Open Science Editorial Policy

Last update: 02/05/2026

Pensar – Journal of Legal Sciences fully adopts the principles of Open Science as the foundation of its editorial policy. This commitment translates into verifiable practices at the stages of submission, evaluation, publication and dissemination of scientific articles, with the aim of strengthening transparency, reproducibility, accountability and the public utility of national and international legal scholarship. This page consolidates the current policies and serves as a public reference for authors, reviewers, indexers and readers.

1. Acceptance of manuscripts previously deposited on preprint servers

The journal formally accepts the submission of manuscripts previously made available on nationally and internationally recognized preprint servers, in alignment with international Open Science practices. Deposits are accepted on servers such as SciELO Preprints, SSRN, Zenodo, OSF Preprints, and equivalents.

At the time of submission, authors must inform the access link and the deposited version. Pensar expressly clarifies that prior deposit on a preprint server does not constitute prior publication and does not prevent the editorial evaluation of the manuscript, provided that the version submitted to the journal remains unpublished in scientific journals and complies with the journal's editorial guidelines.

Technical integration with the SciELO Preprints ecosystem is carried out through the PKP PN plugin, activated in the journal's OJS, and the acceptance of preprints is formally provided for in the Instructions to Authors and in the specific Preprints Submission policy.

2. Sharing of data and materials underlying research

Pensar recommends, encourages and formalizes, in the editorial workflow, the declaration on the availability of data, codes, methodological materials and other content underlying the articles. This is operationalized through the Submission Form – Author Data, Open Science and IDEIA, a mandatory document that must be completed and signed by the corresponding author and other co-authors at the time of submission.

In the form, authors declare:

  • Whether the manuscript generates data, codes or supplementary materials;
  • Whether these materials will be made available in a reliable public repository, with the link indicated in the article;
  • Or, alternatively, whether the materials cannot be shared, with substantiated ethical, legal or technical justification.

The journal expressly encourages the sharing of the following elements when applicable to the nature of the article:

  • Case law used as analytical basis;
  • Normative frameworks central to the research;
  • Empirical tables or structured datasets;
  • Systematic reviews or analytical protocols;
  • Interview scripts and data collection forms;
  • Scripts, spreadsheets, algorithms or analysis codes;
  • Other documents relevant to research reproducibility.

The form expressly mentions recognized repositories such as SciELO Data, Zenodo, OSF, and Dataverse, and provides a specific declaration for exclusively doctrinal or theoretical articles. When applicable, the citation and referencing of deposited data in published articles follows the standard adopted by the journal, with indication of DOI or persistent identifier of the repository.

3. Informed manuscript evaluation (Open Peer Review)

Pensar adopts concrete mechanisms of transparency in editorial and peer evaluation, organized in three dimensions:

3.1. Public identification of the responsible editor

In every approved article, the journal publishes, in the document itself, the full name, institutional affiliation and ORCID iD of the editor responsible for the evaluation, alongside the Editors-in-Chief. This procedure formalizes editorial accountability for the published manuscript and meets international best practices for editorial transparency.

3.2. Identity disclosure by mutual agreement

The Submission Form allows authors and reviewers to choose between two peer review models:

  • Open Peer Review, with authorization for direct interaction between corresponding author and reviewer, upon express consent of both;
  • Double Blind Peer Review, with preservation of anonymity between the parties.

Open interaction between the corresponding author and the reviewer only occurs upon express agreement of both parties, formally registered in the OJS editorial workflow.

3.3. Publication of reviews and the Editorial Decision Note

In line with its editorial transparency policy, Pensar may publish, as supplementary material of the approved article, the Editorial Decision Note, containing, as applicable:

  • Identification of the responsible editors;
  • Structured synthesis of reviewers' recommendations;
  • Revision requirements communicated to the authors;
  • Similarity index obtained through Crossref Similarity Check / iThenticate;
  • Substantiated editorial decision.

Full reviews may also be published as additional supplementary material, whenever there is express agreement between authors and reviewers, with or without nominal identification of the reviewers, as both choose. Formal registration of authorizations occurs in the OJS editorial workflow, ensuring traceability of the publicity decision.

Examples of articles published with these editorial elements:

4. Integrity and originality verification

All manuscripts submitted to Pensar are analyzed via Crossref Similarity Check (Powered by iThenticate), a tool licensed and funded by the journal. The originality report is considered by the editors in the editorial decision and, if approved, is part of the supplementary documentation published with the article. Manuscripts with evidence of plagiarism, self-plagiarism, duplicate publication or undue content overlap are rejected.

Specific policy: Similarity Verification.

5. Repository deposit policy

Pensar allows and encourages authors to deposit versions of their works — preprint, postprint or published version (Version of Record) — in institutional, thematic or personal repositories, provided that the published version mentions the original source in the journal and includes the assigned Crossref DOI.

There are no editorial embargoes for self-archiving. The journal is classified as Sherpa/Romeo green, aligned with the Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license adopted for all published articles.

6. Persistent identifiers, structured metadata and interoperability

Pensar fully adopts the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable):

  • Assignment of Crossref DOI for all published articles;
  • Markup in XML JATS according to the SciELO Publishing Schema, contracted with a SciELO-certified company;
  • Mandatory identification of authors via ORCID iD;
  • Description of authorial contributions according to the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy);
  • Systematic deposit of metadata in reference indexes: DOAJ, Latindex Catálogo 2.0, REDIB, Diadorim, ERIH PLUS, EBSCO, Periódicos CAPES, Sumários.org, Oasisbr, Miguilim, CiteFactor, LIVRE, Ulrich's Web, Google Scholar and the Brazilian Federal Senate Digital Library — full list available on the Indexers page;
  • Long-term digital preservation through the PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN/LOCKSS), activated via plugin in the OJS, with continuous coverage of published articles;
  • The journal also integrates the Rede Cariniana (IBICT), with historical archive coverage.

7. Article presentation video

After approval of the manuscript, the corresponding author is encouraged to submit a 2 to 5 minute presentation video of the article, containing name and institution, title of the work, objective, main results and relevance. The video is disseminated through the journal's institutional channels (YouTube, Instagram, WhatsApp), expanding the accessibility, dissemination and public reach of scientific production.

8. Generative Artificial Intelligence policy

The use of generative Artificial Intelligence tools (ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, among others) in the writing, translation, revision or structuring of the manuscript must be explicitly disclosed at the time of submission and on the first page of the text. From 2026 onwards, the use of AI must also be described in a dedicated paragraph in the article's introduction, explaining how the tool was used in the development of the research and the text. Use is permitted exclusively for non-substantive technical support. Undisclosed use may lead to editorial rejection of the manuscript, even after approval.

The policy is aligned with CNPq Ordinance No. 2,664 of March 6, 2026, which establishes the Scientific Integrity Policy.

Full policy: Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

9. Licensing and copyright

All published articles are made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication. Open access and licensing policy: Copyright and License.

10. Privacy and data protection

The processing of personal data of authors, reviewers and readers complies with the Brazilian General Data Protection Law (LGPD — Law No. 13,709/2018) and follows the journal's Privacy Statement.