Conflict of Interest Policy

1. Purpose

The purpose of this Conflict of Interest (COI) Policy is to ensure transparency and uphold the integrity and credibility of the Journal. This policy provides guidelines for identifying, disclosing, and managing conflicts of interest throughout the research publication process.

3. Scope

This policy applies to all parties involved in the publication process, including authors, peer reviewers, editors, and members of the editorial board.

2. Definition of Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest occurs when an individual’s personal, financial, or professional interests may compromise or appear to compromise their objectivity in conducting or evaluating research. This includes, but is not limited to:

Financial Ties E.g., funding, employment, consultancy, or stock ownership.
Personal Relationships Direct personal relationships or rivalries.
Intellectual Bias Academic competition or strong intellectual bias.
Institutional Affiliations Affiliations that may affect objectivity and independence.

4. Disclosure Requirements

Authors must disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest in a separate statement included at the end of the manuscript, right before the reference list.

If there are no conflicts, the following statement must be included: "The authors declare no conflict of interest."

* For Reviewers & Editors: Must actively recuse themselves from handling submissions where a conflict exists or could be reasonably perceived.

5. Management of Conflicts

The editorial board is responsible for evaluating disclosed conflicts and taking appropriate action, which may include:

Information

Requesting additional information to assess the case.

Reassignment

Reassigning manuscripts to another editor or reviewer.

Disclosure

Publicly disclosing conflicts within the published article.

Rejection

Rejecting submissions if the conflict cannot be managed.

6. Undisclosed Conflicts

Failure to disclose a conflict of interest is considered a severe violation and may result in corrective actions, including manuscript rejection, formal retraction of published articles, or notification to the author’s institution.