Editorial guidelines

This is the official guide for the preparation, citation, and bibliographical structuring of all contributions submitted to the journal. Compliance with these guidelines is indispensable for passing the initial technical screening.

 

1. General formatting of text

  • Typography and size: The main font for the entire body of the text is Didot at 12 points.
  • Margins: Top and bottom margins of 2.0 cm; left and right margins of 2.5 cm.
  • Alignment: Text must be fully justified.
  • Line spacing and indentations: Single-spaced text. Each paragraph must begin with a 0.5 cm indentation on its first line.
  • Paragraph spacing: A 10-point spacing after paragraphs (without inserting additional blank lines).
  • Footnotes: They must be set in Didot font at 10 points, justified, single-spaced, without indentation, and with no spacing between footnotes. 

 

2. Heading hierarchy and subdivisions

For the internal structuring of complex ideas, the following formatting and indentation scheme shall be strictly applied:

  • Article titles: Didot font at 14 points, bold, and centered.
  • Level I (main paragraphs): Roman numerals, Didot font at 12 points, bold, small caps, and centered.
  • Level II (sub-paragraphs): Arabic numerals in regular type, title in italics, and left-aligned.
  • Level III (internal paragraph subdivisions): To list several consecutive ideas within the text, a cumulative indentation of 0.5 cm relative to the previous level shall be applied under the following format:
    • 1) Arabic numerals with a closing parenthesis (0.5 cm first-line indent and 0.5 cm left indent).
    • a) Lowercase letters with a closing parenthesis (0.5 cm first-line indent and 1.0 cm left indent).
    • i) Lowercase Roman numerals with a closing parenthesis (0.5 cm first-line indent and 1.5 cm left indent).

 

3. Special style rules

  • Use of italics: Limited to words requiring emphasis, foreign language terms, brand or company names, and the names of analyzed judicial cases or court rulings.
  • Use of small caps: Mandatory for all abbreviations and acronyms within the text. The full name must be written out the first time it is mentioned, followed by the abbreviation in small caps in subsequent references.
  • Use of dashes (—): Em dashes closed up to the first and last word shall be used to introduce parenthetical remarks or clarifications.

 

4. Textual citation system

  • Short citations (fewer than 5 lines): Incorporated directly into the body of the paragraph, enclosed in double quotation marks (" ").
  • Long citations (more than 5 lines): Placed in a separate paragraph, set at 11 points, regular font, enclosed in quotation marks, with a 1 cm left margin (0 cm right margin), and a 0.5 cm first-line indentation.
  • Citations within citations: Single quotation marks (' ') shall be used to indicate an internal quotation, always referring back to the primary source.

 

5. In-text citations and references

References to scientific literature are inserted directly into the text within parentheses, indicating the authors' last names and the year of publication (with no intervening comma).

  • One author: (Kierkegaard 1992) or if a page is specified (Kierkegaard 1992: 79).
  • Two authors: Joined by the conjunction "y" (Watzlawick y Nardone 2000).
  • Three or more authors: The first author's last name followed by the abbreviation et al. in italics (Watzlawick et al. 2002: 49-52).
  • Same author and year: Differentiated by adding correlative letters to the year (Kierkegaard 2002a) and (Kierkegaard 2002b).
  • Secondary sources: Citing secondary sources is strictly prohibited; only the original primary source shall be referenced.

 

6. References

To ensure the documentary clarity of the journal, an absolute division of references is established according to their nature:

  1. Footnotes

Any source that is not a book, book chapter, or scientific article shall be cited exclusively within a footnote and shall never appear in the final bibliography. These sources shall be cited employing the following technical structures the first time they appear in the text:

