The publication of the peer-reviewed journal Annual Survey of South African Law contributes to the growth of knowledge. Therefore, all participants – authors, editors, peer reviewers, and the publisher – agree on standards of proper ethical behaviour. The University of South Africa and Juta and Co Ltd, who are respectively responsible for producing and publishing the journal, recognise the ethical and other responsibilities and take our guardianship of the functions connected with the publication of the journal very seriously.

DUTIES OF AUTHORS
The authors undertake to present an accurate and current account of legislative and judicial developments and to provide objective discussion. The material must contain sufficient detail and permit others to replicate the work. Making fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements is unacceptable. Work reflecting editorial opinion must be acknowledged as such.

The work must be original, and where the work/words of others have been used this must be appropriately quoted or cited. Plagiarism in any form is unethical behaviour, and unacceptable.

Authors are not permitted, in general, to publish manuscripts. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal for publication is unethical and unacceptable, save in exceptional circumstances where the authors have sought approval from the editor for publication of the same material in a secondary publication; in this case, the primary reference must be cited in the secondary publication.

If an author discovers that his or her published work contains an inaccuracy, he or she must promptly notify the editor, and cooperate with the editor to excise or correct the content. If the editor is informed of an inaccuracy by a third party, the author must promptly retract or correct the manuscript, or prove that the original content is correct.

DUTIES OF EDITORS
The editors of the Annual Survey of South African Law are responsible for deciding whether chapters submitted for publication should be accepted. They may be guided by policies of the editorial board. The editor-in-chief may confer with the other editors in making a final determination.

The editors must ensure that contributions to the journal appear in correct English which complies with the style guidelines prescribed for the journal. The editors evaluate the intellectual content of manuscripts without regard to gender, race, religious belief, sexual orientation, citizenship, ethnic origin or the political inclinations of the authors.

The editorial board will not disclose any information about chapters submitted for publication to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, and the publisher as appropriate.

Unpublished material submitted by authors may not be used in the editor’s own research without consent from the author. Editors must disclose competing interests and publish corrections if the conflicts of interest are discovered after publication. If required, other action must be taken, such as retraction of the manuscript
and expression of concern.

The editors take responsibility to respond to ethical complaints concerning a submitted manuscript or chapter published in the Annual Survey of South African Law. Any reported complaint, even if submitted years after publication, will be investigated and appropriate measures will be taken.

DUTIES OF REVIEWERS
The objective peer review process assists the editor-in-chief in making editorial decisions, and in improving the quality of the chapters. Peer review is a key component of scholarly communication and ensures sound standards of research and proper acknowledgment of sources used.

Unpublished materials contained in an unpublished manuscript may not be used in the reviewer’s own research without the consent of the author. Reviewers must disclose any possible conflict of interests that may exist, and recuse themselves from reviews in instances where such a conflict exists.