Handling editors play a central role in managing the peer-review process and in ensuring that manuscripts are evaluated fairly, independently, efficiently, and in accordance with the journal’s editorial policies, ethical standards, and scholarly objectives. Handling editors are expected to exercise professional judgment, integrity, and impartiality in all aspects of their role.
Upon assignment, the handling editor is responsible for conducting an initial assessment of the manuscript to confirm its suitability for peer review. This assessment includes verification of the manuscript’s alignment with the journal’s scope, basic methodological and scholarly soundness, and compliance with applicable ethical requirements and submission guidelines. Manuscripts that clearly fall outside the journal’s scope or fail to meet minimum standards may be declined at this stage in accordance with editorial policies.
The handling editor selects suitably qualified, independent reviewers with relevant subject-matter expertise and ensures that potential conflicts of interest are identified and appropriately managed. Reviewer selection must be based on expertise, objectivity, and absence of conflicts, and must not be influenced by personal, institutional, or commercial considerations. Handling editors are responsible for overseeing the peer-review process, monitoring reviewer performance, and taking reasonable steps to ensure that reviews are conducted in a timely and constructive manner, avoiding unnecessary delays.
Following receipt of reviewer reports, the handling editor evaluates their quality, relevance, and coherence, synthesizes the feedback, and formulates an editorial recommendation based on the scientific merit of the manuscript and informed editorial judgment. Where reviewer reports are incomplete, biased, inconsistent, or contradictory, the handling editor may seek clarification, request additional reviews, or provide an independent assessment to support a fair and balanced editorial decision.
Handling editors must treat all manuscripts, reviewer reports, and related communications as strictly confidential and must not use unpublished information obtained through the editorial process for personal, professional, or competitive advantage. Editors are required to disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest and to recuse themselves from handling manuscripts in which such conflicts exist, in which case responsibility shall be reassigned in accordance with the journal’s procedures.
When ethical concerns arise during the editorial process, including suspected plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, authorship disputes, or other forms of potential misconduct, handling editors are obligated to act in accordance with the journal’s ethical policies and to report such concerns to the editor-in-chief or appropriate editorial authority for further assessment and action.
Handling editors are expected to act diligently and proportionately in all editorial decisions, ensuring that authors are treated fairly and that decisions are clearly justified and communicated. Handling editors may contribute to the clarification of reviewer comments and editorial feedback but must not allow personal opinions or external pressures to influence editorial outcomes.
All actions taken by handling editors are recorded within the journal’s editorial management system to ensure accountability, transparency, consistency, and traceability of editorial decisions and communications.
