Conflicts of Interest Policy

| Post date: 2025/12/18 |

Conflicts of Interest (COI) Policy

A conflict of interest (CoI) is any financial or non-financial interest that could be perceived to compromise the objectivity, integrity, or value of a publication.

1. Author Obligations:

All authors must disclose all financial and non-financial relationships and activities that might bias, or be perceived to bias, their work.
Authors are required to complete the ICMJE Disclosure Form for potential conflicts of interest.
All sources of financial support for the research must be explicitly declared.
The presence of a conflict does not automatically preclude publication; however, failure to disclose conflicts constitutes a serious breach of ethical standards.
Disclosure statements must be included in a dedicated section of the manuscript at the time of submission.

2. Peer Reviewer Obligations:

Reviewers must declare any potential conflicts of interest that could influence their evaluation of a manuscript.
They must recuse themselves from reviewing any manuscript where such conflicts exist, including:

1. Recent collaborations with any author within the last three years
2. Personal or professional relationships with authors
3. Direct financial or institutional interest related to the manuscript's subject matter

Reviewers must not use knowledge of a manuscript under review to further their own interests before publication.

3. Editor and Editorial Board Obligations:

Editors and editorial board members must disclose relevant relationships or activities that could present a CoI.
They must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where a conflict exists.
Editorial staff are prohibited from using information gained through manuscript handling for personal or financial gain.
Disclosure statements of the Editor-in-Chief and editorial board members are regularly updated on the journal website or are available upon request.

4. Transparency and Accountability:

The journal is committed to maintaining impartiality, transparency, and trust in the publication process.
All conflicts of interest, if present, will be clearly disclosed in the published article.
Editorial board members confirm that they have no financial, institutional, or personal conflicts of interest related to their role in the journal.