Conflict of Interest Policy

  1. Definition of Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest (also known as competing interest) arises when personal, financial, academic, professional, or institutional relationships influence—or could reasonably be perceived as influencing—the objectivity, neutrality, and integrity of the editorial decision-making, peer review, or research presentation. Conflicts of interest can be actual, potential, or perceived, and may involve financial or non-financial relationships.

  1. Author Responsibilities

Authors must transparently disclose all financial, professional, or personal connections that might create or appear to create a conflict of interest regarding their submitted manuscript.

  • Financial Disclosures: Authors must declare all sources of funding, research grants, institutional support, honoraria, consulting fees, employment, or other financial benefits related to the research.
  • Non-Financial Disclosures: Authors must disclose personal, academic, or professional relationships, advisory board positions, or affiliations with institutions/organizations (including Islamic financial institutions, regulatory bodies, or research agencies) that could influence the study's interpretation or reporting.
  • Conflict Statement: Authors must include a formal disclosure statement in their manuscript before the References section. If no conflicts exist, the following statement must be used:

"The author(s) declare(s) that there are no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper."

  1. Reviewer Responsibilities

Peer reviewers play a crucial role in safeguarding publication integrity and must act with strict impartiality.

  • Recusal: Reviewers must decline an invitation to review a manuscript if they have an actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest. This includes recent collaborations, co-authorships within the past three years, direct academic competition, or personal/professional connections with any of the authors.
  • Institutional & Financial Ties: Reviewers must decline the assignment if they share the same institutional affiliation or have financial or personal stakes tied to the outcomes of the manuscript under review.
  • Notification: Reviewers are required to consult the Managing Editor immediately if they become aware of any hidden conflict of interest during the review process.
  1. Editor and Editorial Board Responsibilities

To ensure an unbiased and transparent evaluation process, members of the Editorial Board are held to high ethical standards:

  • Editorial Recusal: Editors, Managing Editors, and Editorial Board members must recuse themselves from handling, reviewing, or making final editorial decisions on manuscripts authored by themselves, family members, current colleagues, or researchers from their home institution. In such instances, the manuscript will be assigned to an independent editor.
  • Submissions by Board Members: If an Editorial Board member submits a manuscript to Iqtishadia, the peer-review process will be managed independently by an external or non-conflicted editor, and the author-board member will have no access to the review logs or editorial decision interface.
  • Confidentiality & Fair Use: Editors are strictly prohibited from using unpublished data, concepts, or arguments from submitted manuscripts for their own research or personal gain.
  1. Management of Undisclosed Conflicts

Iqtishadia strictly adheres to the flowcharts and guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) in managing allegations of undisclosed conflicts of interest.

  • During Review: If an undisclosed conflict is identified during the peer-review phase, the review process will be suspended until the editorial team receives a satisfactory explanation from the authors. Unjustified or bad-faith omissions may result in immediate manuscript rejection.
  • Post-Publication: If a conflict of interest is discovered after publication, the editorial board will investigate the matter. Depending on the severity and impact on the study's scientific validity, Iqtishadia may issue a formal Correction Notice, publish an Expression of Concern, or, in severe cases involving compromised integrity, execute a Retraction of the article.