Publication Ethics and Conflict of Interest

PJCD requires disclosure of all interests that could influence, or be perceived to influence, the design, conduct, reporting, review, or editorial decision of submitted and published work. This policy applies to authors, reviewers, editors, editorial board members, and journal staff.

A conflict of interest exists when an individual’s professional judgment concerning a primary interest (e.g., the validity of research, editorial decisions) may be influenced or reasonably perceived to be influenced by a secondary interest such as financial gain, personal relationships, academic competition, intellectual beliefs, employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership, patents, or other relevant interests. These may be actual, potential, or perceived.

Author Obligations

• Authors shall complete and submit the ICMJE Disclosure Form for Potential Conflicts of Interest for every manuscript.
• Authors shall disclose all relevant financial and non-financial relationships/activities/interests that relate to the submitted work, including but not limited to:
  • Funding, grants, sponsorships, or other monetary support;
  • Employment, consultancies, honoraria, or advisory roles;
  • Equity interests, stocks, patents, royalties, or intellectual property;
  • Personal, familial, academic, or professional relationships that could influence the work.
• Disclosure statements shall be included in the manuscript’s title page under “Conflict of Interest.” If no conflicts exist, authors shall state:
  • “The authors declare no conflicts of interest.”
  • All sources of financial support and their roles in the research shall be fully disclosed.
  • Authors shall update their COI disclosures if additional relevant interests arise during review or after acceptance.

Reviewer Obligations

• Reviewers shall disclose to the editors any interests that could bias their judgment and shall decline invitations to review if a relevant conflict exists.
• Reviewers shall not use unpublished information from manuscripts they review for personal or professional gain.
• Reviewers should immediately inform the editor if a COI emerges during the review process.

Editor and Editorial Board Obligations

• Editors and editorial board members shall disclose any interests that could influence editorial decisions.
• Editors with a COI concerning a manuscript (e.g., close personal/professional relationship with authors, direct competition, financial interests) shall recuse themselves from handling that manuscript, and responsibility should be delegated to a neutral editor.
• Editors shall not use information from submitted manuscripts for personal advantage prior to publication.
• Decisions shall be based on scholarly merit and ethical integrity, without regard to authors’ affiliations or personal characteristics.

Management of Disclosed Conflicts

The Editorial Office or Editor-in-Chief shall review all COI disclosures and determine whether a conflict requires action (e.g., reassignment of editors/reviewers, disclosure to readers).

If a substantive COI is identified post-publication that could affect the interpretation of the work, PJCD shall consider publishing a correction, addendum, or retraction, as appropriate.

Failure to disclose a relevant COI may result in manuscript rejection, published correction, retraction, or notification to the author’s institution, depending on severity.

Transparency and Publication

Published articles shall include a COI statement summarizing the disclosures provided by the authors.