Conflict of Interest Policy

1. Introduction

Journal of Lex et Justitia is committed to maintaining integrity, impartiality, and transparency in all stages of the scholarly publishing process. A conflict of interest (COI) arises when personal, financial, professional, or institutional relationships may influence—or appear to influence—the objectivity of research, peer review, editorial decision-making, or publication outcomes.

2. Types of Conflict of Interest

Conflicts of interest may include, but are not limited to:

2.1 Financial Conflicts

  • Employment, consultancy, or advisory roles

  • Honoraria, grants, or research funding

  • Stock ownership, shares, or other financial interests

  • Intellectual property rights, royalties, or patents

2.2 Non-Financial Conflicts

  • Personal or family relationships

  • Academic rivalry or professional competition

  • Institutional affiliations or governance roles

  • Political, ideological, or advocacy positions that may affect objectivity

3. Author Responsibilities

  • Authors must disclose all potential conflicts of interest at the time of manuscript submission.

  • Disclosure includes any financial or non-financial interests that could influence the interpretation of legal analysis or conclusions.

  • If no conflict exists, authors must include the statement:
    “The authors declare no conflict of interest.”

  • Failure to disclose conflicts may result in manuscript rejection, correction, or retraction.

4. Reviewer Responsibilities

  • Reviewers must declare any potential conflicts of interest before accepting a review assignment.

  • Reviewers should decline to review manuscripts if:

    • They have personal, professional, or institutional relationships with the authors

    • They have competing interests related to the subject matter

  • All information obtained during peer review must remain confidential.

5. Editor Responsibilities

  • Editors must not handle manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest.

  • In cases of conflict, editorial responsibility must be reassigned to another qualified editor.

  • Editorial decisions must be based solely on academic merit, originality, relevance, and legal rigor.

6. Management of Conflicts

  • Disclosed conflicts are evaluated by the Editor-in-Chief.

  • Appropriate actions may include:

    • Disclosure of conflicts in the published article

    • Reassignment of editors or reviewers

    • Rejection of the manuscript if objectivity is compromised

7. Transparency in Publication

  • All relevant conflicts of interest are clearly disclosed in the published article.

  • Disclosure statements are made accessible to readers to maintain transparency and trust.

8. Ethical Standards

This policy follows:

  • Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines

  • International best practices in legal and academic publishing

9. Policy Review and Updates

Journal of Lex et Justitia reserves the right to update this policy in response to evolving ethical standards and developments in scholarly publishing.