Conflict of Interest Policy

1. Policy Statement

A conflict of interest exists when financial, professional, personal, institutional, academic, political, or other relationships could influence, or reasonably appear to influence, an individual's objectivity, judgment, or responsibilities during the publication process.

The existence of a conflict of interest does not necessarily prevent publication or participation in peer review. However, all relevant competing interests must be disclosed so they can be appropriately evaluated and managed.

2. Scope

This policy applies to all individuals involved in the publication process, including authors, corresponding authors, reviewers, editors, editorial board members, guest editors, and the publisher.

3. Types of Conflicts of Interest

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

• Financial interests or funding;
• Employment or consultancy relationships;
• Stock ownership or investment interests;
• Patent applications or intellectual property rights;
• Paid expert testimony;
• Personal or family relationships;
• Academic competition or collaboration;
• Institutional affiliations;
• Political or ideological interests;
• Any circumstance that could reasonably influence impartial judgment.

4. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors must disclose all financial and non-financial competing interests that may reasonably be perceived as influencing the preparation, interpretation, or presentation of the research.

Sources of funding, sponsorship, grants, institutional support, commercial involvement, advisory roles, employment, consultancies, patents, equity interests, or other relevant relationships must be declared during submission.

If no competing interests exist, authors should state that they have no conflicts of interest to declare.

5. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers must decline a review invitation if they have any conflict of interest that could compromise, or reasonably appear to compromise, their ability to provide an objective and unbiased assessment.

Examples include recent collaboration with the authors, employment within the same department, personal relationships, financial interests, competitive research activities, or any circumstance affecting impartiality.

Reviewers who become aware of a potential conflict after accepting a review invitation should notify the editor immediately.

6. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors must evaluate manuscripts objectively and independently. Editors should not handle manuscripts where a conflict of interest exists or could reasonably be perceived to exist.

Where appropriate, manuscripts should be reassigned to another editor with no competing interests.

Editorial decisions must be based solely on the scholarly merit, originality, scientific quality, ethical compliance, and relevance of the manuscript to the journal.

7. Editorial Board Members and Guest Editors

Editorial board members and guest editors are expected to follow the same conflict of interest standards as editors.

They must disclose competing interests before participating in editorial decisions and must not influence editorial outcomes where impartiality may reasonably be questioned.

8. Responsibilities of the Publisher

Impaxon is committed to maintaining an independent, transparent, and ethical publication process. The publisher does not interfere with editorial decisions and does not allow commercial, financial, or personal interests to influence the acceptance or rejection of manuscripts.

Where conflicts of interest are identified, Impaxon will take reasonable steps to ensure that they are appropriately managed in accordance with recognised publication ethics guidance and this policy.

9. Management of Conflicts of Interest

When a conflict of interest is disclosed, the journal may determine that no further action is necessary or may implement measures to protect the integrity of the editorial process.

Depending on the circumstances, management measures may include assigning an alternative editor or reviewer, requesting additional disclosures, obtaining independent review, publishing a conflict of interest statement, or taking other appropriate editorial action.

10. Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest

Failure to disclose a relevant conflict of interest may constitute a breach of publication ethics. If an undisclosed competing interest is identified before publication, Impaxon may request clarification, require additional disclosure, suspend editorial consideration, or reject the manuscript where appropriate.

If an undisclosed conflict is discovered after publication, Impaxon may investigate the matter and take appropriate action to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

11. Post-Publication Actions

Where an undisclosed conflict of interest is confirmed after publication, the journal may publish a correction, editorial notice, expression of concern, or retraction where necessary, depending on the nature and impact of the omission.

Decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the available evidence, the seriousness of the issue, and recognised publication ethics principles.

12. Conflict of Interest Statements

Published articles should include a conflict of interest statement provided by the authors. Where no competing interests exist, an appropriate statement indicating that no conflicts of interest have been declared may be included.

Funding information, acknowledgements, and author contribution statements should be consistent with the declared competing interests.

13. Changes to this Policy

Impaxon may revise this policy periodically to reflect developments in publication ethics, research integrity guidance, international standards, and editorial best practices.