About the Journal
Dharmaputra Medical Law Journal (DMLJ)
Jurnal Dharmaputra Hukum Kesehatan
The First Peer-Reviewed Academic Journal in Indonesia Dedicated to Medical Law
About the Journal
The Dharmaputra Medical Law Journal (DMLJ) — Jurnal Dharmaputra Hukum Kesehatan — is the first academic journal in Indonesia dedicated specifically to the field of medical law. Published by Rumah Sakit Umum Daerah Wangaya (RSUD Wangaya), Denpasar, Bali, DMLJ represents a pioneering commitment to advancing scholarly discourse at the intersection of law, medicine, and public health in Indonesia and the broader Southeast Asian region.
DMLJ bridges legal scholarship and medical practice by providing a rigorous, peer-reviewed platform for researchers, clinicians, legal practitioners, policymakers, and ethicists. The journal welcomes contributions that analyse the legal dimensions of healthcare delivery, patient rights, professional liability, bioethical dilemmas, and health system governance, with particular attention to the Indonesian and comparative international context.
DMLJ is published on a biannual basis, with issues released in June and December each year. The journal accepts manuscripts in both English and Bahasa Indonesia, and operates as a Diamond Open Access publication — freely available to readers and authors alike, with no article processing charges (APCs) or submission fees.
Focus & Scope
DMLJ focuses on the legal, regulatory, ethical, and policy dimensions of medicine and healthcare. The journal invites original and high-quality scholarly work across the following thematic areas:
Legal accountability of healthcare professionals, civil and criminal liability, standard of care, and dispute resolution mechanisms in medical contexts.
Informed consent, confidentiality, the right to refuse treatment, access to healthcare records, and vulnerable patient protections under Indonesian and international law.
Analysis of health statutes, regulations, and judicial decisions; comparative health law; and regulatory reform in the Indonesian healthcare system.
Ethical frameworks in clinical practice, human subjects research, end-of-life decision-making, organ transplantation ethics, and genomics governance.
Communicable disease control, health emergency legislation, national health insurance (JKN/BPJS), food and drug regulation, and environmental health law.
Legal and regulatory dimensions of e-health, telemedicine platforms, health data privacy (including AI in diagnostics), and cross-border digital health services.
Peer Review Process
All manuscripts submitted to DMLJ undergo a rigorous editorial and peer review process. DMLJ employs double-blind peer review, ensuring that the identities of both authors and reviewers remain confidential throughout the evaluation process. The estimated time from submission to first editorial decision is 4 to 8 weeks.
Initial assessment of scope, format, and scholarly merit by the Editorial Office. Completed within 3–5 business days.
Similarity screening via Turnitin. Manuscripts with a similarity index exceeding 20% are returned to the author for revision before proceeding.
A minimum of two independent expert reviewers evaluate the manuscript. Review period is 4–6 weeks. A third reviewer is consulted when opinions diverge.
The Editor-in-Chief issues a decision: Accept, Minor Revision, Major Revision, or Reject. Authors are notified with detailed reviewer feedback.
Accepted manuscripts undergo professional copyediting, typesetting, and author proof review prior to final publication.
Articles are published online-first with a DOI upon final approval, ahead of formal issue assignment in the June or December issue.
Estimated time from submission to first editorial decision: 4–8 weeks
Publication Ethics
DMLJ adheres to the highest standards of publication ethics. The journal's policies are guided by internationally recognised frameworks and bodies, including:
Authors must ensure originality, accurate reporting of data, proper attribution of sources, disclosure of conflicts of interest, and adherence to ethical approval requirements for research involving human subjects.
Reviewers must provide objective, confidential, and timely assessments. They must declare any conflicts of interest and must not use unpublished material for personal advantage.
Editors make fair, independent decisions based solely on academic merit and journal scope. They maintain confidentiality of all submissions and manage conflicts of interest appropriately.
DMLJ takes a zero-tolerance approach to plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, and duplicate submission. Published articles found to violate these principles will be retracted in accordance with COPE retraction guidelines.
Open Access Statement
Diamond Open Access — Free to Read, Free to Publish
DMLJ is committed to Diamond Open Access, the most equitable model of scholarly communication. All published content is freely accessible to readers worldwide without subscription fees or paywalls. Equally, authors are not charged any article processing charges (APCs), submission fees, or publication fees of any kind.
All articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction with proper attribution.
There are absolutely no charges to submit or publish in DMLJ. The journal is fully funded by RSUD Wangaya as a public service to scholarly knowledge.
Indexing & Abstracting
Digital Preservation
Journal Information
Principal Contact: Gede Krisna Udiana, S.K.M., M.H.Kes. | +62 812-3898-787 | udiana.krisna@gmail.com