A conflict of interest, also known as a competing interest, arises when financial, professional, institutional, personal, or other relationships may improperly influence, or appear to influence, an individual's objectivity in conducting, evaluating, or publishing scholarly work.

The existence of a competing interest does not automatically indicate misconduct. However, failure to disclose a relevant interest may undermine confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the publication process.

Competing interests may take several forms, including but not limited to the following:

All authors must disclose relevant competing interests at the time of manuscript submission. Disclosures should be accurate, sufficiently detailed, and directly related to the submitted work where applicable.

• Declare relevant financial and non-financial competing interests.
• Disclose funding sources and the role of funders in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, and publication decisions.
• Identify relevant employment, consultancy, intellectual property, or commercial relationships.
• Ensure that all co-authors have been informed of relevant disclosures.
• Update the editorial office if a relevant competing interest becomes apparent during review or after publication.

Reviewers must evaluate manuscripts objectively and maintain confidentiality throughout the peer-review process.

• Declare any financial, personal, institutional, or professional relationship that could affect impartiality.
• Decline an invitation when a competing interest prevents a fair and independent review.
• Inform the editor promptly if a potential conflict becomes apparent after accepting a review invitation.
• Do not use unpublished information obtained through peer review for personal or professional advantage.

Editors must ensure that editorial decisions are based on scholarly merit, relevance, originality, methodological quality, and compliance with publication ethics.

• Disclose competing interests that could affect editorial judgment.
• Recuse themselves from handling manuscripts when an actual or significant perceived conflict exists.
• Assign an independent editor when necessary.
• Ensure that reviewers are selected fairly and that the peer-review process remains independent.
• Protect confidential information and avoid preferential treatment.

CEEJ manages competing interests through transparent disclosure and appropriate editorial safeguards.

Relevant competing interests should be disclosed in the manuscript or accompanying submission declarations, as required by the journal.

Where appropriate, CEEJ may publish a competing-interest statement alongside the article. The wording should accurately reflect the information provided by the authors.

Authors must replace the bracketed information with accurate details. Statements must not be used to conceal relevant interests or funding relationships.

If a relevant competing interest is omitted, inaccurately reported, or discovered after submission or publication, CEEJ may request clarification or supporting documentation.

Depending on the circumstances, the journal may require a corrected declaration, reassignment of editorial responsibilities, additional independent assessment, publication of a correction, or other appropriate action. Serious cases involving deliberate misrepresentation may be handled under the journal's research misconduct policy.

This policy is intended to align with recognized publication ethics principles and should be read together with CEEJ's other editorial and research integrity policies.