Statutes of the Journal

§ 1 General provisions

(1) The journal Historica. Revue pro historii a příbuzné vědy (hereafter “the journal”) is a peer-reviewed academic periodical published biannually by the Faculty of Arts, University of Ostrava (hereafter “the Faculty”) on the basis of a permit issued by the Czech Republic Ministry of Culture, ref. no. ČR E 18625; the journal has been allocated the ISSN 1803-7550. The journal was established in 2010; it represents a continuation of the series of volumes previously published at the Ostrava Pedagogical Institute (Sborník prací Pedagogického institutu v Ostravě 1960–1964), the Ostrava Pedagogical Faculty (Sborník prací Pedagogické fakulty v Ostravě. Řada C 1966–1991), and the Faculty of Arts, University of Ostrava (Historie / Historica. Sborník prací Filozofické fakulty Ostravské univerzity 1993–2009). The profile and history of the journal, as well as its previous volumes, the current composition of the editorial board, and the formal requirements for submissions to the journal are publicly displayed on the website of the Faculty’s Department of History and the Centre for Economic and Social History.

(2) The statutes of the journal comprise a document defining the focus and content of the journal, the composition and role of its editorial board, and the rules governing the review process.

§ 2 Focus and content of the journal

(1) The focus of the journal consists in the publication of original texts by authors, with a primary focus on historical issues, without any further chronological or thematic restriction. The aim of the journal is to publish primarily texts which straddle the boundaries of individual academic disciplines, e.g. history and sociology, history and economics, history and demography, history and art/cultural history, history and ecology, history and ethnology, etc. The journal also aims to inform a Czech readership of developments in both Czech and international research.

(2) The journal regularly includes sections entitled Articles and studies, Materials, Horizons (overviews of research findings with relevance to current issues in the historical sciences in the Czech Republic and abroad), Reviews and Literature reports and Chronicle. There is also an occasional section entitled Discussion.

§ 3 Official bodies of the journal

(1) Three official bodies are involved in the preparation of the content of each issue: the editor in chief, the managing editor, and the editorial board. The current composition of each of these bodies is publicly displayed on the journal’s website.

(2) The editor in chief

1. is the head of the journal's editorial board; s/he manages the editorial board's activities and convenes its sessions.
2. prepares sessions of the editorial board, in conjunction with the managing editor.
3. manages the activities of the managing editor of the journal.
4. acts as the public representative of the editorial board.
5. proposes the composition of the editorial board of the journal.
6. takes the final decision on a future course of action if the result of a vote by members of the editorial board is inconclusive (if the vote is tied).
7. is appointed by the Dean of the Faculty.
   
   

(2.1) If the editor in chief is incapable of performing his/her duties, the performance of these duties is entrusted to a deputizing managing editor (until the next session of the editorial board).

(3) The managing editor

1. is a member of the editorial board of the journal and a deputizing editor in chief.
2. is responsible for organizing the editorial activities of the journal (administrative tasks related to the activities of the editorial board, receipt of submissions by authors, communication with authors and reviewers, organization of activities related to the publication of the journal, technical preparation of the texts of journal issues for printing, updating information on the journal website).
3. is appointed by the Dean of the Faculty on the basis of a proposal submitted by the editor in chief; the managing editor is an employee of the Faculty.
4. is managed by the editor in chief, and is accountable to him/her.
5. prepares sessions of the editorial board, in conjunction with the editor in chief, and compiles minutes from the sessions.
   
   

(4) Editorial board

(4.1) The editorial board bears the primary responsibility for the academic standards, profile and structure of the journal.

(4.2) The editorial board consists of the editor in chief, the managing editor, and the ordinary members of the editorial board. The current composition of the editorial board is printed in each issue of the journal and is publicly displayed on the journal’s website.

(4.3) Membership of the editorial board is approved by the Dean of the Faculty on the basis of a proposal submitted by the editor in chief of the journal.

(4.4) Sessions of the editorial board are convened by the editor in chief as and when they are deemed necessary; sessions are held a minimum of once a year. If necessary, especially in cases when delay would have detrimental consequences, the editorial board may, if such a procedure is deemed necessary by the editor in chief, decide per rollam by electronic means of communication. The managing editor notifies all members of the editorial board of the results of such decision-making.

(4.5) Decisions by the editorial board are based on the votes cast by all members present at the given session. Members of the editorial board may express their opinion on specific issues via e-mail or postal correspondence; in such cases their opinion is counted as a vote in the same way as if it were cast by a member physically present at the session. The future course of action is decided on the basis of a simple majority of votes cast by members of the editorial board; if the result of a vote by members of the editorial board is inconclusive (if the vote is tied), the final decision on a future course of action is taken by the editor in chief. The participation and voting rights of members of the editorial board cannot be delegated to other persons.

(4.6) When so requested by the editor in chief or the managing editor, members of the editorial board recommend reviewers for individual submissions; as far as they are able, they also help to recruit new contributors and to promote the journal.

(4.7) One of the members of the editorial board is the Head of the Department of History at the Faculty.

§ 4 Submissions and peer review process

(1) The journal publishes texts which meet the standard requirements expected from academic articles in terms of both content and form, and which are in keeping with the purpose for which the journal is published.

(2) The main language of the journal is Czech, though texts may also be published in Slovak, and English.

(3) Authors' manuscript submissions for the sections "Articles and studies", "Materials" and "Horizons" must meet the formal requirements set out on the journal's website.

(4) Submissions for the sections “Articles and studies”, “Materials” and “Horizons” are subject to a peer-review process. Each submission received is reviewed anonymously by two independent experts with specialist knowledge of the given topic; the reviewers are selected by the editorial board with a view to the specific topic of the text. In justifiable cases a reviewer may be a member of the editorial board; however, preference is given to reviewers who are not members of this body or employees of the publishing institution. If the author of a submission is a member of the editorial board, the reviewers must be from outside this body. If the conclusions of two reviews are at variance with each other, the editorial board votes to decide whether to  accept the conclusions of one or the other review, or whether to request a third review. In the latter case, once the third review is received, the editorial board votes again to decide whether the submission is definitively accepted or rejected. The decision requires the agreement of an absolute majority of voting members.

(5) Only those submissions which meet all the requirements placed upon them (see Section 4, paragraphs 1–3) are admitted to the review process; the editor in chief of the journal must give his/her consent to the admission to the review process. In the case of serious deficiencies in form and/or content, the submission may be rejected by the editors of the journal or by members of the editorial board prior to the review process.

(6) Communication with the reviewers is organized by the managing editor, who informs the members of the editorial board of the results of the review process.

§ 5 Concluding provisions

(1) A draft version of the statutes of the journal was discussed and approved by the editorial board at its full session on 25^th November 2019.

(2) The statutes become valid and effective on the day of their signature by the Dean of the Faculty.

(3) Any changes to the statutes must be approved by a simple majority of members of the editorial board of the journal.

(4) The statutes are held in written form in triplicate by the editor in chief, the managing editor, and the Dean of the Faculty respectively.

Ostrava, 22. 3. 2021

Updated: 18. 05. 2022