Law, Democracy & Development (LDD) is an accredited journal - that is, approved by the Department of Education for the publication of subsidised research output. This means that the articles we publish are subject to stringent quality control. All articles, unless otherwise indicated, are peer-reviewed - that is, anonymously assessed by independent experts. In addition, we also publish reviews, commentaries or other contributions which the editors consider topical or important but which have not been subjected to the formal assessment process - for example, contributions by emerging researchers (such as those in our ALAD section), keynote speeches by leading commentators and the like. These non-refereed items are identified as Forum contributions.

LDD is an open-access journal. This means that copyright in all published material remains vested in the author thereof, but the author grants permission for the material to be made available freely on LDD’s website. The material may be quoted, downloaded and/or copied, subject to the following conditions:

• the name(s), title(s) and institutional affiliation(s) of author(s), as well as a bibliographical reference to its original publication in LDD (author, title of article and volume of LDD) must be included by those who use it; and
• the copyright of the author(s) – for example, the right to republish or amend the material – remains intact, and articles that are reproduced may not be changed in any way.

Please therefore make full use of the articles contained in LDD for all academic, research or practical purposes – but kindly remember to cite the source so that others can also find it.