Conflicts of Interest and Competing Interests Policy

The journal is committed to ensuring transparency, objectivity and independence in scholarly publishing. All authors, reviewers and editors are required to disclose any conflicts of interest or competing interests that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, the research, peer-review process or editorial decisions.

Authors

Authors must disclose all relevant financial and non-financial competing interests at the time of manuscript submission.

These may include employment relationships, consultancy arrangements, research funding, financial investments, personal relationships, professional affiliations or other circumstances that may influence the interpretation or presentation of research findings.

Where competing interests exist, authors must provide a clear statement describing their nature.

Reviewers

Reviewers must disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest before accepting a review invitation.

Reviewers should decline assignments where personal, professional, financial or institutional relationships could compromise their independence or impartiality.

Reviewers must not use confidential manuscript information for personal or professional advantage.

Editors

Editors and editorial board members must disclose any conflicts of interest that could affect their editorial responsibilities.

Editors must not participate in editorial decisions concerning manuscripts in which they have a personal, professional, financial or institutional interest.

Such manuscripts will be assigned to an independent editor to ensure impartial evaluation.

Management of Competing Interests

The journal will assess disclosed competing interests and take appropriate measures to minimise potential bias.

These measures may include appointing independent reviewers, transferring editorial responsibility or requesting additional disclosures.

Disclosure of a competing interest does not automatically disqualify a manuscript from consideration. However, failure to disclose relevant competing interests may result in rejection, correction or retraction, depending on the circumstances.

The journal follows COPE principles in managing conflicts of interest and competing interests.