The peer review is conducted on a rolling basis and acceptance letters are issued as reviewed. It generally follows the steps enumerated below:

Stage 1: Initial assessment

Upon the receipt of a paper, the Editor conducts an initial assessment to ascertain whether the paper is suitable for CIRJ. The Editor ascertains whether the paper cover a suitable topic according to the aims of CIRJ. The Editor will make a further assessment whether the paper follows the basic requirements of the Journal such as word count and formatting style. The Editor also ascertains whether the author has provided everything needed for the peer review and whether the paper makes a useful contribution to the existing literature on insolvency and restructuring practice in Ghana. 

If the paper passes the initial assessment, it will go for the peer review. If it does not pass the initial assessment test, the paper may be rejected at the discretion of the Editor.

Stage 2: Peer review

The Editor will forward the paper to other researchers who are experts in the field requesting them to review the paper. Up to two reviewers may be contacted. The reviewers will read and comment on the paper. They will advise whether the paper is suitable for publication in CIRJ.

Generally, the reviewers will look at whether the contribution is of high standard, fits the scope of the journal, is original, engages the relevant scholarship and has reliable sources and conclusions. The reviewers will submit a short report after their assessment. Relevant aspects of the report will be shared with the contributor. The reviewers will recommend the acceptance or the rejection of the contribution. If they recommend conditional acceptance along with guidelines on revision of the paper, these will be shared with the author. It will not be uncommon for an author to be asked to revise a contribution on the feedback received from reviewers. 

Stage 3: Revision

The Editor and the reviewers may have suggestions about how to improve the contribution before publication. Where suitable, the Editorial Board will recommend the contribution for publication without any changes. It many instances, the reviewers may recommend a minor or major/substantial amendment to the paper. The author will do the revision and resubmit the paper with the recommended changes. The editor will send the paper back to the reviewers asking whether the necessary corrections have been effected. The paper will move to the next stage if the reviewers recommend that it meets the standard required by the journal following the revision.

Stage 4: Acceptance

If the reviewers recommend the acceptance of the paper, the Editor will communicate the acceptance to the author. The next stage is publication on the CIRJ website and subsequently in a print volume of the CIRJ.

Expected Timelines

The editor works very hard to pass all papers through the peer review process as quickly as possible. However, it’s important to note that the peer review process can take some time. Authors should expect between (4) weeks – (8) weeks for the initial review process to be completed. Contact the editor if you need an update on the status of your paper.

• Online Journal

CIRJ publishes on our website, throughout the year, online post, articles, essays, notes, policy briefs and other restructuring and insolvency practice content.

• Print Journal version

CIRJ publishes a print edition containing a range of scholarly work on recent and impending insolvency and restructuring issues. The CIRJ aims to publish at least one print version every calendar year.

All papers should be submitted electronically and in Microsoft Word format through the Editor-in-Chief via info@garia.org

Language of Article

CIRJ publishes in English-language only. To be consistent, authors are to write in British English.

Length of Contributions

Standard contributions should not exceed 4000 words. Longer or shorter articles will be considered at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board.

Name of Author(s)

The name of the author should be omitted from the initial submission to the editor. This is because the article or paper will go through the blind peer review process. After acceptance of the article, the name of the author will be inserted as follows: 

The name of author(s) is followed by an * indicating a reference to the brief description of the author (which is the first footnote on page 1).

Example: Dr. Samuel Adarkwah* 

_____________________________ 

• Lecturer, Faculty of Law, KNUST

Example: Kenneth Ghartey* 

_____________________________ 

• Consultant, Pear Tree Consulting Ghana

Example: Akwasi Yaw Boateng * and Bakhita Koblavie*

_____________________________ 

• Senior Tax Audit Manager, Boateng and Associates

_____________________________ 

• Managing Partner, Koblavie and Company Unlimited

Title and Abstract

A short title is followed by an abstract consisting of a maximum 200 words.

Headings

Insert clear headings and subheadings, starting with ‘Introduction’ and ending your article with ‘Conclusion(s)’.Please limit the use of headings to two levels; if really necessary, three:

1. Heading

1.1 Subheading; 1.2 Subheading; 1.3 Subheading…

1.1.1 Sub subheading

Font Style and Size

The paper should be formatted on A4 paper in Microsoft Word and must be written in Times New Roman 12pt, including quotations and 1.5 line spacing. The margins must be at least 1 inch (2.54 cm) wide.  

The size of the footnote font should be 10pt. In the text, the footnote number should be after punctuations like this.^[1] Footnotes are numbered per separate contribution, so start in your manuscript with footnote 1. Footnotes are printed at the bottom of the page. Each footnote should end with a full stop.

Quotations

Citations of five lines or more should be entered as a block citation and indented. Citations of less than 5 lines should be placed in (single) ‘inverted commas’.

Emphasis

Use italics for words you want to emphasise, not bold type.

Abbreviations

In your main text you should keep abbreviations to a minimum, but you can freely use them in footnotes, provided the text remains understandable. Please be consistent throughout (examples: p./pp., no./nos., Art./Arts).

General Reference/Citation Style

• The reference style guidelines should conform to the fourth edition of the Oxford Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA). Follow this link to access the OSCOLA style in full: https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/sites/files/oxlaw/oscola_4th_edn_hart_2012.pdf
• Follow this link to access the smaller version of OSCOLA which is the Quick Reference Guide:

https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/sites/files/oxlaw/oscola_4th_edn_hart_2012quickreferen ceguide.pdf

• For repeated citations please follow the guide as well and be consistent with the style you adopt throughout the work.