and scholarly relevance;
   • soundness of the methodological approach;
   • clarity and coherence of the argument;
   • adequacy of references and bibliography.

Reviewers will also assess the appropriateness of the article’s placement within the “Articles” or “Notes and Comments” sections, and may recommend assigning the contribution to a different section than that indicated by the Author.

Editorial decision
Based on the reviewers’ reports, the editorial board may:

• • accept the manuscript;
  • request revisions;
  • reject the submission.

In the case of conflicting evaluations, the editorial board may request an additional review.

Confidentiality

All manuscripts submitted to the journal are treated as confidential documents. Reviewers must not disclose or use information contained in the manuscripts for personal purposes.

Conflicts of interest

Reviewers must disclose any potential conflicts of interest that could influence their evaluation and, in such cases, should decline the review assignment.

• Open Access Policy

The journal Cultura giuridica e diritto vivente is an Open Access journal.

All published articles are freely accessible online without subscription fees or access restrictions.

The journal does not charge Article Processing Charges (APC) or any publication fees to authors.

The aim of the journal is to promote the dissemination of scholarly research in legal studies and to support the free circulation of academic knowledge at the international level.

Language

The journal accepts submissions in Italian, English, French, Spanish, and German.

Sections: 

Essays

This section publishes extended scientific contributions (up to 85,000 characters, including notes), which are subject to double-blind peer review by two anonymous reviewers.

Notes and Comments

This section includes shorter scholarly contributions such as reviews, reports, reading notes, case comments, and viewpoints (up to 25,000 characters), also subject to double-blind peer review.

The Most Beautiful Words of Justice

Curated by Prof. Chiara Gabrielli (University of Urbino), this section collects the most significant lectures presented during scientific events organized by the Department of Law, especially the annual "Words of Justice" festival. Contributions are selected by the Editorial Board in coordination with the section's curator.

Materials

This section hosts various scientific materials: working papers, seminar and conference papers, educational materials, multimedia documents, and other resources relevant to legal culture and education. Anonymous peer review is not required.

Author Information and Submission Requirements

Each submission must include:

- English translation of the title

- Abstract in both Italian and English (100 words each)

- Five keywords in both Italian and English

- Academic or professional title of the Author and their email address

- Indication of the section of Cultura giuridica e diritto vivente to which the article is being submitted

Copyright Notice

Cultura giuridica e diritto vivente allows authors to retain publishing rights and copyrights without restrictions.

Editorial Norms 

1. Formatting and Structure of Submissions

Submissions must be sent in .docx (or .doc) format, using Garamond font, size 12 for the main text and size 11 for footnotes, single-spaced.

Italic fonts should be used for all words in a language other than that of the article, including Latin, as well as to emphasize specific expressions or terms. Boldface is not allowed.

Greek text must be inserted using the greek.ttf font or compatible fonts.

Submissions may be divided into numbered and titled paragraphs.

2. Bibliography

2.1. For the first citation of monographs, indicate:

- Author's initials (no spaces) followed by the surname (in regular font, lowercase);

- Full title of the work, entirely in italics;

- Any series title in parentheses, without a preceding comma, using Arabic numerals;

- Place of publication, as stated on the title page (e.g., London, not Londra); DO NOT indicate the publisher;

- Year of publication, possibly followed by a superscript indicating the edition;

- Any page references (not preceded by p./pp.).

Example:

1. Giuffrè, Studi sul debito. Tra esperienza romana e ordinamenti moderni, Napoli 1997², 124 ff.
2. Lamberti, La famiglia romana e i suoi volti. Pagine scelte su diritto e persone in Roma antica, Torino 2014.

2.2. For the first citation of works included in miscellaneous or collective volumes (e.g., collected essays, proceedings), indicate the Author and title of the essay as above, then add "in" (in regular font), followed by the volume title (in italics), following the general rules.

Example:

2. Rizzelli, La violenza sessuale su donne nell'esperienza di Roma antica. Note per una storia degli stereotipi, in E. Höbenreich, V. Kühne, F. Lamberti (eds.), El Cisne 2. Violencia, proceso y discurso sobre género, Lecce 2012, 295–377.

2.3. For contributions published in journals, encyclopedias, or dictionaries: after the article title, add "in"; then give the title of the journal, encyclopedia, or dictionary (in italics, no quotation marks); year in Arabic numerals; publication year; page numbers without p./pp., and no commas between elements.

Example:

2. Falcone, Per una datazione del ‘De verborum quae ad ius pertinent significatione’ di Elio Gallo, in AUPA 41, 1990, 223 n. 2.
3. Grelle, Consoli e «datio tutoris» in I. I.20.3, in Labeo 13, 1967, 194 ff. [= Diritto e società nel mondo romano, ed. L. Fanizza, Roma 2005, 113 ff.].

2.4. For subsequent citations:

- Abbreviated name and surname of the Author;

- Full or abbreviated title of the work in italics, followed by 'cit.' in regular font, preceded and followed by commas;

- In multi-volume works, specify the volume number in Arabic before 'cit.'

Example:

1. Giuffrè, Studi sul debito, cit., 124 ff.
2. Textual Citations

Latin or foreign language passages must be in italics and not enclosed in quotation marks. Greek passages must never be italicized or quoted.

Use a vertical bar | to indicate line breaks in epigraphs.

Citations of modern authors or translations must be enclosed in guillemets («...»). For emphasis within a quoted passage, use single quotation marks ('...').

4. Footnotes

In the presence of punctuation, the note marker ALWAYS precedes the punctuation mark, with no space.

Example: ... as already stated18.

5. Abbreviations and Acronyms — Historical Disciplines

Follow L'Année Philologique for journal abbreviations, except for commonly used abbreviations in Roman law journals (e.g., Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte – Romanistische Abteilung is abbreviated ZSS., Annali del Seminario Giuridico dell'Università di Palermo as AUPA., etc.). All abbreviations end with a period.

Journals that are not universally known and non-academic publications must be spelt out.

Use Liddell-Scott-Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon, Oxford 1940 for Greek text abbreviations.

Use Thesaurus linguae Latinae, Leipzig 1900 for Latin text abbreviations.

Passages must always be cited using Arabic numerals.

Separate book, chapter, paragraph, verse, or line with a period, without space.

Example:

Liv. 2.14.3

Multiple verses/lines/paragraphs or chapters under the same division: separate with commas (no space):

Liv. 2.14.1,3–5,7

Liv. 2.14,16,18.

Chapters or books without a higher-level division: use semicolon and space:

Liv. 2; 3

Tac. Agr. 1; 19; 21

See here for a list of the main legal source abbreviations.

6. Abbreviations and Acronyms — Positive Law Disciplines

Citations of case law should include the abbreviation of the court (see abbreviation index), Roman numeral for the section (if applicable), hearing date (or deposit date for Constitutional Court), and decision number.

Example:

Cass., Sez. IV, 29 October 1993, no. 45560

To reference a journal publication or commentary, follow with the journal details (in italics, preceded by a comma and "in" ):

Example:

Cass., Sez. un., 29 October 1993, in Foro it., 1994, IV, p. 151

For headnotes from the Supreme Court's electronic documentation centre, include the code:

Example:

Cass., 12 January 1999, no. 7765, in C.e.d. Cass., no. 1234567

A list of legal, case law and journal abbreviations is available here.

7. Offprints

Each Author will receive a PDF copy of their published contribution

Download Editorial Rules