Publication Ethics

Lentera Masyarakat Hukum is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity, research ethics, and responsible scholarly publishing. The journal expects all authors, editors, reviewers, and other parties involved in the publication process to comply with recognized principles of publication ethics.

This policy applies to all manuscripts submitted to and published by the journal. It is intended to ensure that the publication process is conducted with integrity, transparency, fairness, confidentiality, accountability, and respect for research participants and the scholarly record.

1. Ethical Principles

The journal is committed to:

  • maintaining the integrity and reliability of the scholarly record;

  • ensuring fair, objective, and transparent editorial and peer review processes;

  • protecting the confidentiality of manuscripts and personal information;

  • preventing plagiarism and other forms of academic misconduct;

  • ensuring appropriate attribution and responsible authorship;

  • managing conflicts of interest;

  • protecting research participants and communities;

  • addressing allegations of research and publication misconduct promptly and fairly; and

  • correcting the scholarly record when errors or misconduct are identified.

All parties involved in publication are expected to act honestly, professionally, and responsibly.

2. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for ensuring that submitted manuscripts meet appropriate standards of academic and research integrity.

Authors must:

  • submit original work that has not been previously published;

  • ensure that the manuscript is not simultaneously under consideration by another journal;

  • accurately report research methods, findings, sources, and interpretations;

  • provide sufficient information to allow the work to be appropriately evaluated;

  • ensure that all relevant sources are properly cited and acknowledged;

  • obtain appropriate permission for the use of copyrighted material where required;

  • disclose relevant conflicts of interest;

  • comply with applicable research ethics requirements;

  • obtain appropriate consent when research involves identifiable individuals or communities;

  • ensure that all listed authors meet the journal's authorship requirements;

  • approve the final version of the manuscript; and

  • promptly notify the Editor if a significant error is identified after submission or publication.

Authors must not fabricate, falsify, manipulate, or selectively misrepresent data or evidence.

3. Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship must be based on substantial intellectual or scholarly contributions to the work.

Individuals listed as authors should have made meaningful contributions to the conception or design of the study, data collection or analysis where applicable, interpretation of findings, development of the manuscript, or substantive revision of the manuscript.

All authors must:

  • approve the final version of the manuscript;

  • agree to its submission and publication;

  • accept responsibility for their contributions; and

  • cooperate in addressing questions concerning the accuracy or integrity of the work.

Ghost authorship, honorary authorship, gift authorship, and inappropriate exclusion of qualified contributors are not permitted.

Changes to authorship after submission should be supported by a clear explanation and require the agreement of all affected authors and approval by the Editor.

Generative AI tools cannot be listed as authors or co-authors. Their use must comply with the journal's Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies Policy.

4. Originality, Plagiarism, and Duplicate Publication

Authors must ensure that their manuscript is original and appropriately acknowledges the work of others.

Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:

  • copying text, ideas, arguments, data, or other intellectual material without appropriate attribution;

  • presenting another person's work as one's own;

  • substantial unattributed paraphrasing;

  • inappropriate reuse of one's previously published material; and

  • other forms of misleading representation of originality.

The journal may use plagiarism-detection or similarity-checking tools as part of its editorial process.

Manuscripts that contain significant plagiarism, duplicate publication, or other forms of inappropriate text or content reuse may be rejected. Where misconduct is identified after publication, the journal may take corrective action, including issuing a correction, expression of concern, or retraction where appropriate.

5. Fabrication, Falsification, and Manipulation

The journal does not tolerate:

  • fabrication of data, results, participants, cases, sources, or other research materials;

  • falsification or manipulation of research materials, procedures, or results;

  • manipulation of images, figures, or other research outputs in a misleading manner;

  • selective reporting intended to misrepresent findings; or

  • fabrication or misrepresentation of legal authorities, court decisions, legislation, quotations, references, or other sources.

Authors must retain appropriate research records and supporting materials and should be able to provide clarification or documentation when reasonably requested by the journal.

6. Research Ethics and Protection of Participants

Research involving human participants, communities, interviews, surveys, personal data, or other potentially sensitive information must comply with applicable ethical and legal requirements.

Authors are responsible for:

  • obtaining informed consent where appropriate;

  • protecting participant privacy and confidentiality;

  • minimizing potential harm to participants and communities;

  • appropriately anonymizing identifying information where necessary; and

  • obtaining ethics approval or other institutional authorization when required.

Particular care must be taken when research involves children, vulnerable individuals, indigenous communities, marginalized groups, victims of violence, or other populations requiring enhanced protection.

Community-based research should respect local norms, community autonomy, dignity, and the rights of participants.

7. Conflicts of Interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest that could influence their judgment or the publication process.

Conflicts may include, but are not limited to:

  • financial interests;

  • professional or institutional relationships;

  • personal relationships;

  • competitive interests;

  • funding relationships; or

  • other circumstances that could reasonably affect impartiality.

The existence of a conflict does not necessarily prevent publication or participation in the review process, but it must be appropriately disclosed and managed.

8. Funding and Financial Disclosure

Authors should disclose sources of financial or institutional support for the research where applicable.

Funding information should identify the organization or institution providing support and, where relevant, describe the role of the funder in the research design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, or decision to publish.

The absence of funding should be stated where appropriate.

9. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for ensuring that manuscripts are assessed fairly, objectively, and consistently.

