Conflicts of Interest and Competing Interests

Conflicts of Interest and Competing Interests Policy

1. Purpose and Scope

MEV is committed to ensuring that research, peer review, and editorial decisions are conducted transparently, independently, and without inappropriate influence.

This policy applies to:

  • authors and contributors;

  • reviewers;

  • editors and members of the Editorial Board;

  • editorial staff;

  • guest editors, where applicable;

  • the publisher; and

  • any other person involved in the submission, evaluation, or publication process.

All parties must disclose relevant competing interests at the earliest possible stage and update their disclosure if circumstances change.

2. Definition

A competing interest, also referred to as a conflict of interest, exists when a person has a financial, personal, professional, institutional, academic, intellectual, or other interest that could influence, or could reasonably be perceived as influencing, their actions, judgment, interpretation, or decisions.

A competing interest may be:

  • actual, when an interest is currently affecting a person’s responsibilities;

  • potential, when an interest could reasonably develop into a conflict; or

  • perceived, when a reasonable and informed observer might question the person’s independence, even if no inappropriate influence has occurred.

A competing interest does not necessarily indicate wrongdoing, bias, or misconduct. Disclosure enables the journal to assess the circumstances and apply appropriate safeguards.

The existence and relevance of a competing interest are determined by MEV, not solely by the individual making the disclosure.

3. Types of Competing Interests

3.1 Financial Interests

Financial competing interests may include:

  • employment or paid appointments;

  • consultancy or advisory work;

  • honoraria, speaker fees, or expert-witness payments;

  • grants, contracts, or research funding;

  • travel support, gifts, equipment, materials, or other benefits;

  • stock ownership, shares, options, or other financial interests;

  • patents, patent applications, licenses, or royalties;

  • ownership, directorship, or other interests in a relevant company or organization; and

  • any other financial relationship connected to the subject, methods, findings, or implications of the work.

3.2 Non-Financial Interests

Non-financial competing interests may include:

  • close personal or family relationships;

  • supervisory, student, mentoring, or employment relationships;

  • recent or ongoing research collaboration;

  • current employment at the same institution as an author;

  • membership or leadership in an organization with an interest in the work;

  • service on advisory, advocacy, regulatory, or policy bodies;

  • strong academic competition or professional rivalry;

  • involvement in a dispute directly related to the manuscript;

  • religious, political, ideological, or personal commitments directly relevant to the work; and

  • access to information or opportunities that could provide personal or professional advantage.

The examples above are not exhaustive. When uncertain, individuals should disclose the interest and allow MEV to determine whether management is required.

4. Responsibilities of Authors

4.1 Disclosure at Submission

All authors must disclose any competing interest that is relevant to the submitted manuscript or could reasonably be perceived as influencing the work.

Disclosure must be made:

  • in the manuscript;

  • during online submission, where requested;

  • in communications with the Editorial Office; and

  • whenever a relevant interest arises or changes during review, production, or publication.

The corresponding author is responsible for collecting declarations from all authors and ensuring that the submitted statement accurately represents their disclosures. However, each author remains individually responsible for the completeness and accuracy of their own declaration.

4.2 Funding and Sponsor Involvement

Authors must identify all sources of financial and material support. They must also describe any role played by a funder, sponsor, employer, or supporting organization in:

  • study design;

  • data collection;

  • data analysis or interpretation;

  • preparation or approval of the manuscript;

  • selection of the journal; or

  • the decision to submit the work for publication.

If the funder or sponsor had no such role, this should be stated.

4.3 Competing-Interest Statement

Every submitted manuscript must contain a section titled:

Declaration of Competing Interests

When no relevant competing interest exists, authors should use:

The authors declare that they have no financial or non-financial competing interests relevant to this work.

When a competing interest exists, authors should describe it clearly and identify the author concerned. For example:

[AUTHOR INITIALS] has received research funding from [ORGANIZATION] and holds a patent related to [SUBJECT]. The remaining authors declare no competing interests relevant to this work.

A disclosure should contain sufficient information for readers and editors to understand the nature of the relationship without including unnecessary personal or confidential information.

4.4 Author-Suggested Reviewers

When authors are permitted to suggest reviewers, they must not knowingly nominate individuals who have a close personal, financial, institutional, supervisory, or recent collaborative relationship with any author.

Suggested reviewers are advisory only. MEV retains complete authority over reviewer selection.

5. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Before accepting a review assignment, reviewers must disclose any interest or relationship that could affect, or reasonably appear to affect, their impartiality.

Potential reviewer conflicts may include:

  • employment at the same institution as an author;

  • recent or ongoing collaboration with an author;

  • a close personal, family, supervisory, or mentoring relationship;

  • direct academic competition or an active professional dispute;

  • a financial interest in the subject or outcome of the manuscript;

  • involvement in closely related unpublished or competing work;

  • prior substantial involvement in preparing the manuscript; or

  • any circumstance that could prevent an independent assessment.

A reviewer must decline the invitation when the conflict is sufficiently significant to compromise, or reasonably call into question, the reviewer’s independence.

When uncertain, the reviewer should describe the circumstances to the editor and allow the editor to decide whether the review may proceed.

If a competing interest becomes apparent after accepting the assignment or submitting the review, the reviewer must notify the editor immediately. MEV may disregard the review, obtain an additional review, or take another appropriate action.

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

6. Responsibilities of Editors and Editorial Staff

Editors must disclose relevant financial and non-financial competing interests to the publisher upon appointment and update the disclosure whenever circumstances change.

