APPROACH AND SCOPE

1. AIMS AND SCOPE

The journal Verba Iuris (ISSN: 0121-3474, e-ISSN: 2619-3752) is an open-access scientific publication, peer-reviewed by scholars of recognized academic trajectory in the field of law, and published semiannually by Universidad Libre of Colombia and its Graduate Institute. Initially focused on criminal law and criminology, it has recently expanded to encompass areas such as procedural, administrative, constitutional, family, labor, and commercial law, among others. Currently, the journal prioritizes the publication of socio-legal and socio-critical research results that contribute to understanding the most significant legal issues in relation to the country’s and the region’s social, cultural, political, and economic challenges. In this regard, Verba Iuris may be considered to have an inter- and transdisciplinary character within legal science, including aspects such as research methodology and legal education at all levels.

The journal publishes research, reflection, and review articles, without prejudice to the inclusion, in special or monographic issues, of other types of contributions such as book reviews or interviews, with the aim of providing authors and readers with a broad and diverse framework of contributions to research and the scientific approach to contemporary legal problems and their auxiliary disciplines.

2. MISSION

Verba Iuris promotes scientific research in the field of law and its auxiliary disciplines, adopting an inter- and transdisciplinary approach to contemporary legal issues, with particular emphasis on socio-legal and socio-critical research. At the same time, it seeks to disseminate contributions that advance new knowledge in specific areas of law, such as criminal, civil, labor, and commercial law, among others.

3. VISION

By 2030, Verba Iuris will be recognized as one of the leading scholarly journals in Colombia in the field of socio-legal and socio-critical studies addressing the inter- and transdisciplinary problems of law, based on its performance in the main academic quality indicators for journals in its field, its inclusion in leading indexing databases, and its recognition by academic and scientific stakeholders at the national and regional levels.

4. THEMATIC ORIENTATION AND TARGET AUDIENCE

Verba Iuris focuses on completed or ongoing research in specific areas of law, with a preference for studies that address contemporary legal issues from an inter- and transdisciplinary perspective, using socio-legal and socio-critical approaches. It particularly considers new paradigms of interest in legal analysis, such as digital transition, transitional and restorative justice, intersectionality, multiculturalism, and legal pluralism, among others. In this regard, the acceptance of articles will be guided by an emphasis on works that address:

4.1. The relationship between the legal system or legal order and the social, economic, political, or cultural reality of the country.

4.2. The relationship between the legal system or legal order and the social substratum (values, customs, and social practices).

4.3. The effectiveness and effects of the legal system or legal order on the social, economic, political, and cultural reality of the country.

4.4. The relationship of law with new theoretical and methodological paradigms such as digital transition, intersectionality, alternative models of justice, multiculturalism, and legal pluralism.

5. ARTICLE TYPES AND LANGUAGES

Verba Iuris publishes articles reporting the results of scientific research in Spanish, English, or Portuguese as its main languages, without excluding other languages that may be relevant for the development of legal science at the theoretical level in Colombia, such as French or German, especially in specific calls for special or thematic issues. However, the submission of articles in languages other than Spanish must be duly justified on the basis of research conducted in foreign jurisdictions or international legal contexts that are of interest for Colombian legal research and legal education.

Likewise, and with the aim of increasing the journal’s reach and impact, in each issue two (2) or three (3) articles may be selected by the editorial team to be translated into English or into another language, as needed and in line with the journal’s interests.

The journal regularly accepts the following types of manuscripts:

5.1 Research articles

Articles must derive from completed research projects in substantive (specialized) law or with a socio-legal and socio-critical approach; they must be unpublished and follow the basic structure below:

5.1.1 Introduction. The introduction must indicate the origin of the research and the problem addressed, framed as the identification of a gap in the knowledge relevant to legal science, supported by conceptual and theoretical background. It must state the overall aim of the study, the research question and the hypothesis, and inform the reader of the order in which the article is organized.

5.1.2 Methodology

5.1.2.1 Population and sample. The section must identify the population or universe (entire set) and the sample (subset), as well as the type of sampling used: probabilistic or non-probabilistic. It must specify how the sample was obtained and the criteria for selection, classification, characterization, and inclusion in the study. This requirement also applies to purely documentary research.

5.1.2.2 Sources of information. The section must indicate whether primary or secondary sources of information were used. When the researchers have directly designed the instruments and carried out the processes of data collection (interviews, surveys, documentary analysis, etc.), they must justify this on the basis of primary sources. When the study relies on secondary studies (reviews and/or review studies) or empirical data collected in other studies, it must indicate the use of secondary sources.

5.1.2.3 Theoretical or empirical method. The article must specify which theoretical model of analysis was implemented: analysis–synthesis, modeling, systemic–structural–functionalist, legal trialism (dialectical approach), etc. When other empirical methods are used, these must also be specified, such as phenomenological, ethnographic (including virtual ethnography), or hermeneutic, among others.

5.1.2.4 Type of research (by scope). The article must justify whether the research is exploratory, descriptive, correlational, or explanatory.

