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In acknowledgment of the need for explicit criteria and procedures that should safeguard the relation between this journal and its authors – as well as to objectify the rights and responsibilities that apply to each in their participation in this public communication space – the Izquierdas Journal states and promotes an adequate frame of diffusion practices, which will be specified further on. These are based on the guidelines proposed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) in its Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors (http://publicationethics.org)General obligations and responsibilities for the Editors of IzquierdasEditors will be responsible for everything published in their journals. They will:Strive to meet the needs of readers and authors;Constantly improve the journal;Ensure the quality of the material they publish;Champion freedom of expression;Maintain the integrity and confidentiality of the academic record;Preclude business needs from compromising intellectual standards;Always be willing to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies when needed.Specific obligations and responsibilities towards readersWhether by direct mention or through specific requirements, the Editors will always give all the information regarding the origin of the publication; its sources of funding; the role of eventual financiers or sponsors; and the financial origin and/or sponsorship of published articles.Likewise, the Editors will make all the information regarding the journal’s editorial policy and criteria, and indexation publicly available.Relation with the authorsEditors will take all reasonable steps to ensure the quality of the material they publish, specifying, if needed, the aims and standards of each of the different sections that the journal comprises.Editors’ decisions to accept or reject a paper for publication will be based only on the paper’s importance, originality, and clarity, and the study’s relevance to the declared remit of the journal.Editors will publish a description of the formal requirements to submit papers or originalsThe Editors will publish online, in the journal’s homepage, all necessary information regarding the peer review process, evaluation guidelines, maximum response time, appeal mechanisms, copyright treatment, and how conflicts of interest will be managed.Any change in persons and/or criteria in the editorial direction of this journal cannot and will not affect the decision to publish an authors’ work, if these changes occurred after said decision.Relations with reviewersThe direction of the Izquierdas Journal will publish guidance to reviewers on everything that is expected of them. These guidelines will be made available to authors as well, in order that they become familiarized with the criteria by which their work will be evaluated.Izquierdas will take all the necessary measures to protect and safeguard the peer reviewers’ identities. Any change in this regard will be informed in due time to the authors.The Editors of Izquierdas will install a declared mechanism regarding the receipt and treatment of complaints and claims, and the instances of response and appeal at their different levels, up to an eventually final verdict that cannot be appealed by neither Editor nor author(s). This final verdict will be given by and ad-hoc, impartial referee designated by the parties involved.Encouraging debateThe Editors of Izquierdas will publish all well-founded criticisms or oppositions it receives to any article published or opinion expressed in this journal. Only the presence of bad or offensive language will preclude its reproduction. Author(s) of criticized material will have, at their turn, the chance to respond within the limits of usual norms of respect and communicational cordiality.Encouraging ethical and academic integrityThe Editors ensure that the content this journal publishes conforms to internationally accepted ethical guidelines. If needed, they will request the authors to provide proof of relevant ethical approval (e.g., Ethical Committees, Revision Boards, etc.). However, such approval will not imply, in any case, that the research is necessarily ethical. The Editorial Board reserves the right to give a final verdict.The Editors will encourage the respect for ethical research, in both published and unpublished papers. To that effect, it will prioritize dealing such matters directly with the authors and/or the directly involved. If necessary, depending on the magnitude or the implications of suspected ethical misconduct, the Editors can take the matter to other persons and/or institutions.Whenever it is recognized that a significant inaccuracy, misleading statement or distorted report has been published, Izquierdas will contact the author(s) to correct them immediately in the online version of the Journal. This procedure will be clearly explained in the same publication. In case that for whatever reasons such correction cannot be achieved, the Editors will reserve the right to remove the content under discussion.Commercial considerationsIzquierdas journal is an open-access, free publication. Commercial use is not rejected.Conflicts of interestIzquierdas has mechanisms and formulas at its disposal to address and resolve various conflicts of interest that could rise between the staff; between the staff and the authors; between the authors and the reviewers; between the content and its readers.In the case of conflicts of interest within the Editorial Board, the meetings of said Board, bilateral consultations between its members and the final decision by the Direction of this publication constitute the mechanism by which inconveniencies and problems will be addressed and cleared.Regarding the Journal and its editorial environment (authors, reviewers, and readers), any complaint, claim, appeal, rebuttal and reply should be send in writing to the Editor, who will decide what steps will be taken, and which persons or organisms will be contacted.If a complaint is made against the Editor, it should be addressed in the first instance to the Editor him/herself. If this complaint is not addressed or resolved satisfactorily, the complainant may address the Direction of this journal, in which instance, if needed, a referee can be appointed by common consent, who will give a final verdict that is mandatory for all the parties involved.