Journal of Law and Criminology

Manuscript Template

Title of the Manuscript

The manuscript title must be concise, specific, informative, and accurately reflect the main legal or criminological issue discussed in the article. The title should contain no more than 20 words and should avoid unnecessary abbreviations, overly general terms, and phrases such as “a study of” unless essential.

Author 1 Name¹, Author 2 Name², Author 3 Name³

¹Department/Study Program, Institution, City, Country
²Department/Study Program, Institution, City, Country
³Department/Study Program, Institution, City, Country

Corresponding Author: email@domain.com
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0000-0000-0000

Author names must be written without academic or professional titles. Each author must provide an accurate institutional affiliation and active email address. One author must be identified as the corresponding author.

Abstract

The abstract must be written in English and contain between 150 and 250 words. It must provide a concise overview of the background, research problem, objective, method or legal research approach, principal findings, and conclusion.

For normative or doctrinal legal research, the abstract should mention the legal issue, legal approach, legal materials, main argument, and implications of the analysis. For empirical or criminological research, the abstract should mention the research design, participants or data sources, data collection and analysis methods, principal findings, and implications.

The abstract must be written in one paragraph and must not contain citations, footnotes, tables, figures, mathematical formulas, or uncommon abbreviations.

Keywords: criminal law; criminology; criminal justice; legal reform; victim protection

Authors must provide three to five keywords that represent the principal concepts of the manuscript. Keywords must be separated by semicolons and should not merely repeat words already contained in the title.

1. Introduction

The introduction must provide a clear and systematic explanation of the background and significance of the study. It should demonstrate why the legal or criminological issue deserves scholarly examination.

The introduction should include:

  1. The background of the legal, criminological, or criminal justice issue;

  2. The social, theoretical, legal, or policy context of the problem;

  3. Relevant legislation, court decisions, crime data, or social conditions;

  4. A critical review of relevant previous studies;

  5. The limitations or gaps in previous research;

  6. The novelty and originality of the manuscript;

  7. The research question or problem formulation;

  8. The objective of the study; and

  9. The theoretical, practical, or policy contribution of the research.

Authors must not present previous studies merely as a list. Previous research should be critically compared to demonstrate similarities, differences, limitations, and the position of the present study.

The final part of the introduction should clearly state the objective of the study and the contribution expected from the research.

2. Literature Review

The literature review presents the theories, concepts, legal doctrines, statutory provisions, court decisions, policy frameworks, and previous studies relevant to the manuscript.

This section may discuss subjects such as:

Authors must critically analyze the literature rather than simply summarize individual sources. The literature review should establish the conceptual or theoretical framework used to examine the research problem.

This section may be combined with the introduction when appropriate, particularly for doctrinal or normative legal research.

3. Research Method

The research method must be described clearly and sufficiently so that readers can evaluate the validity, reliability, and appropriateness of the study.

3.1 Normative or Doctrinal Legal Research

For normative or doctrinal legal research, authors should explain:

Legal approaches may include:

  1. Statutory approach;

  2. Conceptual approach;

  3. Case approach;

  4. Comparative approach;

  5. Historical approach;

  6. Philosophical approach; or

  7. Other relevant legal approaches.

Legal materials may consist of:

Authors must explain how the legal materials were interpreted and analyzed to answer the research questions.

3.2 Empirical or Socio-Legal Research

For empirical, socio-legal, or criminological research, authors should explain:

Data collection methods may include interviews, observations, questionnaires, document analysis, case records, crime statistics, focus group discussions, or other relevant techniques.

3.3 Research Ethics

Research involving human participants, victims of crime, children, prisoners, offenders, law enforcement officers, or other vulnerable groups must comply with applicable research ethics.

Authors must explain, where relevant:

Personal identities and confidential information must not be disclosed without lawful authorization and informed consent.

4. Results

The results section must present the research findings clearly, systematically, and objectively. Findings should be organized according to the research questions, objectives, analytical categories, or themes.

For empirical research, the results may include:

For normative legal research, the findings may include:

The results section should emphasize the most important findings and avoid unnecessary repetition of data already presented in tables or figures.

Table Format

Table 1. Example of Table Title

No. Legal or Criminological Aspect Research Finding
1 Applicable legal provision Summary of finding
2 Law enforcement practice Summary of finding
3 Legal or policy implication Summary of finding

The title of a table must be placed above the table. Tables must be numbered consecutively and must be editable rather than inserted as images.

Each table must be referred to and explained in the manuscript. The source must be provided below the table when the data are adapted or obtained from another publication.

Source: Research data, year.

Figure Format

Figure 1. Example of Figure Title

Insert figure, diagram, model, map, or chart here.

The title of a figure must be placed below the figure. Figures must be clear, readable, properly numbered, and discussed in the manuscript.

Authors must obtain permission when reproducing copyrighted tables, figures, photographs, maps, or other visual materials.

5. Discussion

The discussion must critically interpret the research findings and explain their legal, theoretical, criminological, institutional, social, or policy significance.

The discussion should:

  1. Answer the research questions;

  2. Interpret the principal findings;

  3. Connect the findings with relevant theories and legal doctrines;

  4. Compare the findings with previous studies;

  5. Explain agreements or contradictions with previous research;

  6. Analyze relevant legislation and court decisions;

  7. Identify legal gaps, regulatory conflicts, or implementation problems;

  8. Explain the novelty and contribution of the study;

  9. Present theoretical and practical implications;

  10. Discuss implications for law enforcement or criminal justice policy;

  11. Explain the limitations of the study; and

  12. Propose directions for further research or legal reform.

For normative legal research, the discussion must provide legal reasoning and critical interpretation rather than merely reproduce or describe statutory provisions.

For empirical criminological research, the discussion must explain the meaning of the data and relate the findings to criminological theories, criminal justice practices, public policy, or social conditions.

The discussion must not merely repeat the results section.

6. Conclusion

The conclusion must directly answer the research questions and objectives. It should summarize the principal findings or legal arguments concisely and clearly.

The conclusion should:

Recommendations may address:

The conclusion must not introduce new data, citations, legal materials, arguments, tables, or figures that have not previously been discussed.

7. Acknowledgment

The acknowledgment section is optional. Authors may express appreciation to institutions, funding agencies, research participants, data providers, professional organizations, or individuals who contributed to the research but do not meet the criteria for authorship.

Example:

The authors would like to thank the research participants and the institutions that supported the collection of data for this study.

When the research received financial support, authors should state the name of the funding institution and grant number.

Example:

This research was supported by [Name of Funding Institution] under Grant Number [0000].

8. Author Contributions

For manuscripts written by more than one author, the contribution of each author should be described transparently.

Author contributions may include:

Example:

Author 1 contributed to the conceptualization, methodology, and preparation of the original manuscript. Author 2 conducted the legal analysis and data collection. Author 3 reviewed and edited the final manuscript. All authors approved the final version of the article.

9. Conflict of Interest

Authors must disclose any financial, professional, personal, political, institutional, or other interests that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research or publication process.

When no conflict of interest exists, authors should use the following statement:

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this article.

10. Data Availability Statement

Authors conducting empirical research are encouraged to explain whether the research data are publicly available, available upon reasonable request, restricted because of confidentiality, or unavailable because of legal and ethical considerations.

Example:

The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. Certain data cannot be publicly disclosed because they contain confidential information concerning research participants.

11. References

The reference list must include every source cited in the manuscript. Sources that are not cited in the manuscript must not be included in the reference list.

The Journal of Law and Criminology uses the American Psychological Association 7th Edition—APA 7th Edition reference style.

Authors are strongly encouraged to use reference management software such as:

Authors should prioritize relevant and authoritative references, including:

Most scholarly references should preferably have been published within the last 10 years. Older references may be used for classical theories, foundational legal doctrines, landmark court decisions, historical laws, and other sources that remain academically relevant.

Digital Object Identifier links must be included whenever available.

Journal Article

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of the article. Name of Journal, volume number(issue number), page–page. https://doi.org/xxxxx

Book

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the book. Publisher.

Book Chapter

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of chapter. In B. B. Editor (Ed.), Title of book (pp. xx–xx). Publisher.

Legislation

Republic of Indonesia. (Year). Name and number of legislation concerning the subject matter.

Court Decision

Name of Court. (Year). Decision Number [decision number].

International Convention

Name of Organization. (Year). Title of the international convention or treaty.

Institutional Report

Name of Institution. (Year). Title of report. Publisher or institution.

Website

Author or Institution. (Year). Title of webpage or document. Name of Website. Complete URL

12. Technical Format

Manuscripts must comply with the following requirements:

Manuscripts written in Bahasa Indonesia must include the title, abstract, and keywords in English.

Authors must use the official template and ensure consistency in heading levels, paragraph spacing, table formats, figure formats, citations, and references throughout the manuscript.