5.1.2.5 Methodological approach. Qualitative, quantitative, or mixed.

5.1.2.6 Theoretical–methodological paradigms. Dogmatic research, interpretivist/naturalistic, socio-critical, or historical.

5.1.2.7 Theoretical approaches. Dogmatic, socio-legal, comparative law, values-based, hermeneutic, etc.

5.1.2.8 Data collection and analysis tools. When the process is carried out manually, the article must explain which data collection and analysis techniques are used, for example, interviews, surveys, observations, etc., as well as the instruments used for systematization, analysis, and interpretation, such as tables, matrices, field notes, or research diaries. When specialized qualitative or quantitative data analysis software is used, this must be specified in the methodology, as must any artificial intelligence (AI) models applied to the research process, text production, or the design of data collection instruments, clearly indicating the specific use of these tools and the measures taken to control interpretive or data-analysis bias.

5.2 Results. The results must be presented using the same sections announced in the Introduction, in order to set out the theoretical or empirical data originally obtained in the course of the research. Results should not be confused with the analysis and discussion, which must appear in a separate section.

5.3 Analysis and discussion. Based on the results, this section must examine how the data relate to the research objectives and questions, explaining how the research hypothesis is confirmed or not.

5.4 Conclusions. In line with the results and analysis, this section must succinctly state the conclusions drawn from the findings (without repeating what has already been presented in previous sections), and briefly present key findings and/or recommendations for future studies in terms of scope, approach, methodology, population, or other aspects that have not been fully addressed in the published research.

The length of research articles ranges from 6,000 to 8,000 words.

5.2 Reflection articles

Reflection articles must derive from completed or ongoing research, with a more flexible structure that presents partial or derivative results from studies based on original sources. They must be unpublished and follow the structure below:

5.2.1 Introduction. The introduction presents the general context of the research, the research problem, and the specific parts of the article to be developed. Stating a methodology is recommended, but not mandatory.

5.2.2 Development. Using headings and subheadings in a more flexible format, the author develops each of the sections needed to answer the research question and to present relevant results of their analytical reflection.

5.2.3 Conclusions. This section offers general reflections on how the research question was answered, what new findings were obtained, what further knowledge or approaches are required to specify the field of knowledge or the research questions, and what contribution is made or what recommendations are appropriate for future studies.

The length of reflection articles ranges from 6,000 to 8,000 words.

5.3 Review articles

Review articles integrate and systematize published and unpublished literature on a research problem, based on a broad and verifiable bibliographic review. They must cite and reference at least fifty (50) sources when warranted by the nature of the manuscript, given that the main objective and contribution of this type of article is to develop state-of-the-art reviews on topics that are related to, or of interest for, legal and socio-legal research.

The length of review articles ranges from 4,000 to 8,000 words.

6. PERIODICITY

Verba Iuris is a semiannual journal. Each issue, in both print and digital formats, is officially published on 1 January for the January–June period and on 1 July for the July–December period. To ensure broader dissemination of its contents, the journal uses an advance online publication modality on its OJS platform for articles that have already completed the peer review and editorial process. In this way, readers can access the most recent academic work immediately, without having to wait for the next print or full digital issue.

7. FUNDING

The journal is published by Universidad Libre and its Graduate Institute and is financed exclusively with institutional resources. This independence ensures a rigorous and transparent editorial process, without the need to charge fees for submission, review, or publication of articles (article processing charge, APC). As a result, authors can publish their work free of charge, thereby promoting the dissemination of legal knowledge.

8. OPEN ACCESS, COPYRIGHT, AND PUBLICATION LICENSE

Verba Iuris promotes the unrestricted dissemination of legal knowledge. As a signatory of the Budapest Declaration, it guarantees free and open access to all its contents. Authors retain the moral rights over their works, but grant Universidad Libre the rights of publication under a Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial 4.0 International license.

9. CROSSREF POLICY

Verba Iuris complies with the highest international publishing standards. Each published article is assigned a DOI (Digital Object Identifier), and its metadata are deposited with Crossref in order to facilitate its discovery and citation.

10. CONTENT ARCHIVING

To ensure the long-term preservation of its contents, Verba Iuris uses the LOCKSS system, a digital preservation initiative that creates multiple backup copies distributed across different locations. In addition, the journal respects authors’ rights and allows self‑archiving of their articles in institutional or personal repositories. This practice fosters the dissemination of knowledge and increases the visibility of research, while at the same time ensuring long-term access to information.

11. RESPONSIBILITY FOR CONTENTS

Verba Iuris promotes a rich and diverse academic debate; however, responsibility for the content of the published articles lies exclusively with the authors. The views and assertions expressed are the result of academic and research activity and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Universidad Libre or of any other participating institutions.

12. INDEXING

Publindex

Latindex

Dialnet

EBSCO

CiteFactor (Academic Scientific Journals)

MIAR

Academic Resource Index (ResearchBib)

Elektronische Zeitschriftenbibliothek

ERIH PLUS (European Reference Index for the Humanities and the Social Sciences)

JISC

Sherpa/Romeo