Scope and Focus

It is a peer-reviewed academic journal published since 1990 by the Higher School of Public Administration (ESAP) in Bogotá, D.C., Colombia. It is listed in the Latindex and Dialnet catalogs. The journal is published annually and focuses on research and reflection articles in the fields of Territory, Human Rights (HR) and Peacebuilding. It is open to all researchers and scholars worldwide and accepts articles originally written in Spanish and English.

Peer Review Process

The evaluation process consists of three phases. The first phase begins with submitting all articles to a compliance review covering formatting criteria and the submission of required forms. Likewise, an originality check is conducted using Turnitin software to detect similarity and AI-generated content.

The second phase consists of the peer review process, conducted under a double-blind modality. Expert reviewers in the manuscript's subject area are selected based on their expertise, publications, and research experience. Reviewers determine the relevance of the article to the thematic discussion of each issue. The possible evaluation outcomes are:

1. Accepted.

2. Accepted with minor revisions.

3. Accepted with major revisions.

4. Rejected.

In the event of conflicting decisions (one acceptance and one rejection), the manuscript is sent to a third reviewer, who determines its suitability for publication.

The third phase involves manuscript revision by the author, who must submit the corrected text with tracked changes. Additionally, the author must fully complete the revision request form, detailing the modifications made and providing a justification for any unaccepted comments.

If approved, the journal will notify the authors. Upon receiving the publication notification, the author commits to maintaining prompt and continuous communication to review and approve the copyediting and page layout proofs.

Publication Frequency

Nova et Vetera is published annually, meaning that only one volume is released covering the period from January to December of the respective year.

To facilitate quicker dissemination of knowledge, the journal will continuously publish articles that have completed the editorial process.

Open Access Policy

The journal provides open and free access to all its content; there are no legal, economic, or technological barriers, thus promoting the democratization and social appropriation of specialized knowledge funded by public resources. Submission and publication of manuscripts are entirely free of charge. To facilitate access and use of the content, the journal adopts the following publication and use license:

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) Full text: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en

Ethics Policy

Ethics Policy

The journal Nova et Vetera is committed to scientific integrity, transparency, and best editorial practices across all stages of the publishing process. This policy publicly states the principles, duties, and procedures governing the relationships among authors, reviewers, and the editorial team, including mechanisms for correcting and retracting published articles. It applies to authors, peer reviewers, the editorial board, and the journal's management team.

The journal exclusively publishes unpublished research, review, and reflection articles in human rights, peacebuilding, and territorial studies.

Nova et Vetera adopts as its framework the flowcharts on handling ethical issues in publishing suggested by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), COPE's Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing, and the Council of Science Editors (CSE) guidelines on publication ethics.

The journal applies these guidelines to the management of misconduct allegations, authorship, conflicts of interest, peer review, and its correction and retraction policies, detailed below.

Source: Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). "Core Practices," https://publicationethics.org/core-practices. See also COPE & STM, "International Standards for Editors and Authors," https://publicationethics.org/international-standards-editors-and-authors; COPE Flowcharts, https://publicationethics.org/guidance?f%5B0%5D=type%3A16; and publication ethics by the Council of Science Editors (CSE), https://www.councilscienceeditors.org/recommendations-for-promoting-integrity-in-scientific-journal-publications.

Responsibilities of Authors

• Only original, unpublished articles that are not submitted simultaneously to another publication will be considered.

• Only individuals who contributed substantially to the conception, design, analysis, or drafting of the work, approved the final version, and accept responsibility for its content may be listed as authors. Any change in authorship requires written consent from all authors.

• Any excerpt from previously published text (whether the author's own or that of others) must be properly cited; failure to do so is considered plagiarism and constitutes grounds for rejection or retraction.

• Authors must declare any conflict of interest—whether financial, institutional, or personal relationships that could influence the results—as well as the funding sources of the study.

• Authors must comply with legal, ethical, funding, and institutional requirements for data collection, storage, confidentiality, and use, particularly concerning personal data.

Responsibilities of the Editor and Editorial Team

• Decide what is published based strictly on academic merit, without discrimination of any kind.

• Ensure the confidentiality of the evaluation process and editorial independence from commercial or institutional interests.

• Verify that each submitted manuscript is original, unpublished, and has not been submitted simultaneously to another publication or previously disseminated through any digital or print media.

• Safeguard the scientific quality of published content through peer review by qualified external reviewers.

• Ensure compliance with authorship criteria, including proper approval of the manuscript version, author order, submission guidelines, and the journal's editorial policy.

• Handle allegations of potential ethical misconduct in accordance with COPE guidelines and relevant institutional bodies, protecting the integrity of published works through corrections or retractions when necessary.

• Request that authors declare any potential conflicts of interest.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers play a fundamental role in the quality and continuity of scientific publications, as the rigor of published content depends on their work. Consequently, they hold the following responsibilities:

• Examine research thoroughly, seriously, and honestly.

• Disclose any potential conflict of interest and, if one arises, decline the invitation to review.

• Maintain the confidentiality of study data as well as the anonymity of the review process; decline the invitation if the manuscript's topic falls outside their area of expertise.

• Act with objectivity, clarity, and technical rigor, providing sound justifications for their evaluations and feedback.

