About Us

Medico Legal Update is a double-blind peer reviewed journal which brings the latest knowledge regarding changing medico legal scenarios within India and globally to its readers. The journal caters to specialties of Forensic Medicine, Forensic Science, DNA fingerprinting, Toxicology, Environmental hazards, Sexual Medicine, Forensic Anatomy, Forensic Anthropology, Forensic Odontology, Criminology and medico-legal aspects of civil, criminal, public and informational laws and public policies.The journal is also indexed with Google Scholar, Scilit, CINAHL, EBSCOhost (USA),Embase and many other international databases. The journal has been assigned international standard serial number (ISSN) 0971-720X. The journal is registered with Registrar of Newspaper for India vide registration numbers 63757/96 under Press and Registration of Books act, 1867.

Medico legal updateis a quarterly journal. The journal is open access now. You can see it Website: http://ijop.net/index.php/mlu Current issue and issues of 2020 are also hosted there.

This is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access.

Aim and scope of Journal
Scope

• Medical Ethics: Exploration of ethical considerations and dilemmas in medical practice, research,and healthcare delivery.
• Legal Medicine: Application of medical knowledge to legal issues, including the determination of cause of death, assessment of injuries, and medical expert testimony in legal cases.
• Healthcare Law: Examination of legal issues related to healthcare delivery, including patient rights, informed consent, and medical malpractice.
• Bioethics: Discussion of ethical issues arising from advances in medical technology, genetics, and biotechnology.
• Patient Rights and Advocacy: Exploration of legal protections and rights afforded to patients and the role of legal mechanisms in safeguarding patient interests.
• Forensic Psychiatry: Consideration of mental health issues in the legal context, including assessments of competency and criminal responsibility.
• Medical Malpractice: Analysis of legal cases involving alleged negligence or misconduct by healthcare professionals and institutions.
• Health Policy and Legislation: Examination of laws and policies affecting healthcare systems, medical research, and public health.
• Informed Consent: Discussion of the legal requirements and ethical considerations surrounding informed consent in medical treatments and research.
• Medical Privacy and Confidentiality: Exploration of legal protections for patient privacy and confidentiality in healthcare settings.

Aims

Medico-Legal Update aims to cover a broad range of topics at the intersection of medicine and law. Our aims include:

1. Legal Medicine and Forensic Science: To publish research, case studies, and reviews in the field of legal medicine and forensic science, covering topics such as forensic pathology, forensic toxicology,and other forensic specialties.
2. Medical Jurisprudence: To explore the legal aspects of medical practice, including issues related to medical ethics, professional conduct, and the legal responsibilities of healthcare professionals.
3. Forensic Psychiatry: To address the interface between psychiatry and the law, covering topics such as assessments of mental capacity, criminal responsibility, and the role of mental health in legal proceedings.
4. Medical Ethics and Bioethics: To provide a platform for discussions on ethical considerations in medical practice and research, including issues related to patient consent, confidentiality, and the ethical implications of medical advancements.
5. Legal Implications of Medical Research: To explore the legal and ethical aspects of medical research, including issues related to human subjects, data privacy, and conflicts of interest.
6. Medical Negligence and Malpractice: To cover topics related to medical malpractice, negligence claims, and legal issues surrounding patient care, including case studies and analyses of legal precedents.
7. Health Law and Policy: To address legal issues related to healthcare policy, health systems, and healthcare delivery, including discussions on healthcare regulations and reforms.
8. Expert Testimony: To explore the role of medical experts in legal proceedings, including the admissibility and reliability of expert testimony, and the challenges associated with presenting medical evidence in court.
9. Patient Rights and Advocacy: To discuss legal aspects of patient rights, informed consent, and the legal obligations of healthcare providers to ensure patient safety and well-being.
10. Interdisciplinary Collaboration: To foster collaboration between the medical and legal professions,encouraging dialogue and exchange of knowledge between healthcare professionals, legal experts,and policymakers.
11. Case Reports and Legal Precedents: To publish case reports and analyses of legal precedents that have implications for the practice of medicine and the legal system.
12. Global Perspectives: To provide a global perspective on medico-legal issues, considering variations in healthcare systems, legal frameworks, and ethical considerations across different regions and jurisdictions.

Important Information

Manuscript Submission fee - There is no fee for manuscript submission. Manuscript can be submitted any time. Submission is always open Manuscript Processing Charges- We charge for manuscript processing from authors. Authors must pay charges only if the article is accepted for publication. The charges are per article. If some author does not want to pay, he can withdraw his article.


The charges are as follows 1. India and SAARC countries- Indian Rupees 5000/ 2. Rest of world - US $ 100

1.Rebate / waiver policy -

Editor can give rebate/ wave off charges depending on author’s status like student, no funding from any source, research from developing countries or research of exceptional status. Please write to Editor giving justification for rebate. Editor‘s decision is final and binding.

1.Digital archiving Policy- the issues of the journal are archived into PKP PN (Public Knowledge Project), LOCKSS and CLOCKSS

2.Review Policy for articles- The journal follows double blind peer review policy for all articles. Once the article is received, it is forwarded to our two reviewers after removing names of authors and their affiliations. Authors are also not informed names of reviewers. Reviewers send their comments in due course of time and these comments/ queries are forwarded to authors to make corrections or offer explanations. Once the reviewers are satisfied with corrections in manuscripts or explanations given by authors, authors are conveyed the decision of acceptance of article. If author/s refuses to make corrections as suggested by reviewers, manuscript is rejected for publication.


3.Plagiarism checking policy- The journal has zero tolerance policy for plagiarism. We regularly use software Dupli checker for detection of plagiarism.

4.Licensing Policy Articles in Medico-legal Update journal are Open Access articles published which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work and source is properly cited.

5. Copyright Policy Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:- -Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication .Authors continue to retain publishing rights to the article without restrictions.

"The first issue of Medico-Legal Update was published in 2005"