1. Scope and Applicability

• This policy applies to all submitted manuscripts, revised manuscripts, accepted articles, published articles, and post-publication records.
• Compliance is required from authors, reviewers, editors, editorial staff, guest editors, and the publisher.
• All parties must observe applicable academic, legal, and ethical standards throughout the editorial and publication process.
• Ethical responsibilities apply to all research approaches, including doctrinal or normative legal research, empirical legal studies, socio-legal research, comparative legal studies, and interdisciplinary research.
• Where applicable institutional, national, disciplinary, or legal requirements are stricter than this policy, the stricter requirements shall prevail.

2. Research and Publication Misconduct

SEJALS considers the following practices incompatible with responsible scholarly publishing:

Fabrication	Inventing research data, interview results, observations, legal documents, sources, or findings that do not exist.
Falsification	Manipulating research materials, evidence, data, interview records, legal sources, or findings in a way that misrepresents the research.
Plagiarism	Using another person's text, ideas, arguments, data, legal analysis, or intellectual contributions without appropriate attribution.
Duplicate Publication	Submitting or publishing substantially the same manuscript in more than one journal without legitimate justification and transparent disclosure.
Authorship Abuse	Gift, ghost, purchased, coercive, or otherwise misleading authorship practices.
Citation Manipulation	Adding irrelevant, excessive, or coercive citations primarily to manipulate citation metrics or academic recognition.
Peer-Review Manipulation	Providing false reviewer identities, fabricating review reports, concealing conflicts of interest, or interfering with independent peer review.

3. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for ensuring that manuscripts are handled fairly, objectively, and in accordance with the journal's editorial policies and publication ethics.

The Editor-in-Chief and editorial team shall:

• determine which submitted manuscripts are suitable for publication based on editorial policies, peer-review outcomes, and academic merit;
• make decisions in accordance with applicable legal and ethical standards, including those related to defamation, copyright, plagiarism, and academic integrity;
• evaluate manuscripts impartially and without discrimination based on nationality, ethnicity, gender, religion, institutional affiliation, or political perspective;
• maintain strict confidentiality regarding submitted manuscripts and their contents;
• disclose manuscript information only to corresponding authors, reviewers, editorial advisers, or the publisher when necessary for the review and publication process;
• refrain from using unpublished materials from submitted manuscripts in their own research without the author's explicit written consent;
• ensure that editorial decisions are free from commercial, personal, or institutional influence;
• consider peer-review recommendations and academic quality when making editorial decisions; and
• take appropriate action when publication ethics violations or concerns are identified.

4. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers play an essential role in maintaining the academic quality and integrity of SEJALS publications. They are expected to provide objective, constructive, and confidential assessments of submitted manuscripts.

Reviewers are expected to:

• support editors in evaluating the scholarly quality, originality, and relevance of submitted manuscripts;
• treat manuscripts received for review as confidential documents and not share or discuss them with others without editorial authorization;
• conduct reviews objectively, providing clear reasoning and constructive feedback to assist authors and editors;
• identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors;
• alert editors to potential plagiarism, duplicate publication, inaccurate citations, or other ethical concerns;
• decline review assignments when conflicts of interest exist or when they cannot complete the review within the agreed timeframe; and
• maintain the confidentiality of all information obtained during the review process and refrain from using it for personal or professional advantage.

5. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are fully responsible for the originality, accuracy, integrity, and academic quality of manuscripts submitted to SEJALS.

Authors must:

• present accurate, original, and well-structured research or scholarly analysis, free from fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism;
• take full responsibility for manuscript content, including the validity of data, interpretations, arguments, and citations;
• ensure that submitted work has not been previously published and is not under consideration by another journal;
• avoid simultaneous submission of the same manuscript to multiple journals;
• provide proper acknowledgment of the work of other researchers through accurate citations and references;
• ensure that authorship reflects actual scholarly contributions;
• obtain approval from all listed authors for the submitted and final versions of the manuscript; and
• promptly notify the editor if significant errors or inaccuracies are discovered after publication and cooperate in issuing corrections or retractions when necessary.

6. Responsibilities of the Publisher

Selaparang: Journal of Law Studies (SEJALS) is published by Yayasan Yazri Harapan Nusantara, which is responsible for supporting the journal's publication activities in accordance with scholarly publishing standards.

The publisher is responsible for:

• ensuring that published articles undergo appropriate editorial handling, peer review, and production processes;
• safeguarding editorial independence and allowing editors and reviewers to perform their responsibilities without interference or undue influence;
• supporting the implementation of publication ethics and responsible scholarly publishing practices;
• protecting intellectual property rights and respecting copyright and licensing requirements;
• maintaining the integrity, accessibility, and continuity of the scholarly record; and
• supporting appropriate editorial action when publication ethics concerns arise.

