Conflict of Interest Policy

Transparency & Editorial Integrity

Conflict of Interest Policy

Sinergi International Journal of Law requires full disclosure of any interests that may affect legal research, peer review, or editorial decisions.

The journal follows the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the DOAJ Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing. Authors, reviewers, editors, and Editorial Board members must disclose any actual or potential financial or non-financial conflict of interest that could affect the integrity, interpretation, review, or publication of legal scholarship.

1. What Constitutes a Conflict of Interest?

A conflict of interest is any relationship or interest that could reasonably be perceived as affecting the impartiality, objectivity, credibility, or integrity of legal research, peer review, or editorial decisions.

Financial: research funding, sponsorship, honoraria, consultancy, employment, retainers, paid expert-witness activity, legal advisory work, ownership interests, commercial relationships, or other financial arrangements. Non-Financial: personal relationships, institutional affiliations, academic rivalry, professional collaboration, ideological or policy interests, supervisory relationships, involvement in related litigation or legal proceedings, or editorial responsibilities.
Important: The existence of a conflict does not automatically imply misconduct, bias, or invalid scholarship, but it must be disclosed transparently so that the journal can evaluate and manage it appropriately.

2. Responsibilities

Authors
  • Disclose all relevant financial and non-financial interests related to the submitted legal research.
  • Declare funding, sponsorship, consultancy, legal representation, expert-witness roles, institutional relationships, policy advocacy, or commercial interests that could reasonably influence the study.
  • Clearly disclose any relationship with organizations, institutions, government bodies, law firms, companies, or other parties whose interests may be affected by the article's analysis or conclusions.
  • Include a Conflict of Interest Statement in the manuscript.
  • After acceptance, upload the signed disclosure form through Production → Discussion.
If no conflict exists: “The authors declare no conflict of interest.”
Reviewers

Reviewers must disclose conflicts before accepting an invitation and must decline reviews where personal, professional, institutional, financial, legal, advocacy-related, or competing academic interests could affect impartiality. Reviewers should also avoid evaluating manuscripts involving authors, institutions, legal cases, policy matters, or organizations with which they have a significant relationship.

Editors & Editorial Board

Editors and Editorial Board members must disclose conflicts and recuse themselves from handling affected manuscripts. This includes manuscripts submitted by close collaborators, colleagues in circumstances creating a significant conflict, supervised researchers, parties involved in related legal disputes, or authors and organizations with whom the editor has a financial, professional, personal, or advocacy relationship. The manuscript will be reassigned to another qualified editor where necessary.

3. Evaluation & Management

Disclosed conflicts are reviewed confidentially by the Editorial Office. Appropriate actions may include:

✓ Reassigning editors or reviewers ✓ Requesting clarification or additional disclosure ✓ Publishing a disclosure note

Where appropriate, the Editorial Office may request additional information concerning legal representation, consultancy, funding, organizational affiliation, expert testimony, litigation involvement, policy advocacy, institutional relationships, or other interests relevant to the submitted work.

If an undisclosed conflict is discovered after publication, corrective action may include a correction, expression of concern, or retraction, depending on the seriousness of the case and its effect on the integrity of the published legal scholarship.

4. Transparency & Editorial Independence

Conflict of Interest Statements are published with the article. When no conflict is declared, the published article may state: “No conflicts of interest were declared.”

Authors should clearly distinguish scholarly legal analysis from the interests of funders, sponsors, clients, law firms, companies, government bodies, advocacy organizations, professional associations, or other parties associated with the research. Any role of these parties in study design, data collection, legal analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or publication decisions must be disclosed transparently.

The Editorial Board and Yayasan Sinergi Kawula Muda maintain editorial independence. Advertising, sponsorship, funding, institutional relationships, legal-service arrangements, advocacy relationships, or other commercial and non-commercial interests do not influence editorial decisions or article content.

Ethical Guidance & Disclosure Form

This policy is aligned with international principles of transparency and ethical publishing, including guidance from COPE and the DOAJ Principles of Transparency.

↓ Download Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form