Conflict of Interest

CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY

Al-Maqasid: Jurnal Ilmu Kesyariahan dan Keperdataan is committed to maintaining transparency, objectivity, impartiality, and academic integrity throughout all stages of scholarly research, manuscript evaluation, peer review, editorial decision-making, and publication.

The journal requires all authors, peer reviewers, editors, editorial board members, and journal management personnel to disclose any financial, professional, personal, academic, institutional, or other relationships that may influence, or could reasonably be perceived as influencing, their professional judgment, scholarly assessments, or editorial decisions.

This policy aims to safeguard the credibility of published research, promote ethical scholarly communication, and maintain public confidence in the integrity and independence of the journal's publication process.

A. Definition of Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest arises when an individual's financial, personal, professional, academic, ideological, or institutional interests have the potential to improperly influence their responsibilities in conducting, evaluating, reviewing, editing, or publishing scholarly research.

Conflicts of interest may be actual, potential, or perceived. Such conflicts may compromise, or create a reasonable perception of compromising, the independence, impartiality, or credibility of scholarly judgments and editorial decisions.

The existence of a conflict of interest does not necessarily constitute research or publication misconduct. However, failure to disclose relevant competing interests, or deliberate concealment of such interests, may undermine transparency and constitute a violation of the journal's publication ethics policy.

B. Types of Conflicts of Interest

Conflicts of interest may include, but are not limited to, the following categories:

  1. Financial Conflicts of Interest: Employment relationships, consultancy arrangements, honoraria, stock ownership, royalties, research grants, financial sponsorship, or other financial benefits directly or indirectly associated with the submitted manuscript or its research findings.

  2. Personal Conflicts of Interest: Family relationships, close personal friendships, personal disputes, or other interpersonal relationships involving authors, reviewers, editors, or individuals associated with the publication process.

  3. Academic and Professional Conflicts of Interest: Recent research collaborations, supervisory or student relationships, professional partnerships, academic competition, or other professional associations that may interfere with independent scholarly evaluation.

  4. Institutional Conflicts of Interest: Affiliations or relationships with universities, research institutions, government agencies, legal organizations, religious institutions, foundations, or other entities that may benefit directly or indirectly from the research findings or publication outcomes. Such conflicts may also arise when authors, reviewers, or editors are affiliated with the journal's publishing institution.

  5. Ideological, Religious, and Intellectual Conflicts of Interest: Strong commitments to particular ideological perspectives, religious interpretations, jurisprudential schools, legal doctrines, or intellectual positions that could compromise the impartial assessment of scholarly research, particularly in the fields of Islamic law, Sharia studies, civil law, and related legal disciplines.

These categories are not exhaustive. Any relationship, affiliation, commitment, or competing interest that could reasonably be perceived as affecting professional judgment or editorial independence must be appropriately disclosed.

C. Responsibilities of Authors

All authors submitting manuscripts to Al-Maqasid: Jurnal Ilmu Kesyariahan dan Keperdataan are required to:

  1. Disclose all actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest at the time of manuscript submission, including relevant financial and non-financial competing interests.

  2. Identify all sources of research funding and, where applicable, explain the role of funding organizations or sponsors in the research design, data collection, data analysis, interpretation of findings, manuscript preparation, and publication decisions.

  3. Ensure that all contributing authors have reviewed, acknowledged, and approved the conflict of interest declaration. The corresponding author is responsible for coordinating and submitting the declaration on behalf of all co-authors.

  4. Promptly inform the editorial office of any new or previously undisclosed conflicts of interest that arise or become apparent during manuscript evaluation, peer review, revision, or publication.

  5. Provide accurate, complete, and transparent information regarding relevant competing interests and cooperate with any editorial requests for clarification or additional documentation.

D. Responsibilities of Peer Reviewers

Peer reviewers play a critical role in ensuring the scientific credibility, independence, and integrity of the journal's evaluation process.

Accordingly, reviewers are required to:

  1. Disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest before accepting a manuscript review assignment.

  2. Decline or withdraw from reviewing manuscripts when financial, personal, professional, academic, or institutional relationships may compromise their ability to provide an objective and impartial evaluation.

  3. Inform the editor of any conflicts arising from recent collaborations, close personal relationships, academic supervisory relationships, institutional affiliations, or direct professional competition involving the authors.

  4. Maintain strict confidentiality regarding manuscripts, research data, unpublished findings, and other information obtained during the peer review process.

  5. Refrain from using privileged or unpublished information acquired through peer review for personal advantage, professional advancement, financial benefit, or competitive purposes.

Reviewers who become aware of a conflict of interest during the review process must immediately notify the handling editor.

E. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors and editorial board members are responsible for ensuring that all editorial decisions are made independently, transparently, and in accordance with established standards of scholarly publishing.

