Journal profile · Social Sciences-Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
African Human Rights Law Journal
ISSN 1609-073X · eISSN 1996-2096 · Pretoria University Law Press · South Africa
African Human Rights Law Journal: diamond open access (no APC); no APC; review about 24 weeks (community reports); 69 articles in 2025; indexed in Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
African Human Rights Law Journal is published by Pretoria University Law Press. By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Legal Issues in South Africa, International Law and Human Rights and Legal Rights and Human Rights, together about 54% of its articles. Its main subfields are Law and Political Science and International Relations. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
a leading peer-reviewed journal focused on human rights related topics of relevance to Africa, Africans and scholars of Africa
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Social Sciences-Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named South Africa 5, United States 3, Nigeria 3, Australia 2, United Kingdom 1 (17 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Legal Issues in South AfricaSocial Sciences20.4%
- International Law and Human RightsSocial Sciences20.2%
- Legal Rights and Human RightsSocial Sciences13.4%
- Judicial and Constitutional StudiesSocial Sciences4.7%
- Comparative constitutional jurisprudence studiesSocial Sciences4.5%
- War, Law, and JusticeSocial Sciences3.8%
- International Human Rights and Reproductive LawSocial Sciences3.3%
- Legal and Social Justice StudiesSocial Sciences2.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
SciELOPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 0.7LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.22LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.46LetPub ·
- h-index
- 21OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 96OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.56OpenAlex ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 606 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 8 | 8 | 209 |
| 2025 | 69 | 69 | 321 |
| 2024 | 27 | 27 | 365 |
| 2023 | 23 | 23 | 446 |
| 2022 | 15 | 15 | 285 |
| 2021 | 74 | 74 | 311 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 24 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 24 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Unspecified peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Diamond open access (no APC)DOAJ
Every article is open access and authors pay no article processing charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | No APC | No | CC BY | |
| Publisher website | No APC | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare7 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 300 words
- Reference style
- ACS
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Required
- Highlights
- Required
- Graphical abstract
- Required
- Cover letter
- Required
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Conflicts of interest, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use Use of AI by authors
Submissions must indicate any use made of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools. All authors are fully responsible for the originality, validity, and integrity of the content of their manuscript. Authors submitting manuscripts to the African Human Rights Law Journal have to confirm that the manuscript is their original work and that the work of others has been appropriately attributed. As such, AI-ge…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Conflict of interest
Authors should declare if they consider that they may be reasonably perceived to have a conflict of interest in respect of the content of the manuscript they submit. The ground for the potential perception of a conflict of interest must be acknowledged in the manuscript. Editors must refrain from participating in the selection of articles about which they may reasonably be perceived to have a conf…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Publication ethics and publication malpractice statement of the African Human Rights Law Journal
Authors should observe high standards with respect to publication ethics as set out in the guidelines adopted by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), https://publicationethics.org/retraction-guidelines). Any cases of ethical misconduct will be treated very seriously and will be dealt with in accordance with these guidelines. In the event that the African Human Rights Journal publisher or ed…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) Model summary
The AHRLJ is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access
No article processing charges (APC) of any kind. Model summary
The Journal does not charge article processing fees of any kind.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review After submission: Screening and review process
Double-blind anonymous peer review by at least two experts. Model summary
Screening for plagiarism: The African Human Rights Law Journal has a strict policy of screening manuscripts for plagiarism. The AHRLJ uses the Turnitin software to detect plagiarism prior to considering a submitted manuscript for review. Manuscripts displaying plagiarism may be rejected on this ground alone. Authors not adhering to the AHRLJ's policy that verbatim quotes must be clearly indicated …
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Pretoria University Law Press
- Country or region
- South Africa
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1609-073X
- Electronic ISSN
- 1996-2096
- Society / sponsor
- Centre for Human Rights
- Official links
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about African Human Rights Law Journal
How long does peer review take at African Human Rights Law Journal?
Authors report an average review time of about 24 weeks. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of African Human Rights Law Journal?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 300 words; Reference style: ACS; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Required; Highlights: Required; Graphical abstract: Required; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of African Human Rights Law Journal based?
Of the 17 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are South Africa (5), United States (3) and Nigeria (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index African Human Rights Law Journal?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, African Human Rights Law Journal is indexed in Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists SciELO; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is African Human Rights Law Journal open access, and what is the APC?
African Human Rights Law Journal is a diamond open-access journal (no APC). It charges no article processing charge.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .