Legal analysis should be available to readers using different devices, input methods and assistive technologies. Accessibility is part of editorial quality, not a separate decorative feature.
Our target
The public website is designed toward WCAG 2.2 Level AA, including sufficient text contrast, visible keyboard focus, logical heading structure, usable zoom, responsive layouts, meaningful link text and alternatives for informative images.
Reading controls
Article pages provide text-size controls, print styling, clear source lists and restrained motion. Navigation and search are intended to be operable by keyboard. Decorative imagery should not create noise for screen-reader users.
Documents and third-party material
Some judgments, gazettes or external documents may not be fully accessible because they are supplied by third parties. Where practicable, we provide a usable description, bibliographic details or an accessible editorial summary without misrepresenting it as the official text.
Report a barrier
Use the contact page and identify the URL, device or assistive technology, the task you were trying to complete and the problem encountered. Accessibility reports receive operational priority.
Design and interaction requirements
- Content remains usable at 200 percent zoom and under text enlargement without horizontal loss of ordinary reading text.
- Keyboard focus is visible and follows a logical order.
- Menus, dialogs, accordions and forms expose meaningful names, states and relationships to assistive technology.
- Colour is not the only way information, status or error is communicated.
- Motion is restrained and respects reduced-motion preferences.
- Touch targets are sized and spaced for practical mobile use.
Editorial accessibility
Authors and editors share responsibility for accessible content. Headings should follow a meaningful hierarchy. Link text should describe its destination. Tables require clear headers and should be used for data rather than layout. Images need concise alternative text when they convey information; decorative images should be ignored by assistive technology. Audio and video should include captions, transcripts or an equivalent alternative where practicable.
Language and cognitive accessibility
Legal precision does not require needless complexity. Articles should define specialist terms, explain abbreviations and divide long reasoning into coherent sections. Plain summaries may accompany technical work without replacing the authoritative article. Translations and language labels should be clear, and the authoritative version should be identified where versions differ.
PDFs, scans and official documents
Official material may arrive as inaccessible scans or poorly structured PDFs. The journal should avoid republishing an inaccessible file as though it were accessible. Where feasible it will provide descriptive metadata, a text summary, an accessible transcript or directions to an alternative source while preserving the distinction between editorial assistance and the official text.
Testing and remediation
Automated checks are useful but insufficient. Release testing should include keyboard navigation, screen-reader sampling, mobile reflow, zoom, form errors, focus management and representative article structures. Confirmed barriers are prioritised according to severity, frequency and whether they prevent access to core legal content or communication.
Accessibility questions
What should an accessibility report include?
The page URL, task, problem, device, browser, operating system and assistive technology if relevant. Do not include sensitive personal information unless necessary.
Can I request material in another format?
You may ask. The journal will assess availability, rights, technical feasibility and urgency and will try to provide a reasonable alternative where practicable.
Does conformance mean every third-party link is accessible?
No. The journal cannot control external systems, but it should identify known barriers and provide an alternative route or explanation where the external material is central.