The International Journal of Law and Business Studies (IJLBS) expects authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher to follow responsible research and publication practices. The journal draws on the guidance and core practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) when addressing ethical concerns.

This policy applies to submitted manuscripts and published articles.

1. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of their work. Manuscripts must present research honestly and acknowledge the sources of ideas, arguments, quotations, data, and other material.

Authors must ensure that the manuscript is not under consideration by another journal at the same time. Previous publication or substantial overlap with another work must be disclosed to the editor.

All authors must approve the submitted manuscript and agree to its publication. The corresponding author is responsible for communication with the journal and for keeping co-authors informed of revisions and publication decisions.

Authors must promptly inform the journal if they discover a significant error in their submitted or published work.

2. Authorship and Contribution

Authorship must reflect substantial scholarly contributions to the conception, design, execution, analysis, or interpretation of the research. Authors must approve the final manuscript and accept responsibility for their contributions.

Individuals who provided assistance but do not qualify for authorship should be acknowledged appropriately. Gift, honorary, and guest authorship are unacceptable, as is the deliberate omission of a qualifying contributor.

Requests to add, remove, or rearrange authors during editorial consideration must be explained and supported by written agreement from all authors concerned. Such requests are subject to editorial assessment.

3. Originality and Plagiarism

Plagiarism, inappropriate paraphrasing, unattributed copying, and undisclosed substantial reuse of previously published material are unacceptable.

Similarity reports support editorial assessment but do not, by themselves, establish whether plagiarism has occurred. The source, extent, context, and attribution of matched material must also be considered.

Screening requirements and plagiarism-related action are explained in the journal’s Plagiarism Policy.

4. Research Integrity and Supporting Evidence

Fabrication, falsification, deceptive alteration of images or records, and selective reporting intended to misrepresent findings are prohibited.

Methods, sources, and supporting evidence must be described sufficiently clearly to allow scholarly assessment. Authors should retain relevant research records and provide supporting information when reasonably requested for editorial assessment or investigation.

Requests for data or documentation will take account of legitimate legal, ethical, privacy, and confidentiality restrictions.

5. Ethical Oversight and Research Participants

Research involving human participants, surveys, interviews, personal information, or sensitive records must follow applicable institutional and disciplinary ethical requirements.

Where formal ethics approval is required, authors must obtain it before conducting the research and report the relevant approval details in the manuscript. Informed consent must be obtained where required.

Authors must protect participants’ privacy and confidentiality. Identifiable personal information must not be published without appropriate consent or another lawful and ethically justified basis.

6. Conflicts of Interest and Funding

Authors, editors, and reviewers must disclose interests or relationships that could reasonably affect, or appear to affect, their judgement. These may be financial, professional, institutional, academic, or personal.

Authors must identify relevant funding and institutional support and disclose any role of the funder in the research or preparation of the manuscript. A disclosed conflict does not automatically prevent publication, but it must be assessed and managed appropriately.

7. Use of Artificial Intelligence

Authors remain responsible for the accuracy, originality, references, and integrity of all submitted content, including material prepared with AI assistance.

AI tools cannot be listed as authors. Authors must acknowledge AI assistance in accordance with the Author Guidelines and explain its purpose where relevant. AI-generated statements and references must be independently verified.

Editors and reviewers must protect manuscript confidentiality and must not upload unpublished manuscripts or confidential review material to public generative-AI services.

8. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers must provide fair, constructive, and evidence-based assessments. They should accept assignments only where they have suitable expertise and can complete the review responsibly within the agreed time.

Reviewers must maintain confidentiality, avoid personal criticism, and disclose conflicts of interest. Unpublished ideas, information, or data obtained through review must not be used for personal or professional advantage.

Suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, unreliable data, or other ethical concerns must be reported to the editor.

9. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors must assess manuscripts on scholarly merit, originality, relevance, and compliance with journal policies. Decisions must not be influenced by irrelevant personal characteristics or affiliations.

Editors must protect confidentiality, select suitable independent reviewers, and assess ethical concerns fairly. An editor with a conflict of interest must withdraw from handling the affected manuscript.

Submissions by editors or editorial board members must be handled independently, without their involvement in reviewer selection or the publication decision. Review procedures are described in the journal’s Peer Review Process.

10. Responsibilities of the Publisher

The publisher must support editorial independence, appropriate investigation of ethical concerns, and maintenance of the published record.

Publication charges, advertising, sponsorship, or other commercial interests must not influence peer review or acceptance decisions. Payment does not guarantee publication.

11. Handling Misconduct and Post-Publication Concerns

Allegations will be assessed on the available evidence and will not be treated as proven misconduct without appropriate consideration. Authors will normally be informed of the concerns and given an opportunity to respond. Relevant documentation or clarification may be requested.

Depending on the findings, action may include rejection, a request for correction, an expression of concern, or retraction. Serious matters may be referred to the relevant institution or responsible body.

Published notices must explain the action taken and remain linked to the affected article. Retracted articles will ordinarily remain accessible and clearly marked to preserve the scholarly record.

12. Complaints and Appeals

Ethical concerns, complaints, and appeals may be sent to ijlbs.global@gmail.com. Correspondence should identify the manuscript or article, explain the concern, and provide relevant supporting evidence.

Where practicable, an appeal will be assessed by an editor who was not responsible for the original decision. Complaints involving the Editor-in-Chief will be referred to the publisher or another suitable person who is not directly involved.

An appeal will receive fair consideration but does not guarantee a change in the original decision.