JCEC is a peer-review journal. Upon receiving a manuscript, the editor will perform an initial review. If the manuscript is not a good fit for JCEC or failed to pass the ethical checks, it will be immediately rejected. In other cases, submission will be sent out for peer review.

The reviewers read and assess the manuscript, and then make one of the following recommendations:
— Accept Submission: no revision is needed.
— Revisions Required: minor changes are required before the manuscript is accepted by the editor.
— Resubmit for Review: major changes are required. After the manuscript is revised, another round of peer review is required.
— Resubmit elsewhere: the manuscript is not suited for JCEC.
— Decline Submission: the submission could not be accepted.
— See Comments: the reviewer cannot choose from any of the above, and leave a comment for the editor.

The Editor-in-Chief of JCEC takes the final decision based on the recommendation of reviewers.