CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY

1. Policy Statement

Law and Economics is committed to maintaining transparency, objectivity, independence, and integrity throughout the research, peer-review, and publication processes. The journal recognizes that actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest may influence, or appear to influence, scholarly judgment and editorial decision-making.

A conflict of interest arises when an individual's personal, financial, professional, institutional, or other interests could improperly influence their responsibilities or judgments concerning research and publication.

All authors, reviewers, editors, and other individuals involved in the publication process are required to disclose relevant conflicts of interest. Disclosure enables the journal to assess potential risks, implement appropriate safeguards, and preserve the credibility and fairness of its editorial decisions.

The existence of a conflict of interest does not automatically constitute misconduct or disqualify a manuscript from publication. However, failure to disclose a relevant conflict may compromise the integrity of the publication process and may result in appropriate editorial action.

2. Definition of Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest may arise when an individual has interests or relationships that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, their professional judgment, research activities, peer-review assessment, or editorial decisions.

Conflicts of interest may be actual, potential, or perceived.

  • Actual Conflict of Interest: A situation in which an individual's interests directly conflict with their professional responsibilities or objective judgment.

  • Potential Conflict of Interest: A situation in which circumstances could develop into a conflict affecting professional judgment or decision-making.

  • Perceived Conflict of Interest: A situation in which a reasonable observer might question an individual's impartiality because of a particular interest or relationship, even if no actual influence has occurred.

Law and Economics requires relevant conflicts to be disclosed and assessed appropriately, regardless of whether the individual believes that the conflict has affected their judgment.

3. Types of Conflicts of Interest

Conflicts of interest may take several forms, including but not limited to the following.

3.1. Financial Conflicts of Interest

Financial conflicts may arise from:

  • Employment, consultancy, or paid advisory relationships.

  • Research grants, sponsorships, or other financial support.

  • Ownership of shares, equity, or other financial interests in relevant organizations.

  • Honoraria, speaker fees, or paid expert services.

  • Patents, royalties, licensing agreements, or other financial benefits.

  • Financial relationships with organizations that may benefit from the research findings.

Authors must disclose relevant financial relationships that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, the research, its interpretation, or the publication process.

3.2. Professional and Institutional Conflicts of Interest

Professional or institutional conflicts may arise from:

  • Employment or leadership positions in organizations directly affected by the research.

  • Institutional relationships that could influence the interpretation or dissemination of findings.

  • Supervisory, mentoring, or other professional relationships with authors or reviewers.

  • Institutional interests in particular research outcomes.

  • Participation in organizations responsible for developing policies, standards, or regulations examined in the manuscript.

Such relationships must be disclosed when they are relevant to the research or could reasonably affect impartiality.

3.3. Personal and Relationship-Based Conflicts of Interest

Personal conflicts may arise from:

  • Family relationships.

  • Close personal friendships.

  • Personal disputes or hostility.

  • Close professional collaborations.

  • Relationships that could reasonably affect an individual's impartiality.

Individuals must disclose relationships that could compromise, or reasonably be perceived to compromise, their ability to evaluate a manuscript objectively.

3.4. Academic and Intellectual Conflicts of Interest

Academic or intellectual conflicts may arise when individuals have strong professional, theoretical, ideological, or scholarly commitments that could affect their impartiality.

Examples include:

  • Public advocacy for a position directly examined in a manuscript.

  • Strong competing scholarly interests.

  • Direct involvement in developing a theory, model, framework, or policy being evaluated.

  • Professional competition that could affect the impartial assessment of another researcher's work.

Holding a particular academic position or expressing a scholarly opinion does not automatically constitute a disqualifying conflict. The relevant consideration is whether the circumstances could reasonably compromise impartiality.

3.5. Policy and Regulatory Conflicts of Interest

Given the interdisciplinary scope of Law and Economics, conflicts may also arise in research involving legislation, economic regulation, public policy, institutional governance, corporate interests, or legal reform.

Authors should disclose relevant roles, financial interests, advisory appointments, or organizational affiliations that could affect the interpretation or presentation of the research.

Such disclosure is intended to promote transparency and does not imply that an author's legal, economic, or policy position is inherently inappropriate.

4. Responsibilities of Authors

All authors submitting manuscripts to Law and Economics must disclose actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest relevant to their research.

Authors are responsible for:

  1. Identifying financial, professional, institutional, personal, and other relevant interests.

  2. Disclosing relevant relationships with organizations, funders, employers, or other parties that may be affected by the research.

  3. Declaring the role of research funders or sponsors in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and publication decisions, where applicable.

  4. Providing an accurate Conflict of Interest Statement in the submitted manuscript.

  5. Ensuring that disclosures from all co-authors are complete and accurate.

  6. Updating disclosures when relevant circumstances change during the editorial process.

  7. Cooperating with reasonable editorial requests for clarification or additional information.

Authors must not conceal relevant interests or provide misleading statements concerning their relationships, funding, or affiliations.

When no relevant conflict exists, authors must explicitly declare that they have no conflict of interest to disclose.

5. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers must evaluate manuscripts objectively, independently, and confidentially.

Before accepting a review assignment, reviewers should consider whether they have any relationship or interest that could affect, or reasonably be perceived to affect, their impartiality.

Reviewers must disclose relevant conflicts to the editorial office, including:

  • Recent or close collaboration with one or more authors.

  • Current institutional relationships that could compromise impartiality.

  • Financial or professional interests related to the manuscript.

  • Personal relationships or disputes involving the authors.

