Under section 36 (2) of Act No. 111/1998 Sb., to regulate higher education institutions and to change and amend other laws (the Higher Education Act), the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports registered the Editorial Rules of  Charles University in Prague under ref. No. MSMT-21033/2005 on 15 June 2015.

Under section 36 (2) of the Higher Education Act, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports registered the amendments to the Editorial Rules of  Charles University in Prague under Ref. No. MSMT-38084/2016, on 14 December 2016 and under Ref. No. MSMT-38084/2016 on 14 December 2016.

I. CONSOLIDATED EDITORIAL RULES OF CHARLES UNIVERSITY OF 14 DECEMBER 2016

Under sections 9 (1) (b) and 17 (1) (k) of Act No. 111/1998 sb., to regulate higher education institutions and to change and amend other laws (“the Higher Education Act”), as amended, and under Article 12 (5) of the Constitution of Charles University, the Academic Senate of Charles University has adopted the following Editorial Rules of Charles University as an internal regulation:

Article 1 Introductory Provisions

1. These rules regulate the principles of editorial activities at Charles University (“the University”), including publishing activities (“editorial activities”).¹

2. Editorial activitiesprimarily supportscience and research, development and innovation, artistic and other creative activities (“creative activities”) as well asthe educational activity of the academic community of the University. By means of editorial activities,among other things,study and other materials are provided for the University and the members of its academic community,the results of its creative activities are published, and the activities of the University are promoted, and thus the University contributes to the spreading of education and culture.

3. Editorial activities of the University are provided by Nakladatelství Karolinum (the Karolinum Publishing House). Faculties and other units of the University may perform editorial activities independently (Article 6).

4. In addition to traditional and time-tested publishing practices, editorial activities make use of new principles and methods of publishing brought about by the development of information technologies. New forms of editorial activities include, for example, electronic and multimedia publications, such as electronic books, interactive electronic outputs, open and cooperative works, procedures utilizing Web 2.0 technologies, open online courses (MOOC), and others. They are published with maximum support for open access according to the Berlin Declaration and the Paris OER Declaration (Article 3).

Article 2 Principles of Editorial Activities at the University

1. Editorial activities primarily entail consistent care for the quality of published works which is facilitated by a review procedure.The review procedure must be impartial and suitable for the given published work. 

2. The review procedure involves at least two expert opinions; if the work to be published is in a foreign language, at least one expert opinion is prepared by a foreign reviewer. Sentence one does not apply to short electronic works of small, interactive electronic outputs, open and cooperative works, procedures utilising Web 2.0 technology, and massive open online courses (MOOC) provided that they are published in accordance with the principles of open access and it is possible for specialists to provide visible comments.²

3. The Rector determines the details of the review procedure for the Karolinum Publishing House in a Rector’s directive, upon consultation with the Editorial Board of the University. The details of the independent editorial activities at the faculties and other units are determined by the dean of the faculty or the director of the other unit in a directive, upon consultation with the relevant editorial board.

4. Editorial activitiesare performed in amanner ensuring proper editorship with regard to both the requisites of a specialist text and specialist language and style, and the corresponding typographical layout. 

5. The Karolinum Publishing House and the faculties and other units which perform editorial activities independently distribute the results of their editorial activities in amanner corresponding to the given publication output. In particular, they fulfil this duty by providing the relevant information to final and institutional users, usingsuitable methods of distribution of publication output in printed form and distributing publication output in electronic form, and making use of global and subject-area international databases.

6. The Rector determines the details of making author contracts, including cases of electronic publication,³ the details of financing the operation of electronic educational systems, and royalties.

7. The Karolinum Publishing House and the faculties and other units which perform editorial activities independently publish ethical principles which they observe in their activities or which they require from their authors, editors, and reviewers.