Editors must:

  • evaluate manuscripts based on scholarly merit and relevance to the journal's scope;

  • maintain editorial independence;

  • ensure appropriate peer review;

  • protect the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts;

  • manage conflicts of interest;

  • avoid discrimination based on irrelevant personal or institutional characteristics;

  • investigate credible allegations of misconduct;

  • provide authors with appropriate opportunities to respond to substantive concerns; and

  • take reasonable steps to correct the scholarly record when necessary.

Editors must not use unpublished information obtained through the editorial process for personal research or professional advantage.

10. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers are expected to provide independent, objective, constructive, and timely assessments.

Reviewers must:

  • maintain confidentiality;

  • disclose conflicts of interest;

  • assess manuscripts based on scholarly criteria;

  • provide evidence-based and respectful comments;

  • identify relevant published work that has not been appropriately acknowledged where applicable;

  • notify the Editor of potential plagiarism or serious ethical concerns; and

  • avoid using unpublished information from manuscripts for personal or professional benefit.

Reviewers must not contact authors directly about a manuscript under review unless authorized by the Editor.

11. Peer Review Integrity

The journal applies a double-blind peer review process to manuscripts selected for external review.

Authors must not attempt to identify or influence reviewers. Reviewers must not attempt to identify authors or use knowledge obtained through the review process for personal advantage.

Any attempt to manipulate peer review, including submitting fabricated reviewer identities, influencing reviewers improperly, or interfering with the review process, may constitute publication misconduct.

12. Editorial and Reviewer Conflicts of Interest

Editors and reviewers must withdraw from handling a manuscript where a conflict of interest could compromise their impartiality.

Editors should not make decisions on manuscripts in which they:

  • are an author or co-author;

  • have a close personal or professional relationship with an author;

  • have a significant institutional or financial interest;

  • have a substantial competitive relationship with the authors; or

  • otherwise have circumstances that could reasonably compromise independent judgment.

Where appropriate, an independent editor should be assigned to manage the manuscript.

13. Use of Generative AI

The use of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies must comply with the journal's Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies Policy.

AI systems cannot be listed as authors. Authors remain responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and legality of AI-assisted content.

Generative AI must not be used to fabricate data, sources, legal authorities, citations, research findings, or other scholarly material.

Reviewers and editors must not upload confidential manuscripts or review materials to generative AI systems where doing so would compromise confidentiality or editorial integrity.

14. Complaints and Appeals

The journal is committed to handling complaints and appeals fairly and transparently.

Authors may appeal an editorial decision where they believe that:

  • a significant factual or procedural error occurred;

  • the decision was based on a misunderstanding of the manuscript; or

  • relevant information was not appropriately considered.

Appeals must provide a clear and substantive explanation. Disagreement with a reviewer's academic opinion alone is generally not sufficient grounds for an appeal.

Complaints concerning editorial conduct, peer review, authorship, research integrity, or publication ethics should be submitted to the journal's editorial office. The Editor-in-Chief or an appropriately independent editor will assess the matter and determine the appropriate course of action.

15. Allegations of Misconduct

When a credible allegation of research or publication misconduct is received, the journal will conduct an appropriate preliminary assessment.

Potential misconduct may include:

  • plagiarism;

  • duplicate or redundant publication;

  • fabrication or falsification;

  • manipulation of peer review;

  • inappropriate authorship;

  • undisclosed conflicts of interest;

  • unethical research involving human participants;

  • misuse of confidential information;

  • citation manipulation; or

  • other practices that undermine the integrity of the scholarly record.

Where necessary, the journal may request explanations, supporting documentation, or clarification from the authors, reviewers, editors, or relevant institutions.

The journal may cooperate with the authors' institutions or other appropriate bodies when an investigation beyond the journal's authority is required.

16. Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

The journal is committed to maintaining an accurate and reliable scholarly record.

When a published article contains a significant error, the journal may publish a Correction or other appropriate notice.

A Retraction may be issued when an article is found to contain serious errors, unreliable findings, plagiarism, fabricated or falsified data, major ethical violations, or other circumstances that substantially undermine the integrity of the publication.

An Expression of Concern may be published when there are serious unresolved concerns about a published article but the available evidence is insufficient to justify immediate retraction.

Corrections and retractions will be clearly identified and linked to the original publication to preserve the transparency and integrity of the scholarly record.

17. Citation Ethics

Authors must cite relevant and appropriate sources that directly support their arguments, methodology, findings, or analysis.

The journal does not permit:

  • unnecessary citation intended to increase citation counts;

  • coercive citation;

  • citation manipulation;

  • excessive self-citation without scholarly justification; or

  • deliberate omission of relevant sources to misrepresent the state of scholarship.

Citations should serve a genuine scholarly purpose.

18. Advertising and Commercial Influence

Editorial decisions are independent of advertising, sponsorship, commercial interests, or other financial considerations.

Commercial relationships must not influence the selection, review, acceptance, or publication of scholarly content.

19. Independence and Editorial Responsibility

The journal maintains editorial independence in all publication decisions. Manuscripts are evaluated based on their scholarly quality, originality, relevance, methodological rigor, ethical integrity, and contribution to the field.

No author, institution, sponsor, or external party may improperly influence editorial decisions.

The Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board retain final responsibility for publication decisions and for maintaining the integrity of the journal's scholarly record.

20. Policy Review and Updates

This Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement may be periodically reviewed and updated to reflect developments in scholarly publishing, research ethics, legal standards, and recognized international best practices.

All parties involved in the publication process are expected to comply with the version of the policy applicable at the time of submission or review.

Lentera Masyarakat Hukum is committed to continuously strengthening its publication practices and maintaining a trustworthy, transparent, and ethically responsible scholarly environment.