Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Indonesian Health Justice Review (IHJR) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and research integrity. The journal follows internationally recognized principles of responsible scholarly publishing, including the guidelines and core practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). All authors, editors, reviewers, and other parties involved in the publication process are expected to uphold the principles of integrity, transparency, fairness, accountability, and respect for research participants.

This policy applies to all manuscripts submitted to and published by Indonesian Health Justice Review, including manuscripts submitted for regular issues and Special Issues.

1. Principles of Publication Ethics

The journal is committed to:

maintaining the integrity and credibility of the scholarly record;
ensuring fair, independent, and transparent editorial decision-making;
protecting the confidentiality of manuscripts during the review process;
preventing plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, manipulation, and other forms of research misconduct;
ensuring that authorship accurately reflects contributions to the work;
managing conflicts of interest appropriately;
providing mechanisms for corrections, retractions, and other post-publication actions when necessary; and
investigating suspected ethical misconduct in accordance with established publication-ethics principles.

The journal does not tolerate any form of academic or publication misconduct.

2. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors submitting manuscripts to Indonesian Health Justice Review are responsible for ensuring that their submissions meet appropriate standards of research and publication integrity.

Authors must:

ensure that the submitted manuscript is original and has not been published previously, in whole or in substantial part, unless appropriately disclosed and approved by the Editor-in-Chief;
ensure that the manuscript is not simultaneously submitted to another journal while it is under consideration by IHJR;
accurately report the research methods, results, and findings;
ensure that data and sources are represented honestly and accurately;
provide appropriate citations and acknowledge the contributions and sources of other researchers;
avoid plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, image manipulation, data manipulation, and other forms of research misconduct;
ensure that all individuals listed as authors have made substantial contributions to the work and have approved the final version of the manuscript;
obtain appropriate consent and ethical approval where research involving human participants, personal data, or other ethically sensitive materials requires such approval;
disclose relevant financial and non-financial conflicts of interest;
disclose the sources of funding or other support for the research;
cooperate with the journal in investigating any concerns regarding the integrity of the submitted or published work; and
promptly notify the journal if a significant error or inaccuracy is discovered in a published article and cooperate in issuing a correction or other appropriate notice.

Authors must not engage in practices intended to manipulate the peer-review or publication process.

3. Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship must be based on genuine and substantial contributions to the research and manuscript.

All listed authors must:

have made a substantial contribution to the conception, design, research, analysis, interpretation, or development of the manuscript;
have participated in drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important intellectual content;
have approved the final version of the manuscript; and
accept accountability for the integrity and accuracy of their contributions.

Individuals who do not meet the criteria for authorship should not be listed as authors. Where appropriate, their contributions may be acknowledged separately.

The journal does not permit:

guest authorship, in which individuals are listed as authors despite making no qualifying contribution;
ghost authorship, in which individuals who made substantial contributions are omitted; or
gift or honorary authorship, in which authorship is granted because of status, position, or personal relationships.

Any request to add, remove, or reorder authors after submission must be justified and approved by all authors. The Editor-in-Chief may request additional documentation before approving such changes.

4. Plagiarism and Duplicate Publication

Indonesian Health Justice Review considers plagiarism and duplicate publication serious violations of publication ethics.

Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:

presenting another person's ideas, words, data, or work as one's own;
substantial copying without appropriate attribution;
inappropriate paraphrasing without citation; and
reproducing one's own previously published work without appropriate acknowledgment.

The journal may use appropriate similarity-detection tools as part of its editorial screening process.

Manuscripts suspected of plagiarism, duplicate publication, or redundant publication may be rejected. If misconduct is identified after publication, the journal may issue a correction, expression of concern, retraction, or other appropriate editorial notice depending on the circumstances.

5. Fabrication and Falsification

The journal strictly prohibits:

fabrication of data, results, sources, participants, or other research information;
falsification or manipulation of research materials, data, methods, images, or results;
selective or misleading presentation of findings; and
manipulation of citations or other elements of the scholarly record.

