Editors are required to conduct their editorial duties with integrity, impartiality, independence, and transparency, and to avoid situations that may compromise, or be reasonably perceived to compromise, their objectivity in the editorial process.
A conflict of interest for an editor exists when professional judgment concerning the evaluation, selection, handling, or decision-making related to a manuscript could be influenced, or reasonably perceived to be influenced, by personal, professional, financial, institutional, or ideological relationships or interests.
Editors must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest as soon as they become aware of them and prior to taking any editorial action on a manuscript under consideration. Such conflicts may include, but are not limited to:
- personal, professional, or familial relationships with one or more of the authors;
- current, recent, or anticipated collaboration with the authors;
- affiliation with the same institution, department, or research group as one or more of the authors;
- financial interests, funding relationships, or commercial ties related to the subject matter of the manuscript;
- personal, academic, political, or ideological commitments that could affect, or be perceived to affect, editorial impartiality.
Editors who identify a conflict of interest must recuse themselves from all aspects of the editorial handling and decision-making process for the affected manuscript. In such cases, editorial responsibility shall be promptly reassigned to another qualified editor who has no relevant conflicts of interest.
Editorial decisions must be based solely on the scholarly merit of the manuscript, including its originality, scientific or methodological rigor, ethical soundness, clarity of presentation, and relevance to the journal’s aims and scope. Editors must not use unpublished information, data, or ideas disclosed in submitted manuscripts for personal research, professional advancement, or any other advantage.
The journal maintains clear procedures to ensure that editorial conflicts of interest are identified, disclosed, and managed in a transparent, consistent, and timely manner. Records of disclosed conflicts and corresponding actions are handled confidentially and in accordance with the journal’s governance and ethical policies.
Failure by an editor to disclose relevant conflicts of interest, or to comply with recusal requirements, constitutes a breach of accepted standards of editorial integrity and may result in corrective or administrative actions, including removal from editorial responsibilities and notification of relevant parties, in accordance with the journal’s policies.
This policy reflects the journal’s commitment to ethical editorial practice, transparency, accountability, and maintaining trust in the scholarly publishing process.