The masthead records the offices through which The Mandamus commissions, reviews, verifies and publishes legal work. Titles describe editorial responsibility; they do not confer legal or judicial status.
Editorial leadership
Sets the journal’s direction, protects independence, approves major initiatives and decides questions of exceptional editorial significance.
Commissioning and review
Identifies important legal questions, evaluates proposals, appoints reviewers and develops manuscripts with authors.
Standards and citations
Checks authorities, quotations, disclosures, factual characterisation, citation form and correction records.
Digital production
Maintains accessible presentation, metadata, archives, search, feeds, security and publication reliability.
Publisher
The Mandamus is published by Constitution Watchdog, which provides institutional support and infrastructure. The Editorial Board retains judgment over individual publications under the Editorial Independence policy.
Advisory participation
Advisers may offer non-binding strategic, disciplinary or regional guidance. They do not routinely review articles and have no authority to require publication, prevent criticism or approve editorial conclusions.
Accountability by function
Every published name on the masthead should correspond to an active, defined function. The publication should not retain honorary titles that imply operational responsibility where none exists. The public masthead may distinguish editorial leadership, desk or section editors, standards and production staff, advisers and publisher personnel.
Delegation and continuity
Delegation should be explicit. An editor who delegates review remains responsible for ensuring that the assignee has appropriate competence and that mandatory checks are completed. Leave, vacancy or emergency arrangements should identify who can approve publication, corrections and public statements so that authority is never assumed informally.
Separation of editorial and operational roles
Technical administrators may maintain hosting, security, accounts and publication tools without acquiring authority over editorial conclusions. Fundraising and partnership personnel may communicate project requirements without selecting authors or controlling outcomes. Legal counsel may advise on risk, but the final decision to publish is editorial unless publication would be unlawful.
Masthead questions
Why might a contributor also appear on the masthead?
An editor may write in a personal scholarly capacity, but the article must disclose the editorial role and be handled by another editor.
How quickly are changes reflected?
Material changes in responsibility should be updated promptly after appointment, departure or role revision, with access permissions changed at the same time.