This policy explains how JLPCS evaluates, reviews, and publishes manuscripts submitted to special issues or thematic sections. The purpose is to ensure that special issue content is handled transparently, independently, ethically, and consistently with the journal’s normal peer review and publication ethics standards.

Special issues are intended to encourage focused scholarly dialogue on timely and important topics in law, psychology, communication studies, and interdisciplinary social inquiry. They do not create a separate or lower standard for acceptance.

本政策说明 JLPCS 如何评估、审稿和出版专题期或专题栏目稿件。专题期旨在促进围绕法学、心理学、传播学及交叉研究重要议题的集中学术讨论，但不构成较低标准或特殊录用通道。

A special issue or thematic section may be initiated by the JLPCS Editorial Office, members of the editorial board, or qualified scholars invited or approved by the journal. All special issue proposals must be reviewed and approved by the journal before public announcement or manuscript solicitation.

A special issue proposal should normally include:

• Proposed title and theme of the special issue;
• Rationale, scholarly significance, and relevance to JLPCS’s aims and scope;
• Proposed guest editor or guest editorial team, if applicable;
• Guest editor qualifications, affiliations, expertise, and publication record;
• Potential conflicts of interest and funding or sponsorship information, if any;
• Proposed timeline, submission deadline, review schedule, and publication target;
• Draft call for papers, including topic scope, submission instructions, and review policy;
• Plan for ensuring diversity of topics, institutions, perspectives, and contributors where appropriate.

专题期或专题栏目须经 JLPCS 编辑部审批后方可公开发布征稿。专题方案应说明主题、学术意义、范围适配性、客座编辑资质、潜在利益冲突、时间安排和征稿说明。

Guest editors may be appointed for approved special issues when their expertise is relevant to the topic. Guest editors support the academic development and review coordination of the special issue, but they do not override JLPCS editorial policies or the authority of the journal’s editorial office.

Guest editors are expected to:

• Follow JLPCS’s peer review, publication ethics, confidentiality, and conflict of interest policies;
• Help define the academic scope and quality expectations of the special issue;
• Recommend qualified reviewers when requested, without compromising reviewer independence;
• Declare any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest;
• Maintain confidentiality of manuscripts and editorial communications;
• Avoid preferential treatment of invited authors, collaborators, students, colleagues, or affiliated institutions;
• Consult the JLPCS Editorial Office on ethical concerns, reviewer conflicts, delayed reviews, or disputed recommendations;
• Support timely handling of manuscripts without compromising review quality.

客座编辑应遵守 JLPCS 的同行评议、出版伦理、保密和利益冲突政策。客座编辑可协助专题学术组织和审稿协调，但不得凌驾于期刊编辑政策和编辑部最终决定权之上。

Special issue calls for papers should be accurate, transparent, and not misleading. They should clearly state the special issue title, topic scope, manuscript types, submission deadline, expected publication schedule, review model, and contact information.

Calls for papers should normally include:

• Special issue title and thematic scope;
• Brief description of the academic rationale and expected contribution;
• Relevant disciplines and article types;
• Submission deadline and expected timeline;
• Statement that submissions are subject to editorial screening and double-blind peer review;
• Statement that acceptance is not guaranteed by invitation or topic fit;
• APC information or link to the journal’s APC policy;
• Contact details of the JLPCS Editorial Office.

专题征稿启事应清晰、准确、透明，不得暗示邀请投稿即可录用，也不得弱化同行评议、伦理合规或编辑独立性要求。

Special issue manuscripts should be submitted through the journal’s official online submission system unless otherwise instructed by the JLPCS Editorial Office. Authors should select or indicate the relevant special issue where applicable.

All special issue submissions are screened for:

• Fit with the special issue theme and JLPCS aims and scope;
• Completeness of submission files and metadata;
• Anonymization for double-blind review;
• Compliance with manuscript formatting and APA 7 reference requirements;
• Originality, scholarly contribution, and methodological or analytical quality;
• Ethics approval, informed consent, data protection, and research transparency where applicable;
• Funding, conflict of interest, data availability, and AI-use disclosures where applicable;
• Similarity screening and possible plagiarism, duplicate publication, or inappropriate reuse.

专题稿件须经过编辑初审。编辑部可在送审前退回或拒绝不完整、不匿名、不符合范围、不符合伦理或不具备基本学术质量的稿件。

Guest editors must not handle, review, select reviewers for, or make recommendations on manuscripts where they have an actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest.

Conflicted manuscripts include, but are not limited to:

• Manuscripts authored or co-authored by the guest editor;
• Manuscripts authored by recent collaborators, students, supervisors, colleagues, or close professional associates of the guest editor;
• Manuscripts from the guest editor’s institution or research group where impartiality may reasonably be questioned;
• Manuscripts connected to a project, grant, consultancy, legal matter, advocacy activity, or policy initiative involving the guest editor;
• Manuscripts where the guest editor has a financial, personal, political, institutional, or competitive interest.