Editors must:

  1. Make editorial decisions objectively and independently based on the manuscript's scholarly quality, originality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, and relevance to the journal's aims and scope.

  2. Disclose any personal, professional, financial, academic, or institutional relationships that could compromise their impartiality when handling a particular manuscript.

  3. Recuse themselves from editorial responsibilities involving manuscripts authored by themselves, close colleagues, family members, recent collaborators, or other individuals with whom they have significant competing interests.

  4. Ensure that manuscripts presenting potential editorial conflicts of interest are reassigned to appropriately qualified and independent editors or editorial board members.

  5. Maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and refrain from using privileged editorial information for personal, financial, professional, or institutional benefit.

  6. Prevent commercial, political, religious, institutional, or other external pressures from improperly influencing editorial evaluations and publication decisions.

Manuscripts submitted by editors or individuals affiliated with the journal's publishing institution must undergo independent editorial assessment and peer review, with appropriate safeguards against conflicts of interest.

F. Conflict of Interest Disclosure Statement

All authors are required to include a Conflict of Interest Statement in their submitted manuscripts. This declaration must accurately reflect any relevant financial or non-financial competing interests associated with the research and its publication.

Authors may use the following statements, as applicable:

1. Declaration of No Conflict of Interest

"The authors declare that they have no known financial or non-financial conflicts of interest that could have influenced, or could reasonably be perceived as influencing, the research, analysis, interpretation, or publication of this article."

2. Declaration of Existing Conflicts of Interest

"The authors disclose the following potential conflicts of interest: [provide a clear description of the relevant financial or non-financial interests]. The role of the affiliated institution, funding organization, or research sponsor in the design, implementation, analysis, interpretation, and preparation of this manuscript was as follows: [provide details, where applicable]."

All disclosures must be truthful, complete, and consistent with the actual circumstances surrounding the research.

Authors must not declare the absence of conflicts of interest when relevant competing interests exist.

G. Management of Conflicts of Interest

Al-Maqasid: Jurnal Ilmu Kesyariahan dan Keperdataan evaluates disclosed conflicts of interest on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration their nature, significance, potential influence, and implications for research integrity and editorial independence.

Depending on the circumstances, the editorial team may implement one or more of the following measures:

  1. Request for Clarification: Request additional explanations, supporting documents, or further disclosure from authors, reviewers, editors, or other relevant parties.

  2. Independent Editorial Assignment: Reassign manuscripts to editors or reviewers who are free from relevant conflicts of interest.

  3. Transparent Disclosure: Publish an appropriate conflict of interest statement alongside the final article to ensure transparency for readers and the wider scholarly community.

  4. Additional Editorial Assessment: Conduct further evaluation where the disclosed conflict raises concerns regarding the independence, reliability, or credibility of the research or editorial process.

  5. Corrective or Disciplinary Editorial Measures: Implement proportionate editorial actions when significant conflicts of interest have been deliberately concealed, misrepresented, or inadequately disclosed.

The disclosure of a conflict of interest does not automatically result in manuscript rejection. The journal seeks to manage such conflicts transparently and fairly while maintaining the integrity of its editorial processes.

H. Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest

If an undisclosed conflict of interest is identified during manuscript evaluation or after publication, the journal will undertake an appropriate assessment of the circumstances.

The editorial team may request written explanations, supporting documentation, or clarification from the authors or other individuals concerned.

Depending on the findings and the potential implications for research integrity, the journal may:

  1. Require the submission of an updated conflict of interest declaration.

  2. Reassess relevant editorial or peer review decisions.

  3. Publish a correction or editorial notice to ensure transparency.

  4. Conduct an additional investigation into the reliability of the research or the integrity of the publication process.

  5. Implement further editorial measures in accordance with the journal's Correction and Retraction Policy and Allegations of Research Misconduct Policy.

Serious cases involving deliberate concealment, misrepresentation, or unethical conduct may be referred to the relevant institutions or authorities when appropriate and consistent with applicable ethical procedures.

Any corrective action will be determined based on the available evidence, the seriousness of the conflict, and its potential consequences for the reliability and integrity of the published scholarly record.

I. Compliance with Publication Ethics

All authors, peer reviewers, editors, editorial board members, and journal management personnel are expected to comply fully with this policy and disclose relevant competing interests accurately, transparently, and in a timely manner.

Al-Maqasid: Jurnal Ilmu Kesyariahan dan Keperdataan manages conflicts of interest in accordance with internationally recognized principles of publication ethics, particularly those established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

The journal is committed to ensuring that scholarly publications in Islamic law, Sharia studies, civil law, and related disciplines are evaluated and disseminated through fair, independent, transparent, and ethically responsible editorial procedures.