About the Journal

Journal of Historical Research, Law and Policy (JHRLP) is an international, interdisciplinary, and peer-reviewed scholarly journal dedicated to advancing critical research at the intersection of history, legal studies, and public policy. The journal provides a platform for original contributions that explore historical developments in law, the historical foundations of legal institutions, and the role of legal and policy frameworks in shaping societies. JHRLP seeks to bridge the gap between history and law by fostering dialogue between historians, legal scholars, policymakers, and interdisciplinary researchers.

The journal is published in open-access format to maximize the global dissemination of knowledge and ensure that all scholars, practitioners, and students—regardless of institutional or financial barriers—have unrestricted access to its content.

Aims and Scope

The primary aim of JHRLP is to promote rigorous academic research that contributes to the understanding of legal and policy systems within their historical contexts. The journal welcomes diverse methodologies, ranging from historical analysis and comparative studies to theoretical and doctrinal legal research.

Key areas of interest include (but are not limited to):

  • Historical development of legal systems, jurisprudence, and institutions.

  • Comparative legal history and cross-cultural approaches to law.

  • Historical perspectives on constitutional law, criminal law, civil law, and international law.

  • Policy analysis informed by historical and legal scholarship.

  • The role of legal reforms in shaping political, economic, and cultural transformations.

  • Interdisciplinary studies connecting law, history, sociology, economics, and political science.

  • Historical roots of contemporary legal and policy challenges.

By publishing high-quality research, JHRLP seeks to inform not only academic debates but also contemporary policymaking and legal reforms, thereby fostering a better understanding of the ways history continues to shape modern law and governance.

Open Access Statement

The Journal of Historical Research, Law and Policy is fully committed to the principles of open access. All published articles are freely and permanently accessible online immediately upon publication, without subscription fees or access barriers. Authors and readers benefit equally: authors achieve greater visibility and wider dissemination of their research, while readers can access, download, and share knowledge without restrictions.

Open access supports the mission of democratizing knowledge by ensuring that researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and the general public worldwide can engage with high-quality scholarship regardless of their financial or institutional resources.

Copyright and License

Authors publishing with JHRLP retain full copyright of their work. The journal operates under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).

This license allows others to:

  • Share, copy, and redistribute the material in any medium or format.

  • Adapt, remix, transform, and build upon the material.

Under the following conditions:

  • Attribution: Proper credit must be given to the original author(s) and the journal.

  • Non-Commercial: The material may not be used for commercial purposes.

This licensing framework provides a balance between author rights, academic recognition, and the broader goal of knowledge dissemination while ensuring protection against commercial exploitation.

Plagiarism Policy

Academic integrity is a cornerstone of JHRLP. The journal maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and duplicate submissions. All manuscripts submitted to the journal undergo a mandatory plagiarism screening using iThenticate before they are considered for peer review.

Manuscripts with a high similarity index or evidence of academic misconduct will be rejected immediately. In serious cases, the journal reserves the right to notify the authors’ affiliated institutions. Authors are strongly encouraged to ensure originality in their work and to provide appropriate citations for all referenced materials.

Article Processing Charges (APCs)

To sustain open-access publishing and cover the costs associated with editorial management, peer review, archiving, online hosting, and long-term digital preservation, JHRLP applies a publication fee.

  • Article Processing Charge (APC): 30,000,000 Iranian Tomans per accepted article.

Authors are required to pay the APC only after their manuscript has successfully passed peer review and been accepted for publication. No submission fees or charges are applied at the initial submission stage. Waivers or discounts may be considered in exceptional cases for authors without institutional or financial support, at the discretion of the editorial board.

Peer-Review Process

JHRLP follows a double-blind anonymous peer-review process, which ensures fairness, impartiality, and academic rigor.

Key features of the review process:

  1. Initial Screening: All submissions are first reviewed by the editorial team to ensure they meet the journal’s aims, scope, and formatting requirements.

  2. Plagiarism Check: Each manuscript is checked with iThenticate prior to external review.

  3. Reviewer Assignment: Manuscripts that pass the initial checks are sent to two or three independent expert reviewers in the relevant field. Both reviewers and authors remain anonymous throughout the process.

  4. Evaluation Criteria: Reviewers assess originality, methodological rigor, clarity of argument, depth of historical and legal analysis, contribution to scholarship, and relevance to the journal’s scope.

  5. Editorial Decision: Based on the reviewers’ reports, the editorial team makes one of four decisions: accept, minor revisions, major revisions, or reject.

  6. Revision and Re-Review: Authors invited to revise their manuscript are expected to respond to reviewer comments systematically. Revised manuscripts may be re-evaluated by the same reviewers.

  7. Final Acceptance: The editorial board makes the final decision to accept the article for publication.

This process typically takes 6–8 weeks, depending on reviewer availability and the extent of revisions required.

Archiving and Repository Policies

JHRLP is committed to the long-term preservation and accessibility of scholarly content.

  • Journal Website Archiving: All articles published are permanently archived and available on the official journal website.

  • Self-Archiving: Authors are allowed to deposit both pre-print (submitted version before peer review) and post-print (accepted, peer-reviewed version) manuscripts in personal, institutional, or subject-based repositories. Authors may also share the final published PDF, provided they acknowledge the journal as the original place of publication.

  • Indexing and Preservation Services: The journal collaborates with recognized indexing services and digital preservation platforms to ensure the security and discoverability of its scholarly content.

This archiving policy safeguards the scholarly record and ensures that published articles remain accessible and citable in perpetuity.