An editor must not handle or make decisions on a manuscript when the editor:

  • is an author or contributor;

  • has a close personal or family relationship with an author;

  • is employed at the same institution as an author;

  • has recently collaborated with or supervised an author;

  • has a direct financial interest in the work;

  • is involved in a related academic, institutional, or legal dispute;

  • is a direct competitor whose judgment could reasonably be questioned; or

  • has any other interest that may compromise editorial independence.

The manuscript must be assigned to another qualified editor who has no relevant conflict.

Editors must not participate in reviewer selection, peer review, editorial discussion, or decision-making for manuscripts from which they have been recused.

7. Submissions from Editors or Editorial Board Members

MEV does not automatically prohibit editors or Editorial Board members from submitting manuscripts to the journal. However, such submissions must undergo a fully independent editorial and peer-review process.

When an editor or Editorial Board member is an author:

  • the author-editor must have no access to confidential editorial information beyond that available to other authors;

  • another editor with no relevant conflict must manage the submission;

  • reviewer selection and editorial decisions must be independent of the author-editor;

  • the manuscript must undergo the journal’s usual peer-review process; and

  • the published article must disclose the author’s editorial role and state that the author did not participate in the review or decision.

The same safeguards apply when a manuscript is submitted by a close colleague, family member, student, supervisor, or collaborator of an editor.

When the Editor-in-Chief has a competing interest, the manuscript or matter must be handled by an independent editor or an appropriate representative of the publisher.

8. Responsibilities of the Journal and Publisher

MEV and its publisher must protect editorial independence. Article processing charges, sponsorship, institutional support, advertising, partnerships, or other sources of revenue must not influence:

  • whether a manuscript is sent for review;

  • the selection of reviewers;

  • editorial recommendations;

  • acceptance or rejection decisions; or

  • post-publication actions.

Editorial decisions must be based on the manuscript’s scholarly quality, validity, relevance, originality, ethical compliance, and suitability for the journal.

Persons involved in journal management must not use confidential information obtained through their role for personal, institutional, academic, or commercial advantage.

9. Assessment and Management of Disclosed Interests

MEV will assess competing interests according to their nature, relevance, timing, severity, and potential effect on the research or publication process.

Possible management measures include:

  • publishing an appropriate disclosure statement;

  • requesting additional information;

  • requiring an author to clarify or update a declaration;

  • appointing an independent editor;

  • replacing a reviewer;

  • obtaining an additional independent review;

  • excluding a conflicted person from discussion or decision-making;

  • modifying an individual’s editorial responsibilities; or

  • declining participation when the conflict cannot be adequately managed.

Disclosure of a competing interest does not automatically result in rejection of a manuscript, removal of a reviewer, or exclusion of an editor. The purpose of disclosure is to enable transparent and proportionate management.

10. Undisclosed Competing Interests

10.1 Before Publication

When an undisclosed competing interest is identified during submission or peer review, MEV may:

  • request an explanation and revised disclosure;

  • reassess the affected review or editorial decision;

  • replace a reviewer or editor;

  • obtain additional independent review;

  • require revision of the manuscript;

  • reject the manuscript when the nondisclosure is serious or materially compromises the process; or

  • refer suspected deliberate concealment for assessment under MEV’s Allegations of Research and Publication Misconduct Policy.

10.2 After Publication

When a relevant competing interest is discovered after publication, MEV will assess whether the omission affected:

  • readers’ interpretation of the article;

  • the integrity or reliability of the research;

  • the independence of peer review;

  • the editorial decision; or

  • confidence in the published record.

Depending on the findings, MEV may:

  • add or correct the competing-interest statement;

  • publish a Correction;

  • publish an editorial notice or Expression of Concern;

  • conduct or request an additional independent assessment;

  • notify a relevant institution, employer, funder, or other competent body; or

  • retract the article when the undisclosed interest materially compromised the research, review, editorial process, or reliability of the conclusions.

Retraction will not be based solely on the existence of an undisclosed interest. It will be considered when the nondisclosure has consequences sufficiently serious to undermine confidence in the integrity or reliability of the published work.

Any post-publication action will follow MEV’s Corrections, Retractions, Withdrawals, Removals, and Replacements Policy.

11. Reporting a Concern

Concerns about a possible undisclosed or improperly managed competing interest should be submitted to:

Email: jmev@brin.go.id
Recommended subject: Competing Interest Concern – [Manuscript ID or Article Title]

The report should identify the relevant manuscript or article, describe the alleged interest, and provide supporting information or evidence.

If the concern involves the Editor-in-Chief or the MEV Editorial Office, it may be submitted to the publisher at:

Email: jurnal@rmpi.brin.go.id

Reports will be handled confidentially and fairly. Persons whose conduct is questioned will normally be given a reasonable opportunity to respond.

12. Complaints and Reconsideration

A person directly affected by the management of a competing interest may submit a complaint when they believe that:

  • MEV did not follow this policy;

  • a relevant interest was not properly considered;

  • a person with a material conflict participated in the process; or

  • significant new evidence has become available.

Such matters will be handled under MEV’s Complaints and Appeals Policy. Mere disagreement with a scientific or editorial judgment does not, by itself, demonstrate that a competing interest affected the decision.

13. Related Policies

This policy should be read together with MEV’s policies on:

  • Publication Ethics;

  • Authorship and Contributorship;

  • Peer Review;

  • Allegations of Research and Publication Misconduct;

  • Complaints and Appeals;

  • Post-Publication Discussions;

  • Artificial Intelligence; and

  • Corrections, Retractions, Withdrawals, Removals, and Replacements.

14. Policy Review

MEV will periodically review and update this policy to remain consistent with developments in publication ethics, editorial practice, applicable law, and COPE guidance.

Last updated: August 2026