Publication Ethics

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

In addition to this Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement, Transformative Law Review provides a specific policy on the responsible and transparent use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools. Authors, reviewers, and editors are expected to follow the journal’s Generative AI Policy when using AI-assisted technologies in academic writing, peer review, or editorial work.

Ethical Guideline for Journal Publication

The publication of an article in a peer-reviewed Transformative Law Review is an essential building block in the development of a coherent and respected network of knowledge. It directly reflects the quality of the authors' work and the institutions that support them. Peer-reviewed articles support and embody the scientific method. Therefore, it is important to agree upon standards of expected ethical behavior for all parties involved in publishing: authors, editors, reviewers, the publisher, and the scholarly community.

Pakungwati Institute for Social Transformation and Justice of Yayasan Pawiyatan Pakungwati Cirebon, as the publisher of Transformative Law Review, takes its duties of guardianship seriously at all stages of publication. The publisher ensures that advertising, reprints, institutional support, or other revenue sources do not influence editorial decisions.

Publication Decisions

The editor of Transformative Law Review is responsible for deciding which submitted manuscripts should be published. Decisions are based on the manuscript’s academic merit, originality, relevance to the journal’s focus and scope, methodological soundness, ethical integrity, and contribution to scholarship.

Editors may be guided by the policies of the editorial board and constrained by legal requirements regarding defamation, copyright infringement, plagiarism, research misconduct, and other ethical issues. Editors may consult with other editors or reviewers in making publication decisions.

Fair Play

Editors evaluate manuscripts without regard to authors' race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, political philosophy, institutional affiliation, or other personal characteristics. Submissions are assessed purely on academic merit, originality, methodological quality, ethical compliance, and relevance to the journal’s scope.

Confidentiality

The editor and editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate. All submitted manuscripts are treated as confidential documents throughout the editorial and peer-review process.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

Editors, reviewers, and authors must disclose any conflicts of interest that may influence the review, evaluation, or publication of a manuscript. Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor’s or reviewer’s own research without the express written consent of the author.

Duties of Editors

Editors are responsible for maintaining the academic quality and integrity of the journal. Editors must ensure that each manuscript is evaluated fairly, objectively, and in accordance with the journal’s peer-review process. Editorial decisions should not be affected by commercial interests, personal relationships, institutional pressure, or other non-academic considerations.

Editors must take reasonable steps to identify and prevent the publication of manuscripts involving research misconduct, including plagiarism, redundant publication, citation manipulation, data fabrication, data falsification, unethical research practices, and other forms of publication malpractice.

Duties of Reviewers

Contribution to Editorial Decisions: Peer review assists editors in making editorial decisions and may help authors improve the quality of their manuscripts through constructive feedback.

Promptness: Any reviewer who feels unqualified to review a manuscript or is unable to provide a timely review should notify the editor and withdraw from the review process.

Confidentiality: Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. Reviewers must not share, discuss, distribute, or use the manuscript content for personal advantage.

Standards of Objectivity: Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of authors is inappropriate. Reviewers should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.

Acknowledgement of Sources: Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Reviewers should also alert editors to any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under review and other published or unpublished works known to them.

Disclosure and Conflict of Interest: Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must remain confidential and must not be used for personal advantage. Reviewers must decline to review manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest.

Duties of Authors

Reporting Standards: Authors of original research must present an accurate account of the work performed and an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately, with sufficient detail and references to permit verification where applicable. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.

Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must ensure that their works are entirely original. If the authors use the work, words, data, or ideas of others, these must be appropriately cited or quoted. Plagiarism in all forms constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.

Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication: Authors should not submit or publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication. Simultaneous submission to more than one journal constitutes unethical publishing behavior.

Acknowledgement of Sources: Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work.

Authorship of the Paper: Authorship should be limited to those who have made significant contributions to the conception, design, execution, data collection, analysis, interpretation, or writing of the study. All co-authors must have approved the final version of the manuscript and agreed to its submission for publication.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: Authors must disclose any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest that could influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the research should be disclosed.

Fundamental Errors in Published Works: When authors discover significant errors or inaccuracies in their own published work, they are obliged to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to correct or retract the article.

Research Misconduct and Publication Malpractice

Transformative Law Review does not tolerate research misconduct or publication malpractice. Misconduct includes, but is not limited to, plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, citation manipulation, duplicate publication, redundant publication, unethical authorship practices, undisclosed conflicts of interest, and the misuse of confidential information.

If the editor or publisher becomes aware of any allegation of research misconduct relating to a submitted or published article, the journal will take reasonable steps to investigate the matter. The journal may request clarification from authors, consult reviewers or editorial board members, follow COPE guidelines or equivalent standards, and take appropriate editorial action.

Corrections, Retractions, and Withdrawal

The journal is committed to maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record. When errors, ethical concerns, or cases of misconduct are identified in published articles, the journal may issue corrections, expressions of concern, retractions, or article withdrawals, depending on the nature and severity of the case.

Corrections may be issued for honest errors that do not invalidate the findings of the article. Retractions may be issued when findings are unreliable due to misconduct or serious error, when the article involves plagiarism, duplicate publication, unethical research, or other serious breaches of publication ethics.

Complaints and Appeals

Authors, reviewers, readers, or other parties may submit complaints or appeals concerning editorial decisions, publication ethics, peer review, conflicts of interest, or suspected misconduct. Complaints and appeals should be submitted to the editorial office through the official journal contact.

The editorial team will consider complaints and appeals carefully, fairly, and transparently. Where necessary, the editor may consult the editorial board, reviewers, publisher, or relevant ethical guidelines before making a final decision.

Post-Publication Discussion

The journal allows scholarly discussion after publication through formal correspondence with the editorial office. Readers may raise concerns about published articles, including issues related to accuracy, ethics, originality, or interpretation. The journal will review such concerns in accordance with its publication ethics policies.

Policy Updates

This Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement may be reviewed and updated periodically to reflect developments in scholarly publishing standards, publication ethics, and journal management practices.

Effective date: July 1, 2026
Last updated: July 1, 2026