Competing Interests / Conflict of Interest Policy

Competing Interests / Conflict of Interest Policy of TJEB

1. General Principles

TJEB is committed to transparency and integrity in scholarly publishing. All authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any competing interests that could influence, or could reasonably be perceived to influence, their judgement, objectivity, or responsibilities in relation to a manuscript or published article.

Competing interests may be financial or non-financial. Transparency in disclosure helps readers, reviewers, and editors assess the work fairly and strengthens trust in the scholarly record.

2. Definition of Competing Interests

A competing interest, also referred to as a conflict of interest, is any circumstance that may affect, or may reasonably be perceived to affect, the objectivity, integrity, or impartiality of an individual involved in the submission, review, editorial handling, or publication of a manuscript.

Competing interests may include, but are not limited to:

  • financial relationships, such as employment, consultancies, honoraria, grants, paid expert testimony, stock ownership, patent applications, licences, or other financial benefits;
  • personal relationships or personal disputes;
  • academic competition or strong intellectual disagreement;
  • institutional, political, or ideological commitments;
  • editorial or advisory roles in organisations that may benefit from the publication outcome.

3. Author Disclosure

All authors must disclose any competing interests relevant to the submitted work. The corresponding author is responsible for submitting a complete competing interests statement on behalf of all authors. If no competing interests exist, the authors must explicitly state that they have no competing interests to declare.

Author disclosures must be:

  • complete and accurate;
  • specific enough to permit appropriate assessment;
  • consistent with information provided in the submission materials and in any required declarations.

4. Reviewer Disclosure

Reviewers must declare any competing interests before agreeing to review a manuscript. A reviewer must decline the review invitation if the competing interest may impair, or may reasonably be perceived to impair, the reviewer's objectivity, fairness, or confidentiality. Examples may include:

  • close personal or professional relationships with any author;
  • direct academic competition;
  • collaborative relationships with the authors;
  • financial or institutional interests related to the manuscript.

In line with guidance from COPE (Ethical guidelines for peer reviewers), reviewers should disclose any potential competing interests before accepting a review.

5. Editor Disclosure

Editors, including the Editor-in-Chief (EIC), Editorial Board members, guest editors, and other editors involved in handling manuscripts, must disclose any competing interests relevant to the manuscripts they handle. An editor must not handle a manuscript if a competing interest exists. In such cases, the manuscript must be reassigned to another qualified editor.

This approach is consistent with guidance from COPE on competing interests and editor conflicts.

6. Non-Financial Competing Interests

TJEB recognises that competing interests are not limited to financial interests. Non-financial competing interests may include:

  • personal relationships or personal conflicts;
  • professional rivalry or close academic collaboration;
  • ideological, political, or religious commitments relevant to the subject matter;
  • institutional affiliations or leadership positions that may influence judgement;
  • strong intellectual positions that may affect impartial evaluation.

These interests must also be disclosed where relevant.

7. Disclosure

For submitted manuscripts, competing interests must be disclosed during submission and in the manuscript where required by the journal. For published articles, the competing interests statement must appear in the published article. If no competing interests exist, the statement should clearly indicate that none have been declared.

8. Handling of Disclosed Competing Interests

Disclosure of an existing competing interest does not automatically prevent submission, review, editorial handling, or publication. However, it must be assessed and managed appropriately. The measures may include:

  • publication of a disclosure statement;
  • reassignment of a reviewer or editor;
  • exclusion from handling or evaluating the manuscript;
  • further editorial assessment where necessary.

TJEB evaluates disclosed competing interests on a case-by-case basis in accordance with internationally recognised ethical standards, including guidance from COPE (Handling conflicts of interest).

9. Failure to Disclose

Failure to disclose a relevant competing interest may constitute a breach of publication ethics. Where undisclosed competing interests are identified, TJEB may take appropriate action, including:

  • requesting clarification or correction;
  • revisiting the editorial decision;
  • publishing a correction or other notice;
  • taking further action in accordance with the Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement and the Corrections, Retractions, Withdrawals, and Expressions of Concern Policy.

10. Compliance with Journal Policies

All participants in the publication process must comply with this policy together with related TJEB documents, including:

  • Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement
  • Peer Review Policy
  • Authorship and Contributorship Policy
  • Research Ethics / Ethical Oversight Policy
  • Guide for Authors
  • Reviewer Guidelines
  • Editor Guidelines / Editorial Procedures Manual