The Journal of Nonsmooth Analysis and Optimization (“the Journal”) is a scholarly journal run by researchers in nonsmooth analysis and mathematical optimization (“the community”) for the community. It is committed to high-quality scientific content, made freely available to the public without cost to authors or readers (“Fair Open Access”). The journal covers all aspects of nonsmooth analysis relevant to optimization. Papers accepted for publication are strictly selected on the basis of scientific or scholarly merits as ascertained by traditional single-blind peer review.
The Board of the Journal (“the Board”) is composed of the Handling Editors, the Managing Editors, and the Advisory Board. An individual may at any given time be a member of at most one of these groups.
The Board is the owner of the Journal title and metadata on published articles. Neither the Board, nor any individual member of it, can transfer (their share of) ownership of the Journal title or metadata to a third party. The ownership has no monetary value.
The Board is responsible for making the strategic decisions necessary to implement the Journal's mission. Any decisions, unless otherwise mentioned in this Constitution, require a simple majority vote among the members of the Board or a relevant sub-entity (the Managing Editors or the active members of the Advisory Board).
With a two-thirds majority of the votes, the Board is authorized to approve and modify the Constitution. Similarly, with a two-thirds majority of the votes, the Board may terminate the office of any of its members at any given time, or veto any new appointment. Any member of the board may call for a vote for termination or veto.
The Board may decide to engage the services of a Publisher to publish and disseminate the Journal. Any such decision must respect the constitution of the journal, in particular the commitment to Fair Open Access.
The Advisory Board consists of senior members of the community. It sets the scientific strategy of the journal by appointing Handling Editors and providing, on an annual level, feedback on current activities as well as future directions of the journal.
The members of the Advisory Board do not take part in the editorial process of the journal regarding individual articles.
The Managing Editors are responsible for the day-to-day management of the Journal, including the assignment of submissions to appropriate Handling Editors and the publication of accepted articles. They are also the first point of contact regarding complaints about the editorial process.
The Managing Editors have the responsibility to help the advisory board in practical matters of nominating, appointing, and securing the services of Handling Editors and additional members of the Advisory Board. They can, moreover, break by a simple majority vote a deadlock among the Advisory Board should the latter not be able to reach a majority decision.
The Handling Editors represent the community. They handle submissions assigned to them by the Managing Editors, following the Review Guidelines outlined later in this document.
The selection of Handling Editors should seek a balanced coverage between different research directions within the scope of the journal, along with a regional and gender balance insofar as feasible. Selection for Handling Editor takes into account the candidate's standing within the community as well as excellence in previous service as a reviewer.
There should be at least 3 (three) and at most 6 (six) active members of the Advisory Board at any given time. New members of the Advisory Board should be appointed to keep the number of active members at least at its minimum level and to ensure a wide range of contacts to the community. Such appointments are done by a simple majority vote of the Advisory Board.
The appointment to the Advisory Board is for life. Members of the Advisory Board can at any time resign from their position, or choose to become inactive, provided this is announced with a three months' notice to the Managing Editors. Moreover, if they cannot be reached for 60 (sixty) days despite the best efforts of the Managing Editors, they may be marked as inactivate. Inactive Advisory Board members may at any time become active again by announcing this to the Managing Editors.
The decisions of the Advisory Board are not valid if there are less than two active members. In this case the Managing Editors temporarily assume the functions of the Advisory Board, and are required to promptly appoint new Advisory Board members to fill the requirement of at least three active members.
There should at any given time be at least 2 (two) and at most 4 (four) Managing Editors. To establish the Managing Editors as an independent entity entrusted with the day-to-day running of the journal, who need to be able to work together on a daily basis, a new Managing Editor is appointed by the Managing Editors by a two-thirds majority vote. The Advisory Board may veto an appointment with a two-thirds majority vote.
Managing Editors are appointed for a term of five years. The appointment is renewable under the same voting rules as for a new appointment. Managing Editors can resign from their position at any time provided this resignation is announced six months in advance. New Managing Editors should be appointed if required by an increased workload or the announced stepping down of a Managing Editor.
There should be at least 10 (ten) and at most 40 (forty) Handling Editors at any given time. New editors should be appointed by the Advisory Board on the occasion of increased workload of the Handling Editors, upon the resignation or non-renewal of the term of an editor, or to maintain the balanced coverage of research directions within the scope of the journal. The appointment of new Handling Editors should take into account the balances and service mentioned in the description of the role of Handling Editors above.
Handling Editors serve a three-year term, which is renewable by mutual consent of the Advisory Board and the involved editor. Handling Editors may resign at any time provided this resignation is announced three months in advance. Resigning Handling Editors are expected to finish handling manuscrips that have previously been assigned to them, or assist in the transfer of the manuscripts to alternative Handling Editors.
The Advisory Board may also appoint Guest Editors to serve in the role of Handling Editors for the preparation of a Special Issue of the Journal.