Publication Ethics and Misconduct

Publication Ethics and Misconduct Policy

A. Core Principles & Adherence
The Journal of Religion, Local Politics, and Law is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics. We take all forms of misconduct seriously. Our policies are aligned with core guidelines from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), and we expect compliance from all parties involved: authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher.

B. Responsibilities of Stakeholders

1. Authors' Responsibilities

  • Originality & Plagiarism: Submissions must be original work. Plagiarism in any form (verbatim copying, paraphrasing without attribution, idea appropriation) is unacceptable. All manuscripts are screened with plagiarism detection software.

  • Data Integrity: Research data must be accurately presented. Fabrication or falsification of data constitutes serious misconduct.

  • Multiple & Concurrent Submission: Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously is prohibited.

  • Authorship Criteria: The author list must include all and only those who have made significant intellectual contributions to the work. All co-authors must approve the final version and agree to its submission.

  • Conflict of Interest & Funding: Authors must disclose any financial, institutional, or personal relationships that could be perceived as influencing the work. All sources of funding must be declared.

  • Fundamental Errors: Authors are obligated to promptly notify the editor if a significant error is discovered in their published work and cooperate in publishing a correction or retraction.

2. Reviewers' Responsibilities

  • Confidentiality & Objectivity: Manuscripts are confidential documents. Reviews must be objective, constructive, and free from personal criticism or hostility.

  • Conflict of Interest: Reviewers must decline to review if they have a conflict of interest (e.g., competitive, collaborative, or personal relationship with the author).

  • Acknowledgement of Sources: Reviewers should identify relevant published work not cited by the authors and alert editors to any substantial similarity with other known works.

3. Editors' Responsibilities

  • Fair Play & Editorial Independence: Editors evaluate manuscripts solely on their intellectual merit, without regard to authors' race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, citizenship, or institutional affiliation.

  • Confidentiality: Editors and staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, and publisher.

  • Decision-Making: The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for final acceptance/rejection decisions, guided by reviewer recommendations, journal policies, and legal requirements.

  • Conflict of Interest: Editors will recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where they have a conflict of interest.

  • Vigilance & Investigation: Editors have a duty to act upon any suspected ethical misconduct. This includes conducting fair investigations in accordance with COPE flowcharts.

C. Handling Allegations of Misconduct

  1. Initial Assessment: The Editor-in-Chief will confidentially assess the allegation.

  2. Investigation: If warranted, a formal investigation will be initiated. This may involve contacting the authors' institution, requesting original data, or consulting the Editorial Board/COPE guidelines.

  3. Outcomes: Depending on the severity of the misconduct, outcomes may include:

    • Rejection of the submitted manuscript.

    • Retraction of a published article with a clear retraction notice.

    • Correction via an erratum or corrigendum for minor errors.

    • Embargo on future submissions from the responsible authors.

    • Formal Notification to the authors' institution or employer.

  4. Appeal: Authors have the right to appeal editorial decisions, including those related to misconduct findings, by contacting the journal's publisher with a detailed rationale.

D. Retraction & Correction Policy
The journal will issue retractions for articles with clear evidence of unreliable findings (e.g., data fabrication), pervasive error, plagiarism, or unethical research. Corrections (Errata/Corrigenda) will be issued for minor errors that do not invalidate the core conclusions. All notices will be linked bidirectionally to the original article.

E. Reporting Misconduct
Suspected ethical violations should be reported in confidence to the Editor-in-Chief at: [Insert Editor's Contact Email Here].

By submitting to this journal, all parties agree to abide by this policy.