Mizan Law Review was launched in 2007 in response to the limited number of law journals in Ethiopia and interruptions in legal journal publication. The journal also sought to broaden legal scholarship beyond traditional doctrinal research by giving attention to "law in action" and the realities in which laws operate.

Today, Mizan Law Review provides a platform for Ethiopian, African, and Global South legal scholarship, with its availability through AJOL and indexing in DOAJ and Scopus helping expand its visibility, accessibility, and reach. The journal is also committed to strengthening editorial quality, research integrity and publishing ethics, while supporting a No Fee/Diamond Open Access model.

AJOL interviewed Elias Nour, PhD (Associate Professor), Editor-in-Chief of Mizan Law Review, about the journal's origins, its role in advancing locally grounded legal scholarship, the importance of open access, and its vision for the future of legal publishing in Ethiopia and Africa.

1. Could you briefly share the history of the Mizan Law Review - what inspired its establishment, how has the journal evolved over the years, and what have been some of its key milestones or achievements?

• Mizan Law Review was launched in June 2007. A core factor that inspired its establishment was Ethiopia's 2006 Legal Education Reform Program, which included research and publications as pillars.
• The journal evolved over the years through the phases of (a) viable launching, (b) uninterrupted flow, (c) indexing and accreditation, and (d) steady enhancement of quality and standards.
• The key milestones in Mizan Law Review relate to (a) its launching phase, (b) concerted efforts of editorial team members based on professional commitment irrespective of institutional affiliation, (c) sustained funding by the Embassy of Finland during the initial years and the corresponding institutional efficiency at St. Mary’s University in managing the journal’s finances, (d) inclusion in AJOL and DOAJ, which enhanced the journal’s visibility and accessibility and facilitated a sustained level of submissions and review process.

2. What gap in legal scholarship or academic publishing led to the creation of the Mizan Law Review, and what need does the journal continue to serve today?

• The creation of Mizan Law Review can mainly be attributed to the inadequate number of law journals in Ethiopia and interruptions in journal publication. Moreover, laws in action deserved attention beyond the traditional focus on doctrinal legal research. The journal continues to serve both domains: doctrinal legal research and laws in action.

3. How is the Mizan Law Review helping to make Ethiopian, African, and Global South legal scholarship more visible, accessible, and influential among researchers, legal practitioners, policymakers, and institutions?

• The journal’s availability on African Journals Online (AJOL) as its main access platform, and its indexing in DOAJ and Scopus, have enhanced its visibility, accessibility, and the number and quality of submissions in Ethiopia, other African countries, and among professionals from the Global South at large. The quality and themes in submissions constitute the core foundation for outputs, outcomes, and impact of the publications, thereby enhancing the relevance and influence of published items in further research, legal practice, policymaking and institutional activities.

4. What kinds of legal research, emerging jurisprudential debates, or contemporary justice and governance challenges featured in the journal best demonstrate the importance of locally grounded legal scholarship?

• The relevant kinds of legal research, jurisprudential debates, and contemporary justice and governance challenges are dynamic. In a law journal that gives due attention to the law in action, a researcher’s proximity to grassroots facts and realities matters, as long as the journal avoids subjective views and pursues objective analysis.

5. What has the journal done to strengthen editorial quality, peer review, research integrity, publishing ethics, and trust in the legal scholarship it publishes?

• Mizan Law Review applies elements of good-practice standards through a pragmatic, step-by-step approach. It uses AJOL-INASP’s Journal Publishing Practices and Standards (JPPS) framework, DOAJ Toolkit, COPE Core Practices (CCP), COPE’s Principles of Transparency (PoT), and other standards.
• The journal also uses standards such as its definition of authorship. It does not accept a supervisor/advisor of a thesis/dissertation as a co-author unless the supervisor researches, analyses, and writes a section in the submission (not included in the thesis/dissertation). The journal also does not accept a manuscript with multiple ‘authors’ when the submission clearly has a theme that a single author can research, analyse, and write. For example, if two authors are listed, the journal requires a statement concerning the contribution of the co-author.
• Another practice is actively engaging Editorial Board members rather than maintaining a symbolic list of high-profile professionals.

6. How has being part of AJOL, and the wider African open-access publishing ecosystem, supported the Mizan Law Review's visibility, reach, scholarly impact, or sustainability?

• Mizan Law Review’s inclusion in AJOL has enabled the journal to gain wider visibility and a steady stream of submissions. This has indeed positively contributed to the journal’s sustainability and steady development.

7. Why is the No Fee, also known as Diamond Open Access model important for your journal, and others working in similar contexts?

• Authors who cannot afford an article processing charge (APC) should not be denied a platform for submission; subscription-based access also does not provide open access to readers who cannot pay unless they have institutional access.

8. Looking ahead, what is the Mizan Law Review's vision for its next phase of growth? For example, what internal journal plans are already in place for a smooth handover to the next generation of dedicated people to run the journal, and what external support, collaborations, or University and National Policies and finance are needed to further long-term, sustained legal scholarship and academic publishing in Ethiopia and Africa?

• For its next phase of growth, the journal needs to institutionalise the framework that has brought collaboration and coaction among professionals from different institutions. Although the journal is hosted by St. Mary’s University, Centre for Law in Sustainable Development, members of the Editorial Team and Editorial Board are affiliated with different institutions. The initial take-off largely stemmed from the Ethiopian Legal Education Reform Program, which enabled professionals from different institutions to collaborate.
• A viable option for the way forward is to collaborate and develop the institutional framework that can enable Mizan Law Review to be a non-profit professional foundation hosted by St. Mary’s University, with active membership of stakeholders such as St. Mary’s University Law graduates and staff alumni and the Ethiopian Law Schools Association to ensure continuity and sustained funding. This prospect, supported by research and publication grants from relevant institutions and other funding partners, can ensure the long-term sustainability of Mizan Law Review's scholarship and academic publishing.