Conflicts of Interest / Competing Interests Policy
Legal Research & Analysis (Leg. Res. Anal.) requires everyone involved in the publication process to disclose any conflicts of interest, so that the journal remains objective and trustworthy. The journal follows the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Having a conflict of interest does not by itself make a submission or a review unacceptable. Failing to disclose one may.
Authors
- At submission, authors must declare all potential conflicts of interest on the title page, or state that none exist.
- Authors must also disclose all sources of funding for the research and the role, if any, of funders in the work.
- Conflict-of-interest (if any) and funding statements (if any) are published with accepted articles.
- If a conflict arises or is identified after submission, authors must inform the editorial office promptly.
Reviewers
- Reviewers must declare any potential conflict of interest to the Editor before accepting an invitation, or as soon as they become aware of it.
- Reviewers should decline the invitation if a conflict could impair their impartiality, for example if they recognise the authors, are close collaborators or competitors, or work at the same institution.
- Reviewers must not use information from the manuscript for personal or professional advantage.
Editors and Editorial Board Members
- Editors and Editorial Board members must disclose their potential conflicts of interest to the journal annually and whenever new conflicts arise.
- An editor must not handle a manuscript in which they have a conflict of interest. The manuscript is instead assigned to another editor or Editorial Board member with no conflict.
- Submissions from editors and Editorial Board members are handled entirely by an independent editor, and the authoring editor is excluded from all stages of review and decision-making. Such submissions go through the same double-blind peer review as all other manuscripts. The resulting article states that the author is a member of the journal’s editorial team and was not involved in its handling.
Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest
Where an undisclosed conflict of interest comes to light, the journal will investigate in accordance with COPE guidance. Depending on the stage and seriousness of the case, outcomes may include rejection of the manuscript, publication of a correction, an expression of concern, or retraction of the article, as set out in the journal’s R-W-C-R-R Policy.
