Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement
UAP Journal of Law and Policy is a peer-reviewed journal. This statement regulates ethical behaviour of
all parties involved in the act of publishing an article in it and is based on
the COPE’s Codes of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines (http://publicationethics.org/).
Originality and Plagiarism. Authors should ensure that they have written entirely original
works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others this must
be appropriately cited or quoted. Such quotations and citations must be listed
in the Reference at the end of the article.
Multiple Publications. An author should not in general publish manuscripts describing
essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication.
Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently
constitutes unethical publishing behaviour and is unacceptable.
Acknowledgement of Sources. Proper acknowledgment of the work of
others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have been
influential in determining the nature of the reported work.
Authorship of the Paper. Authorship should be limited to those
who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution,
or interpretation of the study, and should be listed as co-authors. Others, who
have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project,
should be acknowledged or listed as contributors.
Corresponding Author. Corresponding author is the author responsible for communicating
with the journal for publication. The corresponding author should ensure that
all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included on the
paper. All co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and
have agreed to its submission for publication.
Acknowledgment of Funding Sources. Sources of funding for the research
reported in the article should be duly acknowledged at the end of the article.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest. All authors should disclose in their
manuscript any financial or other substantive conflict of interest that might
be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript.
Fundamental Errors in Published Works. When an author discovers a significant
error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author’s
obligation to promptly notify the journal editors or publisher and cooperate
with the editor to retract or correct the paper.
Contribution of Peer Review. Peer review assists the editors in
making editorial decisions while editorial communications with the author may
also assist the author in improving the paper.
Unqualified to Review or Promptness. Any reviewer who feels unqualified to
review the assigned manuscript or unable to provide a prompt review should
notify the editors and excuse himself/herself from the review process.
Confidentiality. Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential
documents. They must not be shown to, or discussed with, others except as
authorized by the chief editors. Privileged information or ideas obtained
through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal
advantage.
Standards of Objectivity. Reviews should be conducted
objectively. There shall be no personal criticism of the author. Reviewers
should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.
Acknowledgement of Sources. Reviewers should identify relevant
published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement that had
been previously reported elsewhere should be accompanied by the relevant
citation. A reviewer should also call to the chief editor’s attention any
substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration
and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.
Conflict of Interest. Reviewers should decline to review manuscripts in which they have
conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other
relationships or connections with any of the authors.
Decision on the Publication of Articles. The editors of articles are
responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should
be published. The editors may be guided by the policies of the journal’s
editorial board subjected to such legal requirements regarding libel, copyright
infringement and plagiarism. The editors may consult with reviewers in making
this decision. Even in cases where peer reviews are positive, the editors may
decline to publish the paper or provide the author with further comments on how
to modify the article. Should the final version not convince the editors, its
publication may still be rejected. The final decision about the publication
lies with the editors.
Fair Play. Manuscripts shall be evaluated solely on their intellectual merit.
Confidentiality. The editors and any editorial staff must not disclose any information
about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author,
reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest. Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used by anyone who has a view of the manuscript while handling it in his or her own research without the express written consent of the author.