About the Journal

Focus and Scope

Studi Tributari Europei (European Tax Studies) is the product of a programme of research carried out at the European School of Advanced Fiscal Studies at the University of Bologna, Italy, over a period of many years. It adopts a perspective embracing comparative national studies and EU case law, reflecting the method adopted in the course of the 15 years of the PhD programme on European Tax Law, and further developed in a series of international meetings and symposia. The emphasis is on cooperation between Universities, centres of research and public education, and this is a constant theme in the activities of the School. It seeks to raise awareness and promote an understanding of the work of a wide range of practitioners, academics and judges, in particular EU judges, who, in spite of regional and cultural differences, continue to believe in European tax law, and are committed to contributing to its creation. After many years of debate and comparative analysis, this body of tax law is now in the process of being defined.

Studi Tributari Europei aims to contribute to this process. The monographic approach is a sign of realism, in an awareness of the need to work within the confines of a clearly defined disciplinary domain. The intention is to provide solutions in various sectors and institutes of tax law, dealing with European tax law in a systematic perspective.

The electronic format of the journal is intended to favour the widest possible circulation and to encourage the submission of articles relating to the topics covered. This format overcomes the typical space and time constraints of printed journals. It is also a cost-effective method as there are no subscription costs limiting the consultation and circulation of the journal. It is designed to be an open-access journal for those who share its objectives and methods, and the only requirement for access is registration.

The choice of three working languages is intended to promote the dissemination of the journal, within Europe and beyond, while highlighting the importance of maintaining separate language identities as an essential feature of the juridical culture creating European tax law.

The journal achieves continuity with the academic advisory board of the School through the European editorial board. At the same time, national and EU experience, acquired over the years through personal and institutional cooperation, contributes to a common cultural heritage.

One of the functions of the editorial board is to establish a natural link with other publications operating in the field of comparative law and EU law. New ideas may be drawn from the experience of these journals, and their work will be in turn be enriched by the findings of the Comparative Studies, that is, the monographic works published in the journal.

The journal is published at quarterly or six-monthly intervals, with additional issues appearing as required, and articles by both scholars and practitioners are made available also in the News and Commentary section.

The main focus is on matters of current interest, with articles on a range of topics consistent with the chosen method of analysis. Additional material is published in the section on Documents and Research, providing further insight into the most significant new developments in the field.

Peer Review Process

All articles for publication in the Comparative Studies section and the News and Commentary section should be submitted in English. They will then be subject to initial evaluation by the editorial board. In the case of a positive evaluation, they will be submitted to double-blind peer review. The board of peer reviewers is updated annually and consists of European scholars in the field of tax law.

The reviewer is given a 15-day deadline to evaluate the manuscript, to recommend publication where appropriate, and to point out any necessary changes for the article to be published.

Guidelines for peer reviewers

The peer review should take account of the scholarly merits of the article, its originality, the effectiveness of the arguments, the quality of the analysis and the completeness of the references.

The reviewer will receive an evaluation form to be returned to the managing editor, who will then forward it to the editorial board and the author of the article. The identity of the peer reviewer is not communicated to the author at any stage of the process.

All reviewers undertake to evaluate the manuscript and to point out any necessary changes for the purposes of publication within 15 days of receipt of the manuscript.

Publication Frequency

Studi Tributari Europei is an annual journal, with continuous publishing.

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

It releases its articles under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

This license allows anyone to download, reuse, re-print, modify, distribute and/or copy the contributions without commercial purposes. The works must be properly attributed to its author(s), providing a link to the journal. It is not necessary to ask further permissions both to author(s) or journal board, although you are kindly requested to inform the journal for every reuse of the papers.

Authors who publish on this journal accept to transfer their copyrights to The European School of Advanced Fiscal Studies - University of Bologna.

The journal has neither article processing charges nor submission processing fees.

Quality Control, Publication Ethics and Publication malpractice

The following statement is inspired by COPE Code of Conduct:
http://publicationethics.org/files/Code_of_conduct_for_journal_editors.pdf

Duties for the Editorial Team

Editorial team takes all reasonable steps to ensure the quality of the material published in Studi Tributari Europei – European Tax Studies.

Editorial team have a duty to act if they suspect misconduct or if an allegation of misconduct is brought to them. This duty extends to both published and unpublished papers.

The decision of Editorial team and of the International Editorial Board as to accept or reject a paper for publication in the journal is based on subject relevance and originality and is guided by the review of suitably qualified reviewers.

Editorial team will ensure that appropriate reviewers are selected for submissions.

Editorial team strives to ensure that peer review at the journal is fair, unbiased and timely.

A description of peer review process is published, and Editorial team is ready to justify any important deviation from the described process.

Editorial team and International Editorial Board evaluates manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.

Editorial team’s decision may be constrained by such legal requirements regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism. Editorial team provides guidance to authors that encourage accuracy, completeness and clarity of research reporting, including technical editing and the use of appropriate guidelines and checklists.

Editorial team has a system to ensure that material submitted to the Journal remains confidential while under review. Confidentiality of individual information obtained in the course of research or professional interactions is guaranteed.

Duties for Authors

Authors are responsible for the articles they submit: they must assure the originality of their works, being aware of the consequences of misconduct.

Authors should always acknowledge their sources and provide relevant citation details for all publications that have influenced their work.

Authors are asked to provide the raw data in connection with a paper for editorial review, and should be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication in order to provide access to such data.

Authors are asked to follow the Author’s Guidelines published by the Journal
http://ste.unibo.it/about/submissions#authorGuidelines,
therefore ensuring accuracy, completeness and clarity of research reporting, including technical editing.

Duties for Reviewers

Reviewers are provided guidance on everything that is expected of them including the need to handle submitted material in confidence.

Reviewers are required to disclose any potential competing interests before agreeing to review a submission.

Reviewers are encouraged to comment on the originality of submissions and to be alert to redundant publications and plagiarism. They will alert Editorial team regarding intellectual property issues and plagiarism and work to handle potential breaches of intellectual property laws and conventions.

Reviewers should help identifying relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors.


The Journal policies will be reviewed periodically, particularly with respect to new recommendations from the COPE.

Archiving Policy

The University of Bologna has an archival arrangement with the National Central Libraries of Florence and Rome within the national project Magazzini Digitali.
http://www.depositolegale.it/editori-aderenti/