Where credible concerns arise, the journal may request supporting data, documentation, ethical approval, or other relevant materials from the authors.

6. Research Involving Human Participants

Research involving human participants must comply with applicable ethical and legal requirements.

Where required, authors must obtain approval from an appropriate research ethics committee or institutional review board before conducting the research.

Manuscripts should provide appropriate information regarding ethical approval and informed consent. Where informed consent is required, authors must ensure that participants have been adequately informed about the research and its intended use.

Authors must protect the privacy, confidentiality, dignity, and rights of research participants.

For case reports or other publications containing potentially identifiable personal information, appropriate consent should be obtained where required.

7. Conflicts of Interest

All authors, editors, and reviewers must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest that could influence the research, review, editorial decision, or publication of an article.

Conflicts may include, but are not limited to:

financial relationships;
employment or consultancy;
personal or professional relationships;
academic competition or collaboration;
institutional interests; or
other circumstances that could reasonably affect impartial judgment.

The existence of a conflict of interest does not necessarily prevent publication or participation in peer review. However, relevant conflicts must be disclosed and appropriately managed.

8. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors of Indonesian Health Justice Review are responsible for ensuring that editorial decisions are made fairly, independently, and based primarily on the academic quality, originality, relevance, methodological rigor, and contribution of the manuscript.

Editors must:

evaluate manuscripts objectively and without discrimination;
maintain confidentiality concerning submitted manuscripts;
select appropriate and independent reviewers;
manage conflicts of interest appropriately;
ensure that peer-review decisions are based on scholarly merit;
protect the integrity of the journal's editorial process;
respond appropriately to allegations of research or publication misconduct;
provide authors with clear and reasonable editorial decisions; and
take appropriate corrective action when significant errors or ethical problems are identified in published articles.

Editors must not use unpublished information from submitted manuscripts for their own research or personal advantage without the authors' explicit permission.

Editorial decisions must not be influenced by commercial interests, personal relationships, political considerations, or other inappropriate factors.

9. Responsibilities of Peer Reviewers

Reviewers play an important role in maintaining the quality and integrity of the journal.

Reviewers must:

conduct reviews objectively and constructively;
maintain the confidentiality of manuscripts;
identify relevant published work that has not been appropriately cited, where reasonably possible;
identify potential ethical concerns or significant methodological problems;
disclose any conflict of interest before accepting an assignment;
decline the review if they are unable to provide an impartial assessment;
complete reviews within the agreed timeframe or inform the editor if additional time is required; and
not use unpublished information obtained through peer review for personal research or advantage.

Reviewers should not contact authors directly about manuscripts under review unless authorized by the journal.

10. Peer-Review Manipulation

The journal considers manipulation of the peer-review process to be serious misconduct.

Prohibited practices include:

submitting fabricated or fraudulent reviewer identities;
suggesting reviewers with undisclosed personal or professional relationships intended to influence the outcome;
impersonating reviewers;
attempting to influence reviewers improperly;
manipulating reviewer reports; or
any other attempt to circumvent the journal's independent peer-review process.

Where peer-review manipulation is suspected, the journal may suspend the review process, reject the manuscript, investigate the matter, and take appropriate action concerning any related publications.

11. Citation Manipulation

Authors, editors, and reviewers must not engage in inappropriate citation practices designed primarily to increase citation counts or manipulate journal metrics.

Examples include:

excessive self-citation without legitimate scholarly justification;
coercive citation;
coordinated citation manipulation;
unnecessary citation of articles from the same journal; and
adding citations solely to increase perceived impact or metrics.

Citations must be relevant, accurate, and academically justified.

12. Generative Artificial Intelligence

Authors who use generative artificial intelligence or AI-assisted tools in preparing a manuscript must use such tools responsibly and transparently.

AI tools must not be listed as authors.

