Conflict of Interest Policy

Purpose

Verdant Legacy Publications is committed to maintaining transparency, integrity, objectivity, and trust in scholarly publishing. This Conflict of Interest Policy outlines the requirements for disclosure and management of conflicts of interest involving authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial staff. The purpose of this policy is to ensure that decisions concerning manuscript submission, review, and publication are based solely on scientific merit and are not influenced by personal, financial, institutional, or professional interests.

Definition of Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest exists when an individual’s personal, financial, professional, institutional, political, or other relationships could influence, or reasonably appear to influence, their judgment, objectivity, or actions regarding scholarly work. The existence of a conflict of interest does not necessarily indicate misconduct. However, all relevant conflicts must be disclosed to allow transparent evaluation of potential influence.

Author Responsibilities

Authors must disclose all relationships, activities, and interests that could be perceived as influencing the research, interpretation of findings, or publication of the manuscript.

Potential conflicts may include, but are not limited to:

Financial Interests

• Research grants or funding.
• Employment relationships.
• Consultancy fees.
• Honoraria.
• Stock ownership.
• Patents or patent applications.
• Paid expert testimony.

Personal Relationships

• Family relationships.
• Close personal associations.
• Personal disputes or rivalries.

Academic and Professional Interests

• Collaborative relationships.
• Institutional affiliations.
• Membership in organizations related to the research topic.
• Editorial positions in related journals.

Institutional Interests

• Financial or reputational interests of affiliated institutions.
• Institutional sponsorship of research activities.

Authors must include a Conflict of Interest Statement within the manuscript at the time of submission.

Example Statement

“The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.”

Where conflicts exist, authors must provide a complete disclosure.

Reviewer Responsibilities

Reviewers must disclose any conflicts of interest that could affect their ability to provide an impartial review.

Reviewers should decline invitations to review manuscripts if:

• They have collaborated with the authors recently.
• They work at the same institution as the authors.
• They have personal or professional relationships with the authors.
• They have financial interests related to the manuscript.
• They believe they cannot provide an objective evaluation.

Reviewers must not use unpublished information obtained during peer review for personal benefit.

Editor Responsibilities

Editors must avoid handling manuscripts where conflicts of interest may compromise objectivity.

Editors should recuse themselves from editorial decisions involving:

• Their own manuscripts.
• Manuscripts authored by colleagues, collaborators, students, or family members.
• Research projects in which they have a direct interest.

Where necessary, editorial responsibility will be assigned to another qualified editor.

Editorial Staff Responsibilities

Editorial staff members involved in manuscript processing must disclose conflicts of interest and maintain confidentiality throughout the publication process.

Staff members must not use privileged information obtained through editorial activities for personal or professional advantage.

Disclosure and Management

All disclosed conflicts will be evaluated by the editorial office.

Where appropriate, the journal may:

• Publish conflict disclosures alongside the article.
• Request additional information from authors.
• Assign alternative reviewers or editors.
• Implement measures to ensure impartial evaluation.

Failure to disclose relevant conflicts may result in:

• Rejection of the manuscript.
• Publication of a correction.
• Retraction of the article.
• Notification of relevant institutions where necessary.

Transparency

Verdant Legacy Publications supports complete transparency regarding competing interests and encourages proactive disclosure of any relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing scholarly work. When in doubt, individuals are encouraged to disclose the relationship for editorial consideration.

Compliance with International Standards

This policy is consistent with the recommendations of:

• Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)
• International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)
• Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
• Crossref Best Practices

Policy Review

This policy may be revised periodically to reflect evolving standards in scholarly publishing and research ethics.

Contact Information

Questions regarding conflicts of interest or disclosure requirements may be directed to:

Verdant Legacy Publications Email: editorial@verdantlegacy.org

Website: https://verdantlegacy.com