For Reviewers

Peer review at The Journal of Medicine, Law & Public Health is double-blind: reviewers do not know who the authors are, and authors do not know who reviewed their work. Every manuscript that passes initial editorial screening is sent to at least two independent expert reviewers, from more than one country wherever the subject allows.

The standard we follow

Reviewers are expected to follow COPE's Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers. How those guidelines apply at JMLPH is set out in section 9 of the publication ethics policy. In short:

Accept only what you can deliver. Accept an invitation only if you have the expertise and can return the report by the deadline in the invitation. If you cannot, decline promptly, so that the editor can invite someone else without delaying the authors. If something changes after you accept, tell the editor straight away.
Declare conflicts of interest. Decline, or tell the editor before accepting, if you have any financial, collaborative, institutional, personal or intellectual connection with the work or with authors you can identify. Do not review a manuscript from your own institution.
Keep the manuscript confidential. Do not share it, discuss it or use anything from it before publication. Do not upload any part of it, or your report, to a generative AI tool or any other external service.
Assess the work, not the authors. Be objective, specific and courteous. Explain your recommendation, and separate essential changes from suggestions.
Check the ethics, not only the science. Look for ethical approval, informed consent and, in case reports and clinical images, consent for publication and protection of the patient's identity.
Report concerns to the editor. If you suspect plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabricated or manipulated data, undisclosed conflicts or an authorship problem, tell the editor in your confidential comments. Do not contact the authors.

Your report

Reviews are submitted through the journal's online system. Each report has two parts: comments for the authors, and confidential comments and a recommendation for the editor. The editor makes the decision, taking all reports into account; a reviewer's recommendation is advice, not a vote.

Becoming a reviewer

We welcome reviewers with expertise in medicine, public health, health law and medical ethics. To volunteer, register with the journal and ask to be contacted with review requests, listing your areas of expertise, or write to the editorial office at editorial.board@jmlph.net.