Conflict of interest policy

What is a conflict of interest?

A conflict of interest (also called a competing interest) exists when professional judgement about a primary interest — the validity of research, or the fairness of its assessment — could be influenced by a secondary interest. Per ICMJE, the test is perception as well as fact: a relationship that a reasonable reader might see as influential should be disclosed, whether or not the individual believes it affected them.

Financial interests

• Employment or consultancies with an entity that could gain or lose from the publication;
• Grants, honoraria, speakers’ fees, travel support, or paid expert testimony;
• Stock, stock options, or other ownership interests;
• Patents (granted or pending) and royalties;
• Payment for writing or reviewing the manuscript, including by funders or sponsors.

Non-financial interests

• Personal relationships (family, close friendships, or known rivalries) with authors, editors, or reviewers;
• Academic competition on the same research question;
• Institutional affiliations or roles in organizations with a stake in the outcome;
• Intellectual or ideological commitments — for example, advocacy positions directly related to the work.

Disclosures should cover interests within the 36 months preceding submission, plus any older interest a reasonable reader would still consider relevant.

Authors

• Every author must disclose all relevant financial and non-financial interests in a “Competing interests” section of the manuscript. If there are none, state explicitly: “The authors declare no competing interests.”
• All funding sources must be named, with grant numbers, together with a description of any role the funder played in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, writing, or the decision to publish. If the funder had no such role, say so.
• The corresponding author is responsible for collecting disclosures from all co-authors before submission. Journals may request completed ICMJE Disclosure of Interest forms for each author.
• Disclosure statements are published with the article, so readers can judge the work with full information.
• New interests arising between submission and publication must be reported to the editorial office promptly.

Reviewers

• Invited reviewers must consider their own conflicts before accepting an assignment and decline where impartiality is not possible.
• Conflicts requiring declining typically include: co-authorship or close collaboration with the authors within the past 3 years; working in the same institution or research group; supervisory or mentee relationships; close personal relationships or known disputes; direct financial interests in the outcome; or direct competition on the same question where fair assessment is doubtful.
• In double-anonymous review, if the reviewer nonetheless recognizes the likely authors and this creates a conflict, they must inform the editor immediately rather than continue.
• Lesser interests that do not prevent a fair review must still be declared to the editor, who decides whether to proceed.
• Reviewers must not use the review to advance their own interests — for example, by coercing citations to their work or delaying a competitor’s manuscript. Such behavior is reviewer misconduct (see the Peer Review Policy).

Editors and editorial board members

• Editors must recuse themselves from any manuscript in which they have a financial, personal, institutional, or academic conflict; the manuscript is reassigned to another editor with no reporting line to the conflicted editor.
• Manuscripts authored by an editor, an editorial board member, or their close collaborators are handled entirely by an independent editor. The author-editor has no access to reviewer identities, review reports, or the decision process, and the journal states this handling in the published article where appropriate.
• Editors must not use knowledge gained from submitted manuscripts for their own advantage.
• Editors’ relevant interests are declared to the publisher on appointment and updated when they change.
• Editorial decisions are never influenced by the publisher’s commercial interests, including APC revenue — see Editorial Policies.

How disclosures are used

Disclosure rarely disqualifies work. Editors use disclosures to choose appropriate reviewers, to weigh reviews in context, and to ensure readers see the full picture. A declared interest leads to rejection only where it fundamentally undermines confidence in the work itself — for example, a sponsor contractually controlling whether unfavorable results could be published.

Undisclosed conflicts

Allegations that a conflict was concealed are investigated under COPE guidance, as described in Publication Ethics. Depending on severity, outcomes include:

• publication of a correction adding the missing disclosure;
• an expression of concern or retraction where the concealed interest undermines confidence in the findings (see Corrections & Retractions);
• rejection of a manuscript under review;
• notification of the individual’s institution and, for reviewers or editors, removal from the journal’s editorial community.

Questions and reports

If you are unsure whether something needs to be disclosed, disclose it — or ask the editorial office first. To ask a question or report a suspected undisclosed conflict, contact Support@lumora.sa; reports are handled confidentially and acknowledged within 24 hours.

Last updated: July 2026 · Related: Publication Ethics, Peer Review Policy, Editorial Policies, Corrections & Retractions, All Policies