Purpose
Establish clear criteria and procedures to prevent, disclose, and manage conflicts of interest (COI) that may affect the independence and integrity of editorial decisions, in line with COPE guidelines.

Definition
A conflict of interest exists when a personal, academic, institutional, professional, political, or financial interest could reasonably influence—or be perceived as influencing—editorial judgment. This includes, among others: employment or consultancies, funding, ownership/equity, honoraria, personal relationships, academic rivalries, or overlapping affiliations.

Scope

• Editor-in-Chief

• Associate Editors and members of the Editorial Board

• Editorial staff involved in the evaluation or decision of manuscripts
  
  Disclosure Obligations

• Annual COI disclosure by each editor (maintained in the journal’s internal records).

• Per-manuscript disclosure: before taking on a submission, the editor must confirm the absence of COI or describe any existing COI.

• Immediate updates if COI status changes during processing.
  
  Recusal (Abstention)

Editors must refrain from handling manuscripts when:
a) they are a coauthor, a recent collaborator (past 3 years), or a colleague within the same unit;
b) a close personal relationship exists with any author;
c) there is shared funding or a direct/indirect financial interest;
d) there is an academic rivalry, ongoing dispute, or any circumstance compromising impartiality.

In such cases, the manuscript will be reassigned to an editor without COI. If no internal editor is available, an external guest editor will be appointed.

Manuscripts Authored by Editorial Team Members

When an editorial team member is an author, the manuscript will be handled by an independent editor and reviewed by at least two external reviewers under a double-blind process. The author-editor will not have access to the decision. A transparency note will be published with the article.

Decision Criteria

Editorial decisions will be based solely on scholarly merit, methodological quality, and relevance to the field, with no privileges accorded due to editorial position, sponsorship, or affiliation.

Management of Undeclared COI

• Reassignment of the manuscript and, where appropriate, review of the decision;

• Issuance of an editorial transparency note when pertinent;

• In severe or persistent cases, removal from editorial duties in accordance with internal regulations.
  
  Transparency and Record-Keeping

• Publication of this policy on the journal’s website;

• Maintenance by the Editorial Office of internal records of disclosures and recusals;

• An internal annual compliance and improvement report.
  
  Links to Related Policies

• Ethics and Best-Practice Statement

• Retractions, Corrections, and Expressions of Concern Policy

• General Conflict of Interest Policy for Authors and Reviewers