1. Definition of Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest occurs when a secondary interest may influence, or appear to influence, a person's professional judgment, research activities, peer review, or editorial decisions. A conflict does not necessarily indicate misconduct. However, failure to disclose or appropriately manage a relevant conflict may undermine the credibility and fairness of the publication process.

When uncertain whether an interest is relevant, authors, reviewers, and editors should disclose it to the editorial office for assessment.

2. Types of Conflict of Interest

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

• Financial interests: research funding, grants, employment, consultancy, honoraria, financial investments, patents, or other financial benefits related to the research.
• Personal relationships: family relationships, close friendships, personal disputes, or other relationships that may affect impartial judgment.
• Professional or institutional relationships: current or recent employment at the same institution, supervisory relationships, mentoring relationships, or close research collaborations.
• Academic or intellectual interests: strong academic commitments, competing research interests, professional rivalries, or other circumstances that could affect objective assessment.
• Other competing interests: political, ideological, religious, or other interests that may reasonably be perceived as influencing judgment.

3. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are required to:

• Disclose relevant financial and non-financial conflicts of interest when submitting a manuscript.
• Declare all funding sources and explain the role of funders in the research design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and decision to submit, where applicable.
• Disclose relevant professional, personal, or institutional relationships that could reasonably be perceived to influence the research.
• Provide accurate and complete declarations and promptly inform the editor if relevant information changes during the editorial process.

Authors should use the statement that accurately reflects their circumstances. A declaration of no conflict must not be used when a relevant conflict exists.

4. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers must:

• Disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest before accepting a review invitation.
• Decline the review when a conflict could prevent an objective and fair assessment.
• Inform the editor if a relevant conflict becomes apparent after the review has begun.
• Maintain the confidentiality of the manuscript and refrain from using unpublished information for personal or professional advantage.

The editor will assess disclosed conflicts and decide whether the reviewer may proceed or another reviewer should be appointed.

5. Responsibilities of Editors and Editorial Board Members

Editors and editorial board members must:

• Disclose relevant conflicts of interest that may affect their editorial responsibilities.
• Withdraw from handling or deciding on a manuscript when a conflict could compromise impartiality.
• Ensure that an appropriately independent editor or designated editorial representative handles the manuscript when recusal is necessary.
• Ensure that editorial decisions are based on scholarly merit, relevance, originality, ethical compliance, and the quality of the work rather than personal or financial interests.
• Keep confidential information obtained during editorial handling from being used for personal advantage.

Editors who are authors or co-authors of a submitted manuscript must not make the editorial decision on their own manuscript. An independent editor should be assigned to oversee the process.

6. Responsibilities of the Publisher

The publisher is expected to support editorial independence and transparent publication practices. Financial, institutional, or other interests must not improperly influence peer review, editorial decisions, or the handling of research integrity concerns.

7. Disclosure and Management Procedures

Disclosures should be provided to the editorial office at submission or as soon as a relevant conflict becomes known. The editor will assess the nature and potential impact of the disclosed interest and determine appropriate measures.

Depending on the circumstances, measures may include:

• Requesting additional information or clarification.
• Recording or publishing a relevant disclosure with the article.
• Appointing an alternative reviewer or independent editor.
• Requiring a revised declaration before an editorial decision is made.
• Taking further action under the journal's publication ethics policies if a material conflict was concealed or misrepresented.

8. Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest

If a potential undisclosed conflict is identified before or after publication, the journal may request an explanation and assess the available evidence. Depending on the findings and seriousness of the matter, the journal may require a disclosure or correction, reconsider an editorial decision, or take other appropriate action under its Research Misconduct and Corrections and Retractions policies.

Any action will be proportionate to the circumstances and based on the available evidence. The existence of a conflict alone does not establish misconduct; the journal will consider whether the conflict was disclosed and adequately managed and whether the integrity of the research or editorial process was affected.

9. Relationship with Other Journal Policies

This policy should be read together with the journal's Publication Ethics, Authorship Criteria, Peer Review Process, Research Misconduct, and Corrections and Retractions policies. All parties are expected to cooperate with reasonable editorial requests concerning disclosure and the management of conflicts of interest.