  • Direct competition involving the same research, data, or intellectual contribution.

  • Any other circumstances that could reasonably interfere with an objective assessment.

If a significant conflict exists, the reviewer should decline the assignment or inform the editor so that an appropriate decision can be made.

Reviewers must not use confidential information obtained through peer review for personal, professional, financial, or competitive advantage.

6. Responsibilities of Editors and Editorial Board Members

Editors and editorial board members must maintain independence, fairness, and transparency in all editorial decisions.

Editors must disclose relevant conflicts of interest and must not participate in editorial decisions when their impartiality could reasonably be questioned.

An editor should recuse themselves from handling a manuscript when:

  • They are an author or co-author of the manuscript.

  • They have a close personal or professional relationship with one or more authors.

  • They have a financial or institutional interest that could be affected by the publication.

  • They have a direct competitive interest in the research.

  • Other circumstances could reasonably compromise their independent judgment.

When an editor is conflicted, the manuscript should be assigned to an appropriately qualified, independent editor.

Editorial board membership does not confer preferential treatment in the submission, review, or publication process. Manuscripts authored by editors or editorial board members must undergo the same applicable editorial standards and peer-review requirements as other submissions.

7. Funding Disclosure

Authors must disclose all funding sources that supported the research or preparation of the manuscript, where applicable.

The funding statement should identify the funding organization and any relevant grant or award number.

Authors should also explain the role of the funder in the research process, including whether the funder participated in:

  • Research design.

  • Data collection.

  • Data analysis or interpretation.

  • Manuscript preparation or revision.

  • The decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

If the funder had no involvement in these activities, the authors should state this explicitly.

Funding disclosure is separate from conflict of interest disclosure. Authors must provide both statements when required, even when the funding relationship does not constitute a conflict of interest.

8. Disclosure of Conflicts in Published Articles

Relevant conflicts of interest and funding information should be included in the published article when appropriate.

The journal may request clarification or additional disclosure before acceptance or publication.

If a previously undisclosed conflict is identified after publication, the journal will assess its significance and may request a correction, publish an editorial notice, or take other appropriate action to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record.

The journal will distinguish between an undisclosed relationship that requires clarification and a conflict that materially undermines the credibility or integrity of the research.

9. Editorial Assessment and Management of Conflicts

Upon receiving a conflict of interest disclosure, the editorial team will assess the nature, relevance, and potential impact of the disclosed interest.

Depending on the circumstances, the journal may:

  1. Accept the disclosure and proceed with the normal editorial process.

  2. Request additional information or clarification.

  3. Assign an independent editor or reviewer.

  4. Require an additional disclosure statement in the manuscript.

  5. Implement safeguards to protect the confidentiality and impartiality of peer review.

  6. Decline to assign a reviewer or editor whose independence could reasonably be questioned.

  7. Take appropriate action if a relevant conflict was deliberately concealed or misrepresented.

The journal will make decisions proportionately and consistently, taking into account the nature of the relationship, its relevance to the research, and the safeguards available.

The presence of a disclosed conflict does not automatically lead to rejection. The primary objective is to ensure that the research is assessed fairly and that relevant interests are communicated transparently to readers.

10. Failure to Disclose Conflicts of Interest

Failure to disclose a relevant conflict of interest may constitute a breach of the journal's publication ethics policies.

Where a potential omission is identified, the journal may request an explanation from the relevant individual and assess the circumstances.

Depending on the findings, the journal may:

  • Request a corrected or additional disclosure statement.

  • Suspend editorial processing while the matter is assessed.

  • Reassign a reviewer or editor.

  • Reject a manuscript if the omission materially compromises the integrity of the submission or review process.

  • Publish a correction or editorial notice for a published article.

  • Refer serious concerns to the relevant institution or other appropriate authority when warranted.

Any action will be based on the nature and seriousness of the omission, the available evidence, and its implications for research integrity and editorial independence.

11. Conflict of Interest Declaration Templates

Authors should include an appropriate Conflict of Interest Statement in their manuscripts.

A. No Conflict of Interest

"The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest that could have influenced the research, its interpretation, or the preparation of this manuscript."

B. Financial Conflict of Interest

"The authors declare the following financial interests that may be relevant to this research: [provide details]. The role of the relevant organization or funder in the research process is described in the Funding Statement."

C. Institutional or Professional Conflict of Interest

"The authors declare the following institutional or professional relationships that may be relevant to this research: [provide details]. These relationships have been disclosed to the editorial office."

D. Personal or Other Relevant Interests

"The authors declare the following personal or other interests that may be relevant to the research: [provide details]."

E. Funding and No Other Conflicts

"This research was supported by [name of funding organization, grant number if applicable]. The authors declare that, apart from the disclosed funding arrangement, they have no conflicts of interest relevant to this manuscript."

Authors must select and adapt the appropriate statement to reflect their actual circumstances. These templates must not be used to make a declaration that is inaccurate or incomplete.

12. Commitment to Transparency and Editorial Independence

Law and Economics recognizes that transparent disclosure is essential to maintaining trust in academic publishing.

All authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial board members are expected to act responsibly and disclose relevant interests that could affect their scholarly or editorial responsibilities.

The journal is committed to managing conflicts of interest fairly and consistently, protecting the independence of peer review, and ensuring that publication decisions are based on scholarly merit, methodological rigor, relevance, originality, and ethical compliance.

Through this policy, Law and Economics seeks to preserve the credibility of its publications and promote responsible research practices in law, economics, public policy, institutional governance, and related interdisciplinary fields.