Conflict of Interest

Jurnal Mediasas: Media Ilmu Syariah dan Ahwal Al-Syakhsiyyah is committed to maintaining transparency, objectivity, independence, and integrity in research, peer review, and scholarly publication. Authors, reviewers, and editors are required to disclose any financial, professional, academic, personal, or institutional relationships that may influence, or may reasonably be perceived to influence, the assessment, interpretation, or editorial decisions concerning a manuscript.

This policy applies to all manuscripts submitted to or published by the journal, including research articles, review articles, scholarly reviews, and academic commentaries in the fields of law, Islamic law, Islamic family law, customary law, Sharia economic law, Islamic constitutional law, Islamic criminal law, marriage and gender issues, and multidisciplinary studies consistent with the journal’s focus and scope.

1. Definition of Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest occurs when personal, financial, professional, academic, or institutional interests may influence an individual’s responsibilities in conducting research, writing, reviewing, editing, or publishing scholarly work.

A conflict of interest does not necessarily indicate ethical misconduct. However, an undisclosed conflict may undermine the transparency, objectivity, and credibility of the publication process. Therefore, all parties involved in scholarly publication are required to disclose relevant conflicts of interest so that they can be appropriately assessed and managed.

2. Types of Conflicts of Interest

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

Financial interests: Employment, consultancy, honoraria, share ownership, patents, royalties, research funding, or other financial benefits related to the research or publication.
Personal relationships: Family relationships, close friendships, personal disputes, or other relationships that may compromise impartial judgment.
Professional or academic interests: Research collaboration, supervisory relationships, academic competition, professional relationships, or institutional affiliations that may influence an assessment.
Institutional interests: Relationships with universities, research institutions, organizations, government agencies, judicial institutions, religious institutions, companies, or other parties that may benefit from the research findings or publication.
Advocacy-related interests or positions: Involvement in organizations, movements, or advocacy activities directly related to the subject discussed in a manuscript, where such involvement may influence scholarly assessment or interpretation.
Editorial conflicts: Relationships between an editor or reviewer and an author, the author’s institution, a party or institution examined in the research, or the subject matter of the manuscript that may compromise independent and objective assessment.

This list is not exhaustive. Any relationship or interest that could reasonably be perceived as influencing professional judgment should be disclosed.

Differences of opinion concerning theories, methods, schools of thought, legal interpretations, or academic perspectives do not, by themselves, constitute conflicts of interest. However, any relevant relationship or interest that may affect the objectivity of an assessment must still be disclosed.

3. Responsibilities of Authors

All authors must disclose actual, potential, or reasonably perceived conflicts of interest relevant to their manuscripts at the time of submission.

Authors are responsible for:

Declaring financial and non-financial interests related to the manuscript.
Disclosing research funding sources, where applicable, and explaining the funders’ roles in research design, data collection and analysis, interpretation of findings, manuscript preparation, and the decision to publish the results.
Ensuring that all co-authors are aware of and agree with the conflict-of-interest statement submitted.
Providing accurate and complete declarations in the manuscript and the journal’s submission system.
Informing the editorial office if a relevant conflict of interest arises or is discovered after submission.

The corresponding author is responsible for coordinating the collection and submission of conflict-of-interest declarations from all co-authors.

4. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers must disclose actual, potential, or reasonably perceived conflicts of interest before accepting or undertaking a peer-review assignment.

Reviewers should decline an assignment if a conflict of interest could compromise, or could reasonably be perceived to compromise, their objectivity. Relevant circumstances may include recent research collaboration with an author, close personal relationships, professional or academic competition, financial interests, or institutional relationships relevant to the manuscript.

Reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of manuscripts and must not use unpublished information obtained during peer review for personal, professional, academic, or financial benefit.

5. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors must make editorial decisions objectively and independently, taking into account academic quality, originality, the methodology or analytical approach employed, relevance to the journal’s focus and scope, and compliance with publication ethics.

Editors must disclose relevant conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from handling a manuscript whenever their objectivity may be compromised. In such cases, the manuscript must be assigned to an independent editor or another suitably qualified member of the editorial team.

Editors must not use confidential information obtained through their editorial duties for personal benefit or allow commercial, personal, academic, or institutional interests to improperly influence publication decisions.

6. Conflict-of-Interest Statements in Manuscripts

Authors must include a conflict-of-interest statement in their submitted manuscripts. If no relevant conflict of interest exists, authors may use the following statement:

No Conflict of Interest

“The authors declare that they have no known financial or non-financial conflicts of interest that could influence the research, analysis, interpretation, or preparation of this manuscript.”

If a conflict of interest exists, authors must clearly describe its nature and the parties involved, where relevant. An example statement is provided below:

Conflict of Interest Disclosed

“The authors declare the following conflict of interest: [describe the relevant financial or non-financial interest]. The role of the relevant parties, institutions, or funders in conducting the research and preparing the manuscript is described as follows: [provide details where applicable].”

The statement must accurately reflect the circumstances. Authors must not use the “No Conflict of Interest” declaration if a relevant conflict exists.

7. Management of Conflicts of Interest

The journal will assess disclosed conflicts of interest and determine whether additional measures are necessary to safeguard the integrity of the editorial process.

Depending on the circumstances, measures may include:

Requesting additional information or clarification from the relevant parties.
Reassigning the manuscript to an independent editor or reviewer.
Requesting additional conflict-of-interest information for inclusion in the manuscript or published article.
Implementing safeguards to maintain an independent and objective peer-review process.
Taking appropriate editorial action when a material conflict of interest has been deliberately concealed or inaccurately reported.

Decisions will be made proportionately, taking into account the nature of the conflict, its relevance to the manuscript, and its potential impact on publication integrity.

8. Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest

If a previously undisclosed conflict of interest is identified after manuscript submission or publication, the journal may request explanations and supporting information from the authors or other relevant parties.

Based on its assessment, the journal may request clarification or a correction, issue an appropriate editorial notice, reconsider an editorial decision, or take other action in accordance with its publication ethics policies.

If the case also involves suspected research or publication misconduct, it will be handled in accordance with the journal’s policy on allegations of research misconduct and publication integrity.

9. Compliance with This Policy

All authors, reviewers, and editors are expected to comply with this policy and disclose relevant conflicts of interest promptly, accurately, and transparently.

Jurnal Mediasas: Media Ilmu Syariah dan Ahwal Al-Syakhsiyyah addresses conflicts of interest with reference to scholarly publication ethics principles and relevant guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

This policy should be read in conjunction with the journal’s policies on publication ethics, authorship, peer review, research funding, and allegations of research misconduct.