Appeals Policy

In general, the journal's editorial decisions are final. Authors may appeal an adverse decision regarding the publication of a manuscript only in limited and extraordinary circumstances.

The appeals process is not applicable to desk-rejected manuscripts.

For manuscripts rejected during the peer review process, appeals may only be filed when one of the following situations occurred and led to the editorial decision:

  • Substantive irregularities or non-compliance with the rules established in the Peer Review Policy.

  • Demonstrated non-compliance with the ethical obligations of reviewers, the Editor-in-Chief, or the Editorial Board as established in the Ethics and Best Practices Guidelines.

  • Conflicts of interest.

  • Serious factual errors by the reviewers or the journal's editorial team that were the basis for rejecting publication.

  • Other exceptional circumstances, properly substantiated.

Authors should consider that mere disagreement with the journal's editorial decision or citing one of the above points, without proper support, is insufficient to initiate an appeals process. The submission of such appeals is strongly discouraged.

Timing and Appeals Process

Authors may initiate an appeals process by emailing the journal's editorial team (revfi@colmex.mx) between 15 and 45 calendar days after notification of the editorial decision. Appeals submitted within the first 14 days after the journal's editorial letter or after 45 days will not be considered. Manuscripts under appeal may not be submitted to another journal until the process at Foro Internacional is concluded.

In the appeal letter, authors must establish and thoroughly justify their appeal based on the previously established criteria. The letter must clearly state the reasons supporting the appeal, provide substantive evidence, and establish that these circumstances led to the rejection of the manuscript.

Once an appeal is received, the following procedure will be followed:

  1. The Editor-in-Chief and an additional Editorial Board member selected by the Director of the Center for International Studies (CEI) at El Colegio de México will review the appeal and decide on its admissibility. When the grounds for appeal involve the Editor-in-Chief, two Editorial Board members selected by the CEI Director will be in charge of the review.

  2. After analyzing the case, the editors will decide on the merits of the appeal and the course of action to follow within thirty days. Possible decisions include rejecting the appeal for not meeting requirements or lacking foundation, requesting additional reviews, or changing the original editorial decision.

  3. The decision on how to handle the appeal must have the agreement of both persons involved in the review. If there is no agreement, the CEI Director will select an additional Editorial Board member to review the case.

  4. Once two reviewing editors reach an agreement, the decision will be communicated to the authors. The decision will be final.