Journal profile · MEDICAL ETHICS
South African Journal of Bioethics and Law
ISSN 1999-7639 · Health and Medical Publishing Group · South Africa
South African Journal of Bioethics and Law: CAS Zone 4 · Philosophy (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.1 (journal website); fully open access; APC charged, amount not published; review about 14 weeks (community reports); 18 articles in 2025; indexed in Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
South African Journal of Bioethics and Law is published by Health and Medical Publishing Group and is in Zone 4 of Philosophy in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Ethics in medical practice, Ethics and Legal Issues in Pediatric Healthcare and Ethics in Clinical Research, together about 36.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
SAJBL is an online, tri-annual, peer reviewed journal that covers matters related to ethics, law, human rights and related matters for the health professions. It carries research articles and letters, editorials, clinical practice, personal opinion and other topics related to biomedical law and human rights issues. It also carries related South African health-related news, obituaries and general correspondence.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): MEDICAL ETHICS
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named South Africa 9, United States 1 (10 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Ethics in medical practiceHealth Professions14.1%
- Ethics and Legal Issues in Pediatric HealthcareMedicine12%
- Ethics in Clinical ResearchMedicine10.5%
- Biomedical Ethics and RegulationMedicine8.1%
- Legal Issues in South AfricaSocial Sciences7.2%
- Patient Dignity and PrivacyMedicine7.1%
- Medical Malpractice and Liability IssuesHealth Professions7%
- Human Rights and DevelopmentSocial Sciences3.6%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Philosophy Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Medical Ethics | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Philosophy Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Medical Ethics | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
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
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
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 1.7LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 1.7Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.38LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.91LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2023
- 0.26Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 20OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 57OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.73OpenAlex ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 87.8%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 7LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 476 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 8 | 8 | 1 |
| 2025 | 18 | 18 | 3 |
| 2024 | 22 | 22 | 31 |
| 2023 | 31 | 31 | 84 |
| 2022 | 18 | 18 | 83 |
| 2021 | 23 | 23 | 42 |
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 14 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 14 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous 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
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | ZAR 7,100 | Yes | CC BY-NC | |
| OpenAlex | ZAR 5,459 | — | — | |
| LetPub | ZAR 7,100 | Yes | — |
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 prepare2 items from the author guidelines
- Reference style
- Vancouver
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteLicense & copyright
- License & copyright
Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial Works License (CC BY-NC 4.0) Model summary
Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial Works License (CC BY-NC 4.0)
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
- Health and Medical Publishing Group
- Country or region
- South Africa
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1999-7639
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 19, Issue 1 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about South African Journal of Bioethics and Law
What CAS zone is South African Journal of Bioethics and Law in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, South African Journal of Bioethics and Law is in Zone 4 of Philosophy, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Medical Ethics. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Philosophy. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of South African Journal of Bioethics and Law?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 1.1 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 1.7, h-index 20.
How long does peer review take at South African Journal of Bioethics and Law?
Authors report an average review time of about 14 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 South African Journal of Bioethics and Law?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Reference style: Vancouver; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not 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 South African Journal of Bioethics and Law based?
Of the 10 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are South Africa (9) and United States (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index South African Journal of Bioethics and Law?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, South African Journal of Bioethics and Law is indexed in Scopus and DOAJ.
Is South African Journal of Bioethics and Law open access, and what is the APC?
South African Journal of Bioethics and Law is a fully open-access journal. APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website, DOAJ; 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: .