CMLJ Contributor Guidelines
Scope and aims of the journal
CMLJ is the leading international journal for capital markets lawyers and academics. It is a think-tank for this area of law and practice based in the UK (in recognition of the UK’s leading position in this field) but includes material from, and relevant to, all of the major financial centres around the world.
The Journal provides a mix of thoughtful and in-depth consideration of the law and practice of capital markets by including analytical articles on topical issues written by leading practitioners and academics in the international arena.
CMLJ:
Fills a need for high level discussion in this important practice area
Offers detailed discussion and opinion on hot topics of international relevance
Incorporates articles commissioned from UK, US, mainland Europe and Asia
Covers all of the fields of capital markets practice: debt; equity; derivatives; high yield products; repackaging; and securitisation.
Contributions
There is no absolute upper or lower word limit for submissions, but it is expected that the majority of accepted articles will be in the range of circa 4,000 to 10,000 words. Contributions should be sent as a list of key points of c. 150 – 250 words in bullet point format.
In respect of all types of contribution, the Editors will be happy to discuss in advance the suitability of a proposed submission and authors may like to submit a synopsis.
Review of contributions
All contributions will be reviewed by the General Editors as to their suitability for inclusion in the journal and be subject to appropriate peer review. Contributors may be asked to revise their contributions before final acceptance and will have an opportunity to review proofs before publication. However, no major changes can be included at proof stage, and corrections must be limited to typographical errors only.
Other requirements
Contributions should conform to the guidelines as to style and layout set out below. Footnotes are encouraged, but should not be used for making subsidiary arguments, which should be handled in the main body of the article.
Submission
Contributions should be submitted as an email attachment, in MSWord, directly to Paul Crick.
Copyright
Upon receipt of accepted manuscripts at Oxford Journals authors will be invited to complete an online copyright licence to publish form.
Please note that by submitting an article for publication you confirm that you are the corresponding/submitting author and that Oxford University Press ("OUP") may retain your email address for the purpose of communicating with you about the article. You agree to notify OUP immediately if your details change. If your article is accepted for publication OUP will contact you using the email address you have used in the registration process. Please note that OUP does not retain copies of rejected articles.
Open Access option for Authors
Capital Markets Law Journal offers the option of publishing under either a standard licence or an open access licence. Please note that some funders require open access publication as a condition of funding. If you are unsure whether you are required to publish open access, please do clarify any such requirements with your funder or institution.
Should you wish to publish your article open access, you should select your choice of open access licence in our online system after your article has been accepted for publication. You will need to pay an open access charge to publish under an open access licence.
Details of the open access licences and open access charges.
OUP has a growing number of Read and Publish agreements with institutions and consortia which provide funding for open access publishing. This means authors from participating institutions can publish open access, and the institution may pay the charge. Find out if your institution is participating.
Online access to the contribution
All first named contributors of published articles will have free online access to a PDF file of their article.
Preparation of typescripts
The Oxford Standard for Citation Of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) is designed to facilitate accurate citation of authorities, legislation, and other legal materials.
Style and spelling
Oxford English spelling should be used. Authors whose first language is not English are requested to have their typescripts checked carefully before submission. This will help expedite the review process and avoid confusion. Check the final copy of your paper carefully, as any spelling mistakes and errors may be translated into the typeset version.
General format
Prepare your typescript text using a word-processing package, ideally Microsoft Word (save in .doc or .rtf format). Please do not submit text as a PDF file. Typescripts should be double-spaced, including text, tables, legends and footnotes. Number each page. Type unjustified, hyphenating only compound words. Use the TAB key once for paragraph indents. Where possible use Times New Roman for the text font and Symbol for any Greek and special characters. Use the word processing formatting features to indicate Bold, Italic, Greek, Maths, Superscript and Subscript characters. Please avoid using underline: for cases use italic; for emphasis use bold. Clearly identify unusual symbols and Greek letters. Differentiate between the letter O and zero, and the letters I and l and the number 1. Mark the approximate position of any figure or table.
Headings
The use of sub-headings at regular intervals through each article is encouraged, as it makes articles more easily readable. If you need to use more than one level of heading, please use a consistent hierarchy of headings to ensure that the relevant importance of each heading is clear, for example I. CAPITALS, then A. Bold, then (1) Italics.
Figures
Where articles are to be accompanied by illustrative material, the review process will not begin until all figures are received. Figures should be limited to the number necessary for clarity and must not duplicate data given in tables or in the text. They must be submitted in electronic format and in a separate file to that of the typescript. Figures should be no larger than 125 (height) x 180 (width) mm (5 x 7 inches) and should be prepared at publication quality resolution (a minimum of 300 dpi).
Figure accessibility and alt text
Incorporating alt text (alternative text) when submitting your paper helps to foster inclusivity and accessibility. Good alt text ensures that individuals with visual impairments or those using screen readers can comprehend the content and context of your figures. The aim of alt text is to provide concise and informative descriptions of your figure so that all readers have access to the same level of information and understanding, and that all can engage with and benefit from the visual elements integral to scholarly content. Including alt text demonstrates a commitment to accessibility and enhances the overall impact and reach of your work.
Alt text is applicable to all images, figures, illustrations, and photographs.
Alt text is only accessible via e-reader and so it won’t appear as part of the typeset article.
Detailed guidance on how to draft and submit alt text.
Tables
Tables should be typed with double spacing, but minimising redundant space, and each should be placed on a separate sheet. Tables should be submitted, wherever possible, in a portrait, as opposed to landscape, layout. Each Table should be numbered in sequence using Arabic numerals. Tables should also have a title above and an explanatory footnote below.
