Conflict of Interest Policy

Conflict of Interest Policy

The Review of Law and Social Sciences (RLSS) is committed to maintaining the integrity, transparency, and credibility of the scholarly record by requiring the disclosure of any conflicts of interest that may influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, the research, authorship, review, or publication of a manuscript.

A conflict of interest may arise from financial, professional, institutional, personal, or other relationships or affiliations that could affect an author’s objectivity, judgment, or interpretation of research findings. Such conflicts may include, but are not limited to, research funding, consultancy fees, employment, honoraria, stock ownership, paid expert testimony, reimbursement for travel or participation in related events, or any other connection with organizations or individuals that may benefit from the publication of the manuscript.

All authors are required to disclose any actual or potential conflict of interest at the time of manuscript submission. A conflict-of-interest statement must be included in the manuscript and will be published with the final article where applicable. If no conflict of interest exists, the author(s) must state: “The author(s) declare that there is no conflict of interest.”

Authors are further required to certify that:

• all sources of financial support for the research have been properly acknowledged;

• any financial, commercial, institutional, or personal relationship that may present a conflict of interest has been disclosed during submission;

• any uncertainty regarding a potential conflict of interest has been discussed with the Editor before acceptance of the manuscript;

• no agreement with any sponsor or funding body has restricted the authors’ right to publish the findings, whether positive or negative, without prior approval; and

• they have complied with the journal’s manuscript submission guidelines regarding declaration of conflicts of interest.

The conflict-of-interest declaration should appear at the end of the manuscript under the heading “Declaration of Conflicting Interests” or “Conflict of Interest Statement,” after the Acknowledgements (if any) and before the Funding Statement, Notes, and References.

The same principles of disclosure apply to editors, guest editors, and peer reviewers. Editors and reviewers must declare any conflict of interest that may affect their editorial decisions or the impartiality of the review process and must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where such conflicts exist.