Conflict of Interest

The journal places the highest priority on ensuring objectivity, integrity, and transparency throughout the publication process. Accordingly, all participants – authors, reviewers, and editors – are required to identify and disclose any potential conflicts of interest in a timely manner. This policy is designed to prevent any undue influence of personal, financial, or other factors on research outcomes, their interpretation, or editorial decision-making.

 

Definition of Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest is any situation in which personal, professional, financial, institutional, or other relationships or circumstances may influence, or be perceived to influence, the impartiality, objectivity, or independence of a participant in the publication process. Importantly, both actual conflicts and the potential appearance of bias must be taken into account.

 

Conflicts of Interest: Authors

Authors must fully disclose all circumstances that could be considered a conflict of interest at the time of manuscript submission. These include:

  • financial interests (such as employment, honoraria, grants, participation in commercial entities, patents, etc.);
  • non-financial factors (including personal or professional relationships, academic competition, ideological or religious beliefs).

Such disclosure enables readers to assess whether these factors may have influenced the research findings or their interpretation.

Information on conflicts of interest is published in a dedicated statement at the end of each article. If no conflict exists, the statement will read: “No conflict of interest declared.”

 

Conflicts of Interest: Reviewers

Reviewers are required to promptly inform the Editorial Office of any circumstances that may compromise their objectivity or impartiality. These include:

  • financial or personal relationships with the authors or organisations involved in the research;
  • direct competition between the reviewer’s own research and the manuscript under review;
  • personal relationships (collaborative, adversarial, or otherwise) that could affect the evaluation.

If a conflict of interest is identified, reviewers must decline to review the manuscript in order to preserve the independence and credibility of the peer review process.

 

Conflicts of Interest: Editors

Editors are equally responsible for declaring any potential conflicts of interest that may affect their ability to make impartial decisions. Editors must recuse themselves from handling a manuscript if:

  • they have financial, professional, or personal relationships with the authors or affiliated institutions;
  • they are co-authors of the submission or work at the same institution as the authors;
  • their involvement could reasonably be perceived as biased.

In such cases, responsibility for the manuscript is transferred to another member of the Editorial Board or an independent expert.

 

Management of Conflicts of Interest and Transparency

The Editorial Board ensures appropriate handling of all declared or identified conflicts of interest. In particular:

  • disclosures are reviewed and, where necessary, verified;
  • independent experts may be engaged to ensure impartial assessment;
  • measures are taken to limit the involvement of conflicted individuals in the publication process;
  • corrections, retractions, or other actions may be implemented if conflicts are identified after publication.

The journal guarantees transparency by publishing conflict of interest statements with all articles.

All participants in the publication process are expected to comply with this policy in order to maintain trust in scholarly communication, ensure unbiased evaluation, and uphold the highest standards of academic ethics.