Confidentiality & Conflict of Interest
Confidentiality & Conflict of Interest
The Journal of Intelligent Computing and Connected Systems (JICCS) is committed to maintaining confidentiality, fairness, and transparency throughout the peer-review and publication process. Reviewers and editorial participants are expected to identify and appropriately manage any potential conflicts of interest.
1. Confidentiality of Manuscripts
Manuscripts submitted to JICCS are confidential documents.
Reviewers and editorial participants should:
- Treat all submitted manuscripts as confidential.
- Not share manuscript files or content with unauthorized individuals.
- Not discuss the manuscript outside the authorized review process.
- Not reproduce, distribute, or publicly disclose unpublished manuscript content.
- Not use unpublished information obtained during peer review for personal, academic, or professional benefit.
Confidentiality should be maintained throughout the review process and after the review has been completed.
2. Reviewer Confidentiality
Reviewers should keep confidential:
- The contents of the manuscript.
- The identity of the authors, where applicable.
- Their review comments.
- Communications with the editorial team.
- Editorial decisions and discussions.
Reviewers should not contact authors directly about a manuscript under review unless specifically authorized by the editorial team.
3. Conflict of Interest
A conflict of interest may arise when a reviewer's personal, professional, academic, financial, or other interests could reasonably affect—or appear to affect—their objective evaluation of a manuscript.
Reviewers should disclose any potential conflict to the editorial team before accepting or completing a review.
4. Examples of Potential Conflicts
A potential conflict may exist when the reviewer:
- Has recently collaborated with one or more authors.
- Has a close personal or professional relationship with an author.
- Works at the same institution as an author in circumstances that could affect impartiality.
- Has a direct financial or commercial interest related to the research.
- Is in direct competition with the authors regarding the research.
- Has a personal interest that could influence the evaluation.
- Has another relationship that may reasonably raise concerns about impartiality.
These examples are not exhaustive. Reviewers should disclose any situation they believe could affect their independence.
5. What Reviewers Should Do
If a potential conflict of interest exists, the reviewer should:
- Inform the editorial team as soon as possible.
- Explain the nature of the potential conflict where appropriate.
- Follow the editor's instructions regarding the review assignment.
- Decline the review when the conflict could prevent an objective assessment.
When in doubt, reviewers are encouraged to disclose the situation to the editor rather than making an independent assumption about whether it constitutes a conflict.
6. Editorial Conflicts of Interest
Editors and other editorial participants should also disclose potential conflicts of interest.
An editor should not participate in an editorial decision where a significant personal, professional, financial, or other conflict could compromise—or reasonably appear to compromise—the independence of the decision.
Where appropriate, the manuscript may be assigned to another qualified editor.
7. Financial Interests
Reviewers and editors should disclose relevant financial interests that could be affected by the publication decision.
The existence of a publication charge does not by itself constitute a conflict of interest. Editorial decisions should remain independent of publication fees.
8. Competitive Interests
Reviewers should disclose situations where they may directly benefit or be disadvantaged by the publication of the manuscript.
Examples may include:
- Competing research projects.
- Competing technologies or methods.
- Patent-related interests.
- Commercial interests.
- Direct competition for funding or recognition.
9. Confidentiality During AI-Assisted Review
Reviewers should exercise particular caution when using AI-assisted tools.
Confidential manuscript content, including unpublished data, figures, text, reviewer comments, or author information, should not be uploaded to external AI systems unless such use has been explicitly authorized by the journal and appropriate confidentiality protections are in place.
Reviewers remain responsible for protecting confidential information.
10. Breach of Confidentiality
Any suspected breach of confidentiality should be reported promptly to the editorial team.
The journal may review the circumstances and take appropriate action in accordance with its applicable editorial and publication-ethics policies.
11. Commitment to Fair Review
JICCS expects all participants in the editorial and peer-review process to act with:
- Confidentiality
- Independence
- Objectivity
- Professionalism
- Transparency
- Integrity
These principles help ensure that manuscripts are evaluated fairly and that the peer-review process maintains appropriate scholarly standards.
Reviewer Declaration
Before accepting a review assignment, reviewers should consider whether they can provide an independent and objective assessment without a significant conflict of interest.
If a potential conflict exists, reviewers should disclose it to the editorial team before proceeding with the review.
