Bulletin of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Legal Studies Joins the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA)

We are proud to announce that the Bulletin of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Legal Studies is now a signatory of DORA—the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment. This milestone reflects our unwavering dedication to improving the ways in which the quality of law-related research and the contributions of individual scientists are evaluated.

In alignment with DORA’s principles, we are implementing the following initiatives to advance the standards of our Journal:

Reducing Emphasis on Journal-Level Metrics: 
We are committed to minimizing the singular reliance on the Journal Impact Factor (JIF) as a surrogate for quality. To provide a more holistic view of our performance, we will present a diverse range of metrics, including editorial turnaround times, publication speeds, and various indexing indicators.

Providing Article-Level Metrics: 
We believe research should be judged on its own merits rather than the venue in which it is published. We are introducing article-level metrics to highlight the specific impact and reach of individual contributions and will continue to foster post-publication dialogue to enrich the scholarly value of our content.

Promoting Responsible Authorship: 
To ensure transparency and proper credit, we endorse the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy). This allows authors to provide detailed information regarding their specific contributions, ensuring that every researcher’s work—from conceptualization to data curation—is accurately recognized.

Removing Reuse Limitations: 
As part of our commitment to Open Science, we aim to remove reuse restrictions on reference lists in our research articles. By making these available under the Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication (CC0), we support the global discovery and reuse of scholarly data.

Reducing Constraints on References: 
We do not impose strict limits on the number of references in research articles. We strongly encourage the citation of primary literature over review articles whenever possible, ensuring that credit is attributed directly to the original findings.

We are confident that these steps will foster a more transparent, equitable, and rigorous publishing environment for the legal community. We look forward to your continued collaboration as we uphold the highest standards of academic integrity.

Editorial and Publication Times

The Journal is committed to a timely and transparent review process to ensure the efficient dissemination of legal scholarship:

Editorial Decision: 
Our Journal strives to provide initial editorial decisions within 6–8 weeks.

Publication Frequency: 
The Journal is published twice per year.

Final Publication: 
Accepted articles are typically published within 12 weeks of the final decision.

Online First: 
To further improve the speed of research impact, we will be introducing Online First publication in the near future, allowing papers to be accessible and citable shortly after acceptance.