Acknowledgements
All sources of funding and support, and substantive contributions of individuals, should be noted in the first footnote to the Article.
Reference format
References should be given in footnotes, identified in the text by Arabic numerals and numbered in the order cited. Complete information should be given for each reference cited.
Citation examples
Books:
JH Baker, An Introduction to English Legal History (3rd edn, 1990) 419–421
Articles:
SC Manon, ‘Rights of water abstraction in the Common Law’ (1965) 83 LQR 47, 49–51
J Griffiths, ‘Copyright in English Literature: Denying the Public Domain’ [2000] EIPR 150, 151
Contributions to books:
A Ashworth, ‘Belief, Intent and Criminal Liability’ in J Eekelaar and J Bell (eds), Oxford Essays in Jurisprudence (3rd Series, 1987) 1, 6
Cases:
UK: Bowman v Fussy [1978] RPC 545, HL
ECJ: Case C–427/93 Bristol-Myers Squibb v Paranova [1996] ECR I-3457
EPO: T585/92 Unilever/Deodorant Detergent [1996] OJEPO 129
OHIM: R7/97-3 Orange Personal Communications Services/Orange [1998] ETMR 343
In general when citing other legal materials, authors should use the approved form that is standard in the jurisdiction in question; above all consistency within the article is paramount.
Availability of Data and Materials
Where ethically feasible, CMLJ strongly encourages authors to make all data and software code on which the conclusions of the paper rely available to readers. We suggest that data be presented in the main manuscript or additional supporting files, or deposited in a public repository whenever possible. For information on general repositories for all data types, and a list of recommended repositories by subject area, please see Choosing where to archive your data.
Data and Software Citation
CMLJ supports the Force 11 Data Citation Principles and requires that all publicly available datasets be fully referenced in the reference list with an accession number or unique identifier such as a digital object identifier (DOI). Data citations should include the minimum information recommended by DataCite:
- [dataset]* Authors, Year, Title, Publisher (repository or archive name), Identifier
*The inclusion of the [dataset] tag at the beginning of the citation helps us to correctly identify and tag the citation. This tag will be removed from the citation published in the reference list.
Software citations should include the minimum information recommended by the FORCE11 Software Citation Implementation Group:
Author/Developer, Release date, Title, Publisher (repository or archive name), Identifier
If there is an article describing the software, it is recommended to cite both the software and the article.
Preprint policy
Authors retain the right to make an Author’s Original Version (preprint) available through various channels, and this does not prevent submission to the journal. For further information see our Online Licensing, Copyright and Permissions policies. If accepted, the authors are required to update the status of any preprint, including your published paper’s DOI, as described on our Author Self-Archiving policy page.
Supplementary data
Supporting material that is not essential for inclusion in the full text of the typescript, but would nevertheless benefit the reader, can be made available by the publisher as online content, linked to the online typescript. The material should not be essential to understanding the conclusions of the paper, but should contain data that is additional or complementary and directly relevant to the article content. Such information might include more detailed analysis, extended data sets/data analysis, lists of related materials, or colour versions of/additional figures.
All text and figures must be provided in suitable electronic formats on which the journal’s Commissioning Editor or Production Editor can advise. All material to be considered as Supplementary data must be submitted at the same time as the main typescript for peer review. It cannot be altered or replaced after the paper has been accepted for publication. Please indicate clearly the material intended as Supplementary data upon submission. Also ensure that the Supplementary data is referred to in the main typescript where necessary.
Peer Review Policy
This journal operates single-anonymised peer review, meaning that the author’s identity is known to the editor and to the reviewers, but that the reviewers’ identities are known only to the editor and are hidden from the authors. For full details about the peer review process, see Fair editing and peer review.
Copyright information
It is a condition of publication in the journal that contributors grant an exclusive license to the publisher for both paper and electronic publication. This ensures that requests from third parties to reproduce articles are handled efficiently and consistently and will also allow the article to be as widely disseminated as possible. In granting this exclusive license contributors may use the material reworked form in other publications provided that the journal is acknowledged as the original place of publication and Oxford University Press is notified in writing and in advance.
Permissions information
If illustrations or figures are to be duplicated from previously published work, written permission must be obtained both from the publisher and the author, and a credit line giving the source added to the relevant Figure Legend. If text material (over 250 words) is to be reproduced from published sources, written permission is required from both publisher and author. For shorter quotations, it is usually sufficient to add a bibliographic credit. The letters containing the permission for the reproduction of either text or illustrations must accompany the typescript. If you have been unable to obtain permission, please indicate this.
Proofs
Page proofs will be sent to the corresponding contributor. Please provide an e-mail address to enable page proofs to be sent as PDF files via e-mail. These should be checked thoroughly for any possible layout or typographic errors.
It is the intention of the Editor to review, edit and publish your article as quickly possible. To achieve this it is important that all of your corrections are returned to the Production Editor in one all-inclusive email or fax. Subsequent additional corrections will not be possible, so please ensure that your first communication is complete.
Language editing pre-submission
Language editing, if your first language is not English, to ensure that the academic content of your paper is fully understood by journal editors and reviewers is optional. Language editing does not guarantee that your manuscript will be accepted for publication. For further information on this service, please click here. Several specialist language editing companies offer similar services and you can also use any of these. Authors are liable for all costs associated with such services.
Crossref funding data registry
In order to meet your funding requirements authors are required to name their funding sources in the manuscript. For further information on this process or to find out more about the CHORUS initiative please click here.
