Editors are entrusted with access to confidential information submitted to the journal, including manuscripts, supplementary materials, reviewer reports, author and reviewer identities (where applicable), correspondence, editorial assessments, and related data. Editors are required to treat all such information as strictly confidential and to use it exclusively for the purposes of editorial evaluation, peer-review management, and publication decision-making.
Editors must not disclose, share, or discuss confidential materials or editorial information with any third parties outside the editorial process, except where such disclosure is necessary for the proper conduct of editorial duties and is made to authorized individuals (such as editorial staff, reviewers, or service providers) who are bound by equivalent confidentiality obligations.
Unpublished information or data obtained through editorial activities must not be used for personal, professional, institutional, or competitive advantage, nor for the disadvantage of others. Editors must avoid any actions that could compromise the integrity, impartiality, or confidentiality of the peer-review and editorial process.
Editors are responsible for preserving the confidentiality of the peer-review process in accordance with the journal’s review model. They must not disclose reviewer identities, author identities, or review content beyond what is permitted, nor attempt to identify authors or reviewers where anonymity is an established component of the review process.
All personal data of authors, reviewers, and contributors must be handled in compliance with applicable data protection regulations and the journal’s privacy policies. Editors must ensure that confidential information is stored, accessed, and transmitted securely and only for legitimate editorial purposes.
Confidential information may be disclosed when required for the investigation of suspected research misconduct, ethical violations (such as plagiarism, data fabrication, or falsification), or when legally mandated by competent authorities. Any such disclosure shall be limited to what is strictly necessary and conducted with appropriate safeguards.
The obligation to maintain confidentiality applies throughout the editorial process and continues after editorial decisions have been made and after an editor’s term of service has ended.
Any breach of this confidentiality policy may result in corrective actions, including removal from editorial responsibilities, notification of the editor-in-chief or publisher, and, where appropriate, reporting to relevant institutions or authorities.