7. Originality and Prior Publication

• Manuscripts submitted to SEJALS must represent original scholarly work.
• Manuscripts must not be simultaneously submitted to another journal.
• Duplicate or redundant publication without appropriate disclosure is prohibited.
• All ideas, arguments, legal provisions, court decisions, research findings, and other materials derived from external sources must be properly acknowledged.
• Authors must clearly disclose relevant prior dissemination of their work when applicable.

8. Conflicts of Interest

All parties involved in the publication process must disclose any financial, professional, institutional, personal, or academic relationships that could influence or reasonably be perceived to influence their judgment.

• Authors must disclose relevant conflicts of interest when submitting their manuscripts.
• Reviewers must decline assignments when a conflict of interest could compromise their impartiality.
• Editors must not handle manuscripts where personal, professional, or institutional relationships could affect editorial independence.
• Editorial decisions must remain based on academic merit and peer-review recommendations rather than external interests.

9. Confidentiality and Double-Blind Review

SEJALS applies a double-blind peer-review system to protect the independence and objectivity of manuscript evaluation.

• Author identities are concealed from reviewers during the review process.
• Reviewer identities are not disclosed to authors.
• Submitted manuscripts, reviewer reports, editorial correspondence, and unpublished research materials must be treated as confidential.
• Editors, reviewers, and editorial staff must not disclose confidential manuscript information to unauthorized parties.
• Confidential information obtained during the editorial process must not be used for personal, academic, or professional advantage.

10. Plagiarism and Citation Integrity

SEJALS does not tolerate plagiarism or inappropriate use of another person's intellectual work. All manuscripts must provide appropriate acknowledgment of sources and demonstrate responsible academic referencing.

• Submissions may be screened using similarity-detection software before or during peer review.
• Authors must provide accurate and verifiable references for all cited sources.
• Legal provisions, court decisions, regulations, scholarly arguments, and other relevant sources must be cited appropriately.
• Unattributed text reuse, fabricated references, and misleading citations are prohibited.
• Editors may request clarification or revisions when citation or originality concerns are identified.

11. Generative Artificial Intelligence and AI-Assisted Tools

The use of generative artificial intelligence and AI-assisted technologies in manuscript preparation must comply with the journal's separate Generative AI Policy.

• Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, arguments, data, citations, and ethical compliance of their manuscripts.
• AI systems cannot be recognized as authors or contributors.
• Authors must disclose AI assistance in accordance with the journal's policy.
• AI-generated fabricated references, unverifiable sources, and manipulated research findings are not acceptable.
• Editors and reviewers must protect confidential manuscript materials and comply with the journal's restrictions on AI use during peer review and editorial decision-making.

Related policy: Generative AI Policy.

12. Allegations of Publication Misconduct

SEJALS takes allegations of research and publication misconduct seriously. Any concerns regarding plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, duplicate publication, authorship abuse, citation manipulation, or other ethical violations may be examined by the editorial team.

Stage	Procedure
1. Initial Assessment	The editorial team receives and evaluates the allegation to determine whether sufficient information is available for further examination.
2. Preliminary Review	The Editor-in-Chief or delegated editor assesses the nature, credibility, and seriousness of the concern.
3. Clarification	Relevant authors or parties may be asked to provide explanations, supporting documents, original data, or other relevant evidence.
4. Evaluation	The editorial team evaluates the available information and may seek independent expert or institutional input where necessary.
5. Editorial Action	Appropriate action may include requesting corrections, rejecting a manuscript, issuing an expression of concern, retracting an article, or notifying relevant institutions when warranted.

Allegations are handled with appropriate confidentiality and fairness. The journal may cooperate with relevant institutions or authorities when necessary to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

13. Corrections, Retractions, and Post-Publication Actions

SEJALS recognizes its responsibility to maintain the accuracy and reliability of published articles. When significant errors or ethical concerns are identified after publication, the journal may take appropriate action.

• Correction or Erratum: issued to address verified errors that do not invalidate the main findings or scholarly conclusions.
• Expression of Concern: may be published when substantial concerns exist but an investigation is incomplete or inconclusive.
• Retraction: may be issued when an article is found to contain serious errors, plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, or other ethical violations that undermine its reliability.
• Post-publication notices should clearly identify the affected article and explain the reason for the editorial action.
• Relevant publication records and metadata should be updated where necessary to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record.

14. Appeals and Complaints

• Authors may submit an appeal against an editorial decision in accordance with the journal's appeals procedure.
• An appeal should identify a substantive academic or procedural concern and provide a clear supporting explanation.
• Where appropriate, an editor who was not responsible for the original decision may evaluate the appeal.
• Complaints concerning editorial procedures, peer review, publication ethics, or research integrity are evaluated confidentially.
• Submission of an appeal does not guarantee that the original editorial decision will be reversed.

15. Advertising, Sponsorship, and Editorial Independence

16. Policy Review and Updates

SEJALS may periodically review and update this statement to reflect developments in scholarly publishing, international publication ethics standards, legal scholarship, and research integrity practices. Substantive revisions will take effect when published on the journal website.

Policy: Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement • Publisher: Yayasan Yazri Harapan Nusantara