The Bioethics Collection of the University of Barcelona’s Bioethics and Law Observatory, directed by Dr María Casado, promotes an idea of flexible, multidisciplinary, secular bioethics, in the framework of respect for acknowledged human rights, and it encourages informed discussion about “the ethical issues related to medicine, life sciences and associated technologies applied to human beings, bearing in mind their social, legal and environmental dimensions” (art. 1.1, Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights).
The collection includes monographic studies, collective works and also the open access Documents and Declarations, translated into several languages, of the University of Barcelona’s Bioethics and Law Observatory – Unesco Chair Opinion Group, whose scope, through dialogue between the university and society, consists in influencing the processes of law drafting and change, that is, the lawmaker and the political authorities directly, and also scientific associations, the media and citizens.
The collection aspires to become a point of reference that, from the academy and in the context of interdisciplinary research processes, may encourage discussion about the bioethical issues considered to be classics, like for example the beginning and the end of life or doctor-patient relationships, as well as newer ones, arising from the impact of scientific knowledge and its applications in human beings, societies and the environment. It also aspires to generate critical thinking; to incorporate multicultural approaches, and to project the research into bioethics associated with internationally acknowledged human rights that is now being generated in the Ibero-American context.
Proposals for publication must be sent to the following email address of the Bioethics and Law Observatory: obd3@ub.edu. If proposals for publication are sent to the Edicions UB general address (infopublicacions@ub.edu), they will be referred to the collection’s heads of publishing so that they may evaluate them and inform authors of their decision.
Originals must be submitted in accordance with the criteria listed in the rules for he submission of originals and the style guide, and they must be sent with an abstract describing the work, as well as a brief curriculum vitae of the author or authors, which must include his/her/their full name, institutional post or qualifications, place of residence and email address.
Originals are evaluated by in-house and external experts at the University of Barcelona in accordance with double-blind peer reviewing, in order to ensure the anonymity of authors and reviewers. Once the selection has been made, whether the work has been accepted or rejected, the author will receive a reply from the editor of the collection pointing out, if necessary, the possibility of rewriting or reworking the original submitted in order to adapt it to the collection’s editorial criteria, and specifying whether the changes are obligatory or optional. Where appropriate, the author may re-submit the original, which will be assessed again.
In the event of the work being accepted, the publisher will contact the author to formalize the publishing contract and, once it has been scheduled with the editors of the collection, inform him/her/them of the planned publication date.
Edicions de la Universitat de Barcelona works with copyright licences and, where appropriate, with Creative Commons licences. Each case is studied with the editor of the collection and, prior to the formalization of the publishing contract, the author is informed of the most suitable licence.
Proper names and related information, such as email addresses, and also the works that are submitted for evaluation, are used solely for the collection’s declared purpose, and under no circumstances will they be made public, nor will they be made available to third parties.