The Journal of Religion, Local Politics, and Law recognizes that authors may need to withdraw a submitted manuscript under exceptional circumstances. To maintain the integrity of the scholarly record and the peer-review process, withdrawals are strictly governed by the following policy, categorized by the manuscript's stage in the editorial workflow.

A. Withdrawal Prior to Editorial Decision (Under Review)

• Procedure: Authors may request withdrawal by sending a formal, signed request from the corresponding author to the editorial office, stating the specific reason for withdrawal. The request must include the manuscript ID and title.

• Condition: The manuscript must not have already been sent to reviewers, or must be withdrawn before reviewers have submitted their reports. Frequent pre-review withdrawals may lead to restrictions on future submissions from the authors.

B. Withdrawal After Peer Review Has Begun

• Policy: Withdrawal at this stage is strongly discouraged. Once reviewers have invested time and expertise, withdrawal is considered a waste of academic resources and disrespectful to the voluntary work of reviewers.

• Procedure & Consequence: A withdrawal request will be considered only for compelling, unavoidable reasons (e.g., discovery of a critical, irreparable error in the research). The Editor-in-Chief will evaluate the request. Authors must provide a detailed explanation. Manuscripts withdrawn at this stage may result in a temporary embargo (e.g., 12-24 months) on new submissions from all authors to this journal.

C. Withdrawal After Acceptance (But Before Publication)

• Policy: Withdrawal after formal acceptance is considered a serious breach of academic publishing ethics, as the journal has committed its resources for editing, production, and online hosting.

• Consequence: Withdrawals at this stage are generally not permitted. If an absolutely unavoidable circumstance forces withdrawal, the journal reserves the right to:

  1. Impose a significant embargo (e.g., 2-3 years) on all authors for future submissions.

  2. Notify the authors' institutional heads or relevant bodies of the breach of contract.

  3. Charge a fee to cover incurred administrative and processing costs.

D. Post-Publication Retraction (Not Withdrawal)

Once a manuscript is published online as the "Version of Record," it is a permanent part of the scholarly record. It cannot be withdrawn. If serious ethical concerns or errors are discovered post-publication, the journal will follow its Retraction Policy (see Publication Ethics) to issue a formal, transparent retraction notice, which is linked to the original article.

E. Important Notes

• Author Agreement: Submission of a manuscript implies the authors' commitment to publish if the manuscript is accepted.

• Duplicate Submission: A withdrawal request motivated by the intention to submit the manuscript to another journal is unacceptable and will be treated as a potential case of duplicate submission, in violation of our publication ethics.

• Official Record: All withdrawal requests and their outcomes are kept as part of the manuscript's confidential editorial record.

Summary: Authors are urged to carefully finalize their manuscript and ensure all authors consent to submission before submitting to the Journal of Religion, Local Politics, and Law. Withdrawal is intended only for unforeseen, compelling issues, not as a routine step in the submission process.