Ethics Policy and Malpractice Statement

Ethics Policy and Malpractice Statement

SEAJ-ALGov (E-ISSN: 3062-7907) is a double blind peer-reviewed journal published by Faculty of Law, Universitas Gadjah Mada. SEAJ-ALGov adheres to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices and other international standards of publication ethics. The following policies outline how SEAJ-ALGov upholds integrity, transparency, and accountability in all aspects of the publication process..

1. Allegations of Misconduct

SEAJ-ALGov upholds integrity in scholarly publication. Allegations of research or publication misconduct including fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, redundant publication, manipulation of the peer review process, or undeclared conflicts of interest—will be handled according to COPE flowcharts. All complaints or suspicions may be reported confidentially to the Editor-in-Chief.

  1. Preliminary Evaluation: The Editor-in-Chief (EIC) assesses all allegations for credibility and relevance.
  2. Investigation: Credible cases follow COPE flowcharts; authors and institutions may be contacted.
  3. Confidentiality: All investigations are handled confidentially to protect involved parties.
  4. Outcomes: Possible actions include rejection, correction, retraction, or institutional notification.
  5. Record Keeping: SEAJ-ALGov maintains detailed records of all investigations for a minimum of five years.

2. Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship must be limited to individuals who have made significant contributions to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the study. All authors must approve the final manuscript and agree to its submission. SEAJ-ALGov encourages transparent author contribution statements (e.g., conceptualization, methodology, analysis, writing). Any request for addition, removal, or rearrangement of authors after submission must be approved by all co-authors and justified in writing. Disputes regarding authorship will follow COPE’s guidance. Gift, ghost, or honorary authorship is not permitted.

3. Complaints and Appeals

SEAJ-ALGov provides a transparent process for handling complaints or appeals concerning editorial decisions, peer review conduct, or ethical concerns.

  1. Complaints are first addressed by the Editor-in-Chief.
  2. If unresolved, they may be escalated to the publisher or ethics committee.
  3. SEAJ-ALGov follows COPE’s flowcharts for appeals and complaint resolution

4. Conflicts of Interest

All parties authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any financial, personal, or institutional relationships that could influence their work.

  1. Authors must declare all funding sources and potential conflicts in their manuscripts.
  2. Reviewers must decline assignments if a conflict exists (e.g., collaboration, competition, or personal connection).
  3. Editors must recuse themselves when handling manuscripts involving potential conflicts.
    Disclosures will be published within the article, and any undisclosed conflict discovered post-publication may lead to correction or retraction.

5. Data and Reproducibility

SEAJ-ALGov promotes transparency and reproducibility in research by encouraging authors to make data available and verifiable.

  1. Authors must retain all raw data and provide it upon request.
  2. Datasets should be properly cited if publicly available.
  3. Fabrication, falsification, or selective reporting are considered misconduct.

6. Ethical Oversight

Research involving human participants, animals, or sensitive data must comply with institutional and international ethical standards.

  1. Authors must state that ethical approval was obtained (including IRB name and reference number).
  2. For human research, informed consent must be obtained and participants’ privacy protected.
  3. For animal studies, authors must confirm compliance with ethical standards and welfare protocols.
  4. Failure to obtain proper ethical oversight may result in rejection or retraction.

7. Intellectual Property and Plagiarism

Copyright of the published articles will be transferred to the journal as the publisher of the manuscripts. Therefore, the author confirms that the copyright has been managed by the publisher. The copyright follows Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License: This license allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. If you remix, adapt, or build upon the material, you must license the modified material under identical terms.

All submissions are screened with plagiarism-detection software (Turnitin). Plagiarism, duplicate or redundant publication, and self-plagiarism are strictly prohibited. Submissions exceeding the similarity threshold or reproducing copyrighted material without permission will be rejected or retracted. Authors must ensure all figures, tables, and text are original or properly cited.

8. Journal Management

SEAJ-ALGov ensures that its editorial management practices are transparent, accountable, and in line with best international standards:

  1. The Editorial Board composition reflects expertise and diversity,
  2. Editors are trained in COPE ethical standards.
  3. Regular reviews of editorial and peer review performance are conducted.

9, Peer Review Process

SEAJ-ALGov applies a double-blind peer review system. Reviewers are selected based on subject expertise and absence of conflicts of interest. Editors ensure reviewers have no conflicts of interest. Reviewers are expected to maintain confidentiality, provide objective feedback, and return reviews promptly. Authors may appeal review outcomes by providing justification and evidence. Review manipulation or coercion will be treated as misconduct. Reviewer training and recognition are conducted regularly in line with COPE recommendations.

10. Post-Publication Discussion and Corrections

SEAJ-ALGov supports open post-publication dialogue. Readers may submit comments or letters addressing published articles. Corrections, corrigenda, errata, or retractions will be issued when errors or ethical breaches are verified. Retractions follow COPE’s Retraction Guidelines and will clearly state the reason (e.g., error, misconduct, ethical non-compliance). Expressions of concern may be published if investigations are ongoing. All updates remain permanently linked to the original article.