Conflict of Interest

Definition

A conflict of interest is a circumstance outside the research that could reasonably be perceived as affecting the neutrality or objectivity of the research, its review, editorial decisions, or publication. Conflicts must be disclosed whether or not they have had any influence. Disclosure does not automatically mean the manuscript will be rejected.

  • Financial: Funding, honoraria, shares, or goods and services from a party with an interest in the results.

  • Affiliation: Employment by, advisory roles with, or membership in an organization with an interest in the results.

  • Intellectual property: Patents, copyrights, or trademarks related to the work.

  • Personal: Family relationships, friendships, or personal closeness.

  • Academic: Competition, recent collaboration or joint publication, a supervisor-student relationship, or a party whose work is criticized.

  • Ideological: Beliefs or activism relevant to the work.

Author obligations

  1. Every manuscript includes a Declaration of Competing Interest, including a statement that there is no conflict if none exists.

  2. All sources of funding, sponsors, and material support are stated, together with the role of the funder (if any) in study design, data collection and analysis, writing, and the decision to publish.

  3. The corresponding author ensures that all co-authors disclose their interests.

Reviewer obligations

Reviewers disclose conflicts and decline or stop the review if they: have collaborated or are collaborating with the author, or have a joint publication with the author (within the last 3 years); are affiliated with the same institution as the author; have a close personal relationship with the author; have a financial interest in the subject of the research; are a direct competitor; or feel unable to be objective. Reviewers do not use information or ideas from the manuscript for personal gain.

Editor and editorial board obligations

  1. Editors and editorial board members complete a declaration of interests upon appointment and update it every year.

  2. An editor with a conflict does not handle the manuscript; it is reassigned to another editor.

  3. Manuscripts written by editors, editorial board members, or UJC management staff are handled by an independent editor who is not under the authority of that author; the identity of the party concerned is not known to the reviewers, and that person takes no part in the decision. If the Editor-in-Chief has a conflict, the manuscript is managed by an independent editorial board member.

  4. Editors do not use unpublished material from a manuscript in their own research without the authors' written consent.

Publisher interests and funding

The publisher does not influence editorial decisions. Sponsorship, fees, and commercial considerations (if any) are not a basis for decisions.