Authors remain fully responsible for:

the accuracy and originality of the manuscript;
verification of AI-generated information;
appropriate citation and attribution;
protection of confidential or sensitive information; and
compliance with applicable ethical and research-integrity requirements.

AI tools must not be used to fabricate data, references, research findings, peer-review reports, or other scholarly content.

Where AI-assisted tools have been used in a manner that materially contributes to the manuscript, authors should disclose the use appropriately in accordance with the journal's editorial requirements.

13. Complaints and Allegations of Misconduct

The journal welcomes concerns relating to editorial processes, publication ethics, research integrity, or published content.

Complaints should be submitted to the Editor-in-Chief through the official journal contact channel and should include sufficient information and supporting evidence where available.

All credible allegations will be considered seriously and handled as confidentially as reasonably possible.

The journal may contact the authors, reviewers, editors, institutions, ethics committees, or other relevant parties as necessary to investigate a concern.

Where appropriate, the journal may follow established COPE procedures and flowcharts when handling allegations of misconduct.

14. Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

The journal recognizes its responsibility to maintain the integrity of the published scholarly record.

If an error is identified after publication, the journal may publish an appropriate correction or amendment.

A retraction may be issued when an article is found to contain sufficiently serious problems that its findings or conclusions can no longer be considered reliable, including cases involving significant fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, duplicate publication, or other serious breaches of publication ethics.

An Expression of Concern may be published when there are substantial unresolved concerns about the integrity of a publication but the investigation has not yet reached a definitive conclusion.

Post-publication notices will be clearly linked to the affected article and will remain part of the journal's permanent scholarly record.

15. Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions are made independently of commercial, financial, institutional, or other external interests.

Funding, sponsorship, advertising, institutional affiliation, or other financial arrangements must not influence editorial decisions regarding the acceptance, rejection, or publication of manuscripts.

The Editor-in-Chief retains final responsibility for editorial decisions and for ensuring compliance with the journal's publication ethics policies.

16. Special Issues

All manuscripts submitted to Special Issues are subject to the same publication ethics, peer-review, authorship, conflict-of-interest, and research-integrity standards as manuscripts submitted to regular issues.

Guest Editors must disclose conflicts of interest and must not participate in editorial decisions concerning manuscripts in which they have a conflict.

The Editor-in-Chief retains overall editorial oversight and final authority over Special Issue manuscripts.

Special Issue status does not guarantee acceptance or preferential treatment.

17. Ethical Oversight

The journal is committed to appropriate ethical oversight of its publishing activities. Where applicable, the journal may request evidence of ethical approval, informed consent, data availability, registration, funding disclosure, or other documentation necessary to assess the integrity of the research.

The journal will not knowingly publish research that violates applicable ethical requirements or seriously compromises the rights, safety, privacy, or dignity of research participants.

18. Handling of Suspected Misconduct

When suspected misconduct is identified, the journal will assess the concern and determine an appropriate course of action based on the available evidence.

Depending on the circumstances, possible actions include:

requesting clarification or additional documentation from the authors;
requesting correction of the manuscript;
rejecting the manuscript;
initiating a formal investigation;
contacting the relevant author's institution or research organization;
issuing an Expression of Concern;
publishing a correction or retraction; or
taking other appropriate measures to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

The journal will seek to ensure that investigations are conducted fairly, proportionately, confidentially, and without prejudging the outcome.

19. Commitment to Research Integrity

Indonesian Health Justice Review considers publication ethics and research integrity to be shared responsibilities among authors, editors, reviewers, publishers, and the wider scholarly community.

By submitting a manuscript to the journal, authors acknowledge their responsibility to comply with these policies and agree to cooperate with reasonable editorial inquiries concerning the integrity and ethical conduct of their work.

Indonesian Health Justice Review is committed to continuously improving its editorial and publication practices in accordance with internationally recognized standards of responsible scholarly publishing.