Author Guidelines

Submissions are made through the online form, and every author receives an acknowledgment with a private link for tracking the work’s progress.

What we consider

We welcome original work in the natural law tradition across philosophy, theology, and jurisprudence: full-length articles; discussion notes on a focused point; case studies for the standing session on casuistry; unsolicited responses and comments on work the journal has published; and invited peer responses of about 1,500 words, written at the editor’s invitation to appear alongside a specific article. Book reviews are by invitation. The journal publishes in English only. A submission must be your own original work, not previously published, and not under consideration at another journal.

Preparing your manuscript

• Format. Submit a Microsoft Word document (.docx).
• Citations. Any consistent citation style is fine at submission. Accepted manuscripts must be converted to Chicago author-date style, with a reference list, before copyediting.
• Abstract. Include an abstract of no more than 150 words.
• Keywords. Supply three to six keywords.
• Length. Articles run from a minimum of 4,500 words to a firm upper limit of 15,000, excluding notes and references, with a preference for work under 8,000. Manuscripts at either extreme are held to a higher standard, and unusual length should be justified by the strength of the argument. Invited peer responses run about 1,500 words; case studies, under 800.
• AI declaration. If you used AI, include an AI declaration citing which tool was used and how, in an acknowledgment section located prior to the list of works cited. See Use of AI below.

Articles are reviewed double-anonymized. Before submitting an article, remove your name from the document and its file properties, and phrase references to your own work so they do not reveal your identity. Remove thanks to individuals and funding notes until after review, but keep any AI declaration, which does not identify you. Discussion notes, case studies, responses, and invited peer responses are reviewed single-anonymized and need not be anonymized in the same way.

Submitting

Use the journal’s submission form. You will give the corresponding author’s details and may add optional information such as an ORCID, suggested reviewers, or a cover note. Before you submit, the form asks you to accept the journal’s AI policy and to disclose any AI use, or to confirm that none was used. On receipt you will get an email acknowledgment and a private link that shows the current stage of review.

Review

Each submission is first read by the editor for fit and then, if it proceeds, sent for peer review. The full process, including the criteria and the timeline, is described on the peer review page.

Use of AI

From the journal’s AI Policy:

“Text is one’s own. AI tools may be used to refine original compositions but should not be the original source of any text used by author, referee, or editor.”

“Minor revisions to wording, say in polishing clumsy sentences, are permitted with ordinary disclosure. Revising a whole paper in light of AI suggestions is also acceptable with disclosure. However, authorship is a property of every sentence: AI-suggested phrases may be adopted wholesale (if done sparingly), but complete sentences must remain the work of the author.”

“Authors who have used AI must include an AI declaration in the text of the manuscript citing which tool was used and how, in an acknowledgment section located prior to the list of works cited.”

“Beyond grammar and spell-checking software built into word processing software, which are exempt, all AI use must be openly disclosed by model and type of aid (e.g., brainstorming, wording improvement, research). Not disclosing AI use is a disclosure of nonuse.”

“AI tools cannot be authors or coauthors.”

The submission form asks you to accept the policy and to disclose any AI use. The full terms are in the AI Policy.

After acceptance

On acceptance you will sign the publishing agreement of The Catholic University of America Press, under which copyright is held by the Press. The Press then handles copyediting, typesetting, proofs, and publication on Project MUSE, where each article receives a DOI. We will ask for a mailing address at this stage. See the copyright and permissions page for details on rights and reuse.

Fees

There are no submission or publication charges. Publication is funded through subscriptions.

Ethics

Authors are expected to meet the standards set out in the journal’s publication ethics statement, including originality, proper attribution, disclosure of conflicts and of AI use, and the obligation not to submit the same work elsewhere while it is under review here.

Contact

Questions are welcome at [email protected].