客座编辑本人投稿或存在利益冲突的稿件，必须由 JLPCS 编辑部或无冲突的编辑独立处理，不得由相关客座编辑参与审稿人选择、评审管理或编辑建议。

Invitation to submit to a special issue does not guarantee peer review, acceptance, or publication. Invited manuscripts must satisfy the same editorial screening, peer review, ethical, formatting, and publication requirements as unsolicited submissions.

• Invited submissions may be rejected before review if they do not meet minimum editorial standards.
• Invited submissions must be anonymized for double-blind review where applicable.
• Invited submissions are subject to similarity screening and research integrity checks.
• Invited authors must disclose funding, conflicts of interest, ethics approval, data availability, and AI use where applicable.
• Invited status must not influence reviewer selection, review rigor, editorial decision, or APC handling.

邀请投稿不等于录用承诺。所有邀请稿件均须与普通投稿一样接受编辑初审、双盲同行评议、伦理审查和出版前检查。

Reviewers for special issue manuscripts are selected according to expertise, independence, availability, methodological competence, and absence of known conflicts of interest. Guest editors may suggest reviewers, but the JLPCS Editorial Office may accept, reject, add, or replace suggested reviewers at its discretion.

Reviewers should not be selected when they have:

• Recent collaboration with the authors or guest editors;
• Shared institutional affiliation where impartiality may be questioned;
• Personal, supervisory, student, mentoring, or employment relationship with the authors;
• Financial, legal, political, advocacy, or competitive interest in the manuscript topic;
• Prior involvement in the manuscript, dataset, project, case, policy document, or research design.

专题稿件审稿人应具备独立性和专业能力。客座编辑可提出审稿人建议，但最终审稿人选择与利益冲突管理由 JLPCS 编辑部监督。

If ethical concerns, peer review irregularities, conflicts of interest, citation manipulation, paper mill indicators, plagiarism, duplicate publication, data concerns, or other research integrity issues are identified, JLPCS may pause, reassign, audit, or terminate the review process for the affected manuscript or special issue.

Possible editorial actions include:

• Requesting additional information from authors, guest editors, or reviewers;
• Replacing conflicted guest editors or reviewers;
• Inviting additional independent reviewers;
• Pausing review while concerns are assessed;
• Rejecting a manuscript before or after review;
• Withdrawing or cancelling a special issue if serious irregularities are identified;
• Issuing corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern after publication where appropriate.

如发现伦理问题、同行评议异常、利益冲突、引用操纵、疑似论文工厂、抄袭、重复发表或数据问题，JLPCS 可暂停、重新分配、审查或终止相关稿件或专题期流程。

Special issue submissions are subject to the same fee policy as regular JLPCS submissions. JLPCS does not charge a submission fee or peer review fee. The Article Processing Charge applies only after formal acceptance.

• No submission fee is charged.
• No peer review fee is charged.
• APC payment is requested only after formal acceptance.
• Waiver requests may be considered according to the journal’s APC and waiver policy.
• APC payment status or waiver requests do not influence special issue review, reviewer selection, editorial handling, or acceptance decisions.
• Funding or sponsorship of a special issue must not influence editorial independence or peer review integrity.

专题稿件与常规稿件适用相同费用政策。投稿和同行评议阶段不收费。APC 仅在正式录用后收取。费用支付、减免申请、专题资助或赞助不得影响审稿和编辑决定。

Accepted special issue manuscripts are published under JLPCS’s open access publishing model and are assigned to the relevant issue, special issue, or thematic section according to the journal’s publication schedule and production workflow.

• Special issue articles should be clearly identifiable as part of the relevant special issue or thematic section where applicable.
• Published articles remain subject to JLPCS’s copyright, licensing, correction, retraction, and research integrity policies.
• Special issue publication does not change author rights, licensing, APC policy, or editorial accountability.
• The JLPCS Editorial Office may adjust publication order, issue assignment, or thematic grouping according to editorial and production needs.

已录用专题稿件将按 JLPCS 开放获取出版模式发布，并根据期刊出版安排编入相应期号、专题期或专题栏目。专题标识不得改变作者权利、许可协议、费用政策或编辑责任。

Questions about special issue proposals, guest editor responsibilities, special issue submissions, peer review, conflicts of interest, or publication scheduling may be directed to the JLPCS Editorial Office.

有关专题期方案、客座编辑职责、专题投稿、同行评议、利益冲突或出版安排的问题，可联系 JLPCS 编辑部。

Email: [email protected]