• Express observations respectfully, refraining from demanding requirements unrelated to the scope of the research.

• Alert the editor whenever they detect indications or evidence that call the integrity of the work into question, such as plagiarism, self-plagiarism, data manipulation, or research bias.

Use of Artificial Intelligence Systems

In alignment with COPE guidelines (https://publicationethics.org/guidance/cope-position/authorship-and-ai-tools) and the ethical frameworks of the Heredia Declaration, Administración & Desarrollo permits the use of AI tools subject to clear criteria of responsibility, transparency, and academic rigor. See https://revistas.esap.edu.co/index.php/admindesarro/IA.

Handling Allegations of Misconduct

When facing allegations of scientific misconduct (data fabrication or falsification, plagiarism, duplicate publication, fraudulent authorship, among others), the journal conducts a preliminary evaluation, confidentially notifies the authors to allow them an opportunity to respond, investigates with the support of external reviewers or experts when necessary, and issues a reasoned decision. Outcomes may include manuscript rejection, a correction, an editorial expression of concern, or a retraction.

Correction Policy (Erratum / Corrigendum)

The journal issues a correction when a minor error that does not compromise the scientific validity of the work is identified post-publication (such as typographical, affiliation, table, numerical, or bibliographic reference errors). The correction is published as an independent notice linked to the original article, detailing the date and a description of the corrected error; the original article is preserved without retroactive modifications. If the error compromises the validity of the work, the case is referred to the retraction procedure.

Retraction Policy

Following COPE guidelines, the journal retracts an article when there is clear evidence that its findings are unreliable due to major error or misconduct, including data fabrication or falsification, plagiarism or self-plagiarism, duplicate publication, fraudulent authorship, serious non-compliance with ethical standards in human subjects research, material omission of conflicts of interest, or a justified request from the authors themselves.

The procedure includes confidential notification to the authors with an opportunity to respond (minimum of 15 business days), an investigation by the editorial board—with external assistance when necessary—a reasoned written decision, and the publication of an open-access retraction notice stating the reason and date.

The retracted article remains available on the website, clearly marked as "RETRACTED" on both the PDF and the article homepage, linked to the retraction notice; its metadata is updated accordingly, and the record is not deleted except under court order or in cases of severe risk to public health or safety. If a serious allegation remains under investigation, the journal may issue an editorial expression of concern while the matter is resolved.

Complaints, Appeals, and Contact

Anyone who considers that an editorial decision did not adhere to this policy may submit a reasoned complaint or appeal to nova.vetera@esap.edu.co

Artcile Processing Charges (APCs)

The submission, evaluation, and publication of articles do not incur any Article Processing Charges (APCs) for authors. This reflects the Journal's commitment to open access and the democratization of knowledge.

Artificial Intelligence Use Policy

In accordance with COPE guidelines and the ethical principles of the Heredia Declaration, Nova et Vetera permits the use of AI subject to clear criteria of responsibility, transparency, and academic rigor. The conditions for its appropriate use are outlined below:

1. Responsibility and Human Authorship

Authorship of works published in the journal rests exclusively with human beings. Only humans can take responsibility for intellectual creation, decision-making, and the ethical and legal accountability of the submitted content. Consequently, AI systems—including language models, conversational assistants, or automated content generation tools—cannot be listed or credited as authors under any circumstances.

2. Transparency in AI Usage

The use of AI tools in research and scientific manuscript preparation must be explicitly disclosed within the manuscript. Using AI to write articles, particularly core sections such as the discussion or conclusions, is not acceptable. The disclosure must be clear and explain how the tool was utilized. At a minimum, this statement must include:

• The name of the AI model used, its version, and the date of use.

• The specific purpose for which the tool was employed.

• A description of the AI-generated outputs incorporated into the manuscript.

• The corresponding citations and references for the AI model or resource used, when applicable.

The goal of this disclosure is to ensure transparency, reproducibility, and traceability in the research process.

3. Responsibility for Content Accuracy and Quality

The use of AI does not relieve authors of their obligation to verify the accuracy, relevance, and originality of the information included in the manuscript. Authors are responsible for:

• Examining and validating any AI-generated content (for example, identifying fabricated or "hallucinated" references).

• Avoiding the reproduction of errors, biases, misinformation, or unsubstantiated claims.

• Ensuring that generated texts are critically revised and reworked to produce original scholarly knowledge rather than mere automated rephrasing.

• Guaranteeing that the submission does not involve plagiarism, self-plagiarism, data fabrication, or other improper practices linked to the misuse of AI.

4. Editorial Review

The journal reserves the right to request additional clarifications regarding the use of AI, require manuscript revisions, or reject submissions that fail to comply with this policy. Improper use or concealment of AI intervention may be deemed ethical misconduct and lead to appropriate editorial action. To prevent high AI-writing percentages in Turnitin similarity reports, authors are requested to refrain from using AI models for copyediting or proofreading their manuscripts.

Digital Preservation Policy

Nova et Vetera participates in the Public Knowledge Project Preservation Network (PKP PN), which ensures long-term digital preservation should the journal go offline. The LOCKSS program allows for decentralized and distributed preservation of long-term access to authentic versions of the manuscripts. See the LOCKSS manifest for Nova et Vetera.