  • Judicial cases and rulings: The first time, the judicial body, the parties in italics, the resolution date, and the paragraph or page shall be indicated. Subsequent citations shall be abbreviated using only the case name in italics and the paragraph.
    • Example: Corte IDH, Radilla Pacheco vs. Estados Unidos Mexicanos, November 23, 2009: para. 36.
  • Jurisprudence and legal theses: The institution, the type of thesis, its identification number, and the issuance date shall be cited.
    • Example: SCJN, Jurisprudencia 2ª./J. 9/2017, February 10, 2017.
  • Legislation: The full official name of the normative instrument along with the article number in regular text shall always be used, strictly avoiding abbreviations such as "art." or "Art.". Gazettes, bulletins, or official publication equivalents data are added in the footnote.
    • Example: Artículo 12 de la Constitución española de Cádiz, published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE), n. 248, October 17, 1977.
  • Authoritative documents (Opinions, Recommendations, Reports): The name of the issuing body, the shortened or quoted title of the document, the date of issuance, and the page number or unique identifier shall be noted.
    • Example: Comisión IDH, Refugiados y Migrantes en Estados Unidos, July 24, 2015: 85.
  • Newspaper articles (print or digital press): Author's last name(s), First name (year of publication): "Article title in quotation marks", in Name of the newspaper in italics, day and month of publication, section, and page number (in the case of digital press, the page number is omitted and the full URL in italics is added along with the access date between brackets).
    • Example: González Casavantes, Abraham (2004): “La Revolución Mexicana inacabada”, in El Guardián, November 23, section A, p. 3.
  • General audience or institutional web pages: Author's last name(s) or name of the responsible institution (year of publication or last update): "Section or article title in quotation marks", in Name of the website in italics, available at: «full electronic address in italics» (Accessed on day month year).
    • Example: Underwood, Mick (2003): “Reception Studies: Morley”, in Communication, Culture and Media Studies, available at: «ndirect.co.uk» (Accessed on March 23, 2026).
  • Documents in historical archives: Name of the author or Issuing institution of the original document (year or exact date of production): "Title or detailed description of the manuscript material in quotation marks", belonging to the Name of the collection or fund in italics, specification of the unique archival classification (box number, file, folder, or record number), preserved at the Name of the Historical or Official Archive in italics, City, Country.
    • Example: Ayuntamiento de Saltillo (1605): "Acta de Cabildo del 14 de marzo", belonging to the Colección de Actas Coloniales, AC, L 1, t II, a 69, f 111, preserved at the Archivo Histórico del Municipio de Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico.
  • Songs and phonographic productions: Name of the performer or musical group (year of release): Song title in italics, from the album "Album title in quotation marks", name of the producers, Record label or Country of release.
    • Example: U2 (1987): Where the Streets Have No Name, from the album “The Joshua Tree”, prod. by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, Dublin.
  • Movies and audiovisual productions: Director's last name(s), First name (year of release): Movie title in italics, name of the producer or production house, Country of production.
    • Example: Johnson, Rian (2017): Star Wars: The Last Jedi, prod. by Kathleen Kennedy and Ram Bergman, United States and United Kingdom.
  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) models: Name of the developer or company (Year of the utilized version): Name of the AI model and version in italics [Software/Large Language Model]. Query conducted on Day Month Year, available at: «official electronic link of the developer».
    • Example: OpenAI (2024): ChatGPT-4o [Software/Large Language Model]. Query conducted on March 14, 2026, available at: «https://chatgpt.com».

 

  1. Final bibliography

The reference list at the end of the document shall be placed on a new page, ordered alphabetically by last names. It shall be set at 11 points, with a 1.25 cm hanging indentation, and a 10-point spacing after each entry. It is strictly and exclusively limited to the following three academic formats:

  • Books: Last Name, First Name (year): Book title in italics, Publisher, Place of publication.
    • Example: Ríos Vega, Luis Efrén (2010): La privación del sufragio. El debate contemporáneo en México, Tirant lo Blanch, México.
  • Book chapters in collective works: Last Name, First Name (year): "Chapter title in quotation marks", in Book title in italics, Last Name, First Name of the coordinator/editor (ed./coord./comp.), Publisher, Place of publication, full page range of the chapter.
    • Example: Masferrer Kan, Elio (2002): “Los derechos religiosos de las comunidades indígenas”, in Constitución y derechos indígenas, González Galván, Jorge Alberto (ed.), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, 147–164.
  • Articles in scientific journals (print or electronic): Last Name, First Name (year): "Article title in quotation marks", in Journal title in italics, vol., no., full page range (without using p. or pp.). If the source is electronic, the full URL in italics or the DOI link shall be added at the end, along with the access date between brackets.
    • Example: Waldron, Jeremy (2006): "The Core of the case against judicial review," in The Yale Law Review, vol. 115, no. 6, 1346-1406.