Article 3 Electronic Publishing

1. Electronic output is published with a clear identification code.⁴

2. The electronic publication output is usually distributed in accordance with the principles of the Berlin Declaration on Open Access ⁵ and the Paris Declaration on Open Educational Resourcesof 2012, ⁶ unless the conditions of the given sponsor provide otherwise. ⁷

3. The Karolinum Publishing House, faculties, other units which perform editorial activities independently, as well as associations and initiatives of members of the Academic Community of the University engaged in electronic publication and cooperating with the University provide appropriate long-term archiving of electronic publication output. ⁸

Article 4 Editorial Board of the University

1. The Editorial Board of the University (“the Board”) is the Rector’s advisory body; it usually consists of seven members.

2. The Editorial Board monitors editorial activities at the University, provides interaction and methodological guidelines to the KarolinumPublishing House, to the editorial activities of faculties and other units of the University, to the activity of the Computer Science Instituteand the Central Library connected with editorial activities, and to the activity of associations and initiatives engaged in electronic publication related to the University.

3. The chair ofthe Board isthe Rector or a Vice-Rector designated by him. The Board secretary is the director of Karolinum Publishing House.

4. Members of the Board are appointed from among representatives of the main fields of science pursued at the University; proposals for appointment are submitted by faculties and other units of the University.

5. The chair of the Board convenes sessions as necessary.

6. At least once a year the chair of the Board convenes an extended session of the Board to which he invites Board members and representatives of faculties or other units of the University. The implementation and updating of the University editorial plan, the draft of the editorial plan of the Karolinum Publishing House (“editorial plan”), the results of the Karolinum Publishing House activities and financial management, the results of the independent editorial activities of faculties and other units ofthe University, and a survey of educational activities in the field of making use of electronic publication and library systems are considered at this session. 

Article 5 Karolinum Publishing House, Editorial Plan

1. The conception and main fields of activity of the Karolinum Publishing House are approved by the Rector upon a proposal bythe Editorial Board.

2. The details of the operation of the Karolinum Publishing House are regulated by the rules for the internal governance which are an internal regulation of the publishing house.

3. Resource materials for the editorial plan are collected at the University units according to the chair’s instructions and on dates determined by him. The editorial plan is usually specified every year.

4. Resource materials for the editorial plan may also be submitted by a member of the Academic Community of the University.

5. The draft editorial plan is prepared on the grounds of resource materials in compliance with the main fields of activity of the Karolinum Publishing House by the Board; it takes into account the calculation of the cost of individual titles.

6. The draft editorial plan is submitted for the Rector’s approval upon consideration at the extended session of the Board (Article 4 (6)).

7. The Rector may decide on anamendment to the editorial plan or the exclusion of a title from the approved editorial plan for serious reasons.

8. The approved editorial plan and its changes are published in the usual manner.

Article 6 Editorial Activities of Faculties, University Institutes, and Other Units of the University

1. The faculty or, to the extent determined by the Constitution of the University, the University Institute or another unit of the University may perform editorial activitiesindependently in accordance with these Rules.

2. Independent editorial activities may be performed if the respective unit has the internal regulation or the dean’s directive regulating the principles of this activity and has established the Editorial Board.

Article 7 Use of the University Coat of Arms

The University coat of arms may be used on publications issued under these Rules according to the Principles of the Use and Protection of the University Coat of Armswhich are the internal regulation of the University.

Article 8 Transitional and Final Provisions

1. The current composition of the Editorial Board established under the Editorial Rules of Charles University in Prague on 13 March 2000 is not prejudiced by these Rules.

2. The Editorial Rules of Charles University in Prague of 13 March 2000 is hereby repealed.

3. These Rules were approved by the Academic Senate of the University on 15 May 2015.

4. These Rules come into force on the date of registration by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.⁹

5. These Rules become effective on 1 July 2015.

The change in the Editorial Rules of Charles University (the first change) was approved by the Academic Senate of Charles University in Prague on 29 November 2016. This change came into force on the date of registration by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, which was completed on 14 December 2016, and becomes effective on the first day of the calendar month following the date of coming into force.