Publication ethics and conflicts of interest

Originality and similarity screening

The journal accepts original work that is unpublished and not submitted simultaneously elsewhere. Plagiarism, undisclosed or unapproved recycling of research, falsification and fabrication are prohibited.

The document specifies Turnitin screening for all articles on receipt and before final acceptance. After exclusions, the indicative thresholds are 15% overall and 5% from any individual source.

Interpreting similarity reports

Exclusions cover reference lists, documented quotations in quotation marks, common methodological phrases and verbatim legal texts with source acknowledgement.

The document allows reasonable editorial flexibility for legal studies requiring lengthy, properly referenced legislative quotations; the percentage alone is not an automatic decision.

Authorship, citation and permissions

Authors document sources and legal texts accurately, obtain the consent of all substantial contributors to the final version and submission, and order names according to scholarly contribution.

Work must not be submitted to more than one journal at a time. Before submitting elsewhere, authors formally withdraw it and await confirmation of withdrawal or a rejection decision.

Privacy, human and animal rights are respected where applicable, and necessary ethical approvals are obtained. Valid permission is required for third-party tables, images or figures.

Conflicts of interest and editorial responsibility

Reviewers notify the managing editor if unable to review, affected by a conflict of interest or lacking subject suitability. They keep the manuscript and report confidential and do not use them for personal benefit.

Editors select suitable reviewers, investigate unusual similarity and make decisions on scholarly grounds.

Handling a suspected breach

The corresponding author receives an editorial comment on the report and is given 7 days to clarify or revise, followed by a further check.

Where plagiarism, simultaneous submission or falsification is established, the document provides for rejection, or retraction after publication if the breach is discovered later, with correction or notice where needed.

Data and supporting tools

Methods are described to enable verification and replication as far as possible, while respecting confidentiality and legal restrictions. Where feasible and compatible with privacy, data, appendices or code may be deposited or supplied on request.

Authors remain fully responsible for their content when using supporting tools for language checking and organisation.