The Journal of Digital Sharia and Contemporary Legal Thought is firmly committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity, objectivity, and scholarly credibility in all stages of the publication process. Transparency regarding actual or potential conflicts of interest—also known as competing interests—is essential to ensuring fairness, impartiality, and public trust in academic publishing, particularly in the interdisciplinary fields of digital sharia studies, Islamic legal thought, and contemporary legal analysis.

This policy delineates the responsibilities of authors, peer reviewers, editors, editorial board members, and journal staff to disclose and appropriately manage interests that may reasonably be perceived as influencing professional judgment, scholarly evaluation, or editorial decision-making. The journal aligns this policy with the ethical principles and best practices established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Definition

A conflict of interest (COI) arises when an individual’s primary academic responsibilities—such as conducting research, reviewing manuscripts, or making editorial decisions—may be influenced, or appear to be influenced, by secondary interests. These interests may be financial or non-financial and include, but are not limited to:

Financial Interests

Employment, consultancies, honoraria, equity or stock ownership, paid advisory roles, expert testimony, travel grants, research funding (received or pending), patents or patent applications, royalties, or other financial relationships related to the subject matter of the manuscript.

Non-Financial Interests

Personal relationships (e.g., family members or close associates), academic or professional affiliations (e.g., recent collaborations, supervisory relationships), institutional connections, unpublished competing work, or strongly held ideological, religious, or political views that are directly relevant to the manuscript’s content—particularly in normative legal or sharia-based research.

The existence of a conflict of interest is not inherently unethical. However, failure to disclose relevant interests may undermine the credibility of the research and the integrity of the publication process. This policy applies to all participants involved in the journal’s editorial and publishing workflow.

Policy Principles

Principle of Full Disclosure

All participants in the publication process must disclose fully and proactively any actual or potential conflicts of interest relevant to their roles. When no conflicts exist, a formal declaration stating the absence of competing interests is required.

Timing of Disclosure

• Authors must disclose all relevant conflicts at the time of manuscript submission and update disclosures promptly if new conflicts arise during review or revision.

• Peer Reviewers must declare potential conflicts upon invitation to review and prior to accepting the assignment. Any conflict identified during the review process must be reported immediately.

• Editors and Journal Staff must disclose conflicts that could compromise editorial independence and recuse themselves from decision-making when such conflicts exist.

Assessment and Management of Disclosed Conflicts

The Journal of Digital Sharia and Contemporary Legal Thought evaluates all disclosed interests to determine their potential impact on scholarly objectivity. Appropriate measures may include:

• Publication of conflict-of-interest statements alongside accepted articles;

• Reassignment of editors or reviewers to preserve impartiality;

• Rejection of submissions when conflicts pose a substantive threat to research integrity.

Publication of Disclosure Statements

All published articles must include a conflict-of-interest statement. Where no competing interests exist, a standardized declaration—such as “The authors declare no known competing interests”—will be provided.

All sources of funding must be disclosed, including clarification of the funder’s role, if any, in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or publication decisions. If the funder had no involvement, this must be explicitly stated.

Post-Publication Discovery of Undisclosed Conflicts

If a significant undisclosed conflict of interest is identified after publication, the journal will initiate a formal investigation in accordance with COPE guidelines. Depending on the severity and implications, corrective actions may include issuing a correction, an expression of concern, or a formal retraction.

Implementation Procedures

For Authors

Authors must disclose all financial and non-financial interests that could reasonably influence their research. Disclosure must be submitted using either the ICMJE Uniform Disclosure Form or a journal-specific form and included in the manuscript prior to the reference section.

Failure to disclose relevant conflicts may result in delays, rejection, or post-publication corrective action.

For Peer Reviewers

Reviewers must disclose any circumstances that may compromise objectivity, including recent collaboration with authors, personal or professional relationships, financial interests, prior involvement with the manuscript, or strongly held views relevant to the topic. Reviewers with significant conflicts will be excused from the review process.

For Editors and Editorial Board Members

Editors and board members must disclose relationships or interests that could influence editorial judgment, including submissions authored by themselves or close associates. In such cases, independent editorial oversight and peer review will be ensured.

Journal-Level Conflicts of Interest

The Journal of Digital Sharia and Contemporary Legal Thought and its publisher are committed to maintaining full editorial independence. Editorial decisions are insulated from commercial, institutional, or ideological influence. Any journal-level conflicts will be addressed transparently and in accordance with established ethical standards.

Record Keeping and Policy Review

The journal maintains confidential records of all disclosed conflicts of interest. This policy is reviewed periodically to remain aligned with evolving international standards in scholarly publishing and research ethics.

References

Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). (2015). Handling Conflicts of Interest.
Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). (2019). COPE Guidelines on Ethical Publishing.
International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). (2023). Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals.
Resnik, D. B. (2020). The Ethics of Research with Human Subjects. Springer.