Ethical Principles and Publication Policy

1. Ethical Principles

DiHA: Journal of Interdisciplinary Legal Studies (Disiplinlerarası Hukuk Araştırmaları Dergisi) is committed to the principles of integrity, impartiality, transparency, accountability, and academic originality in scholarly publishing. The journal observes the principles of ethical publishing established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA), and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), as well as the principles set out in Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing.

Maintaining the scholarly integrity of works published in the journal depends on authors, editors, and reviewers fulfilling their ethical responsibilities. Plagiarism, duplicate publication, salami slicing, false or misleading authorship, fabrication of data or sources, distortion of research findings, unauthorized use of materials, and concealment of conflicts of interest are considered ethical violations.

Allegations of ethical misconduct are examined in accordance with the principles of impartiality, confidentiality, and fairness. During an investigation, the parties concerned may be asked to provide explanations, and independent expert opinions may be sought where deemed necessary. The measures to be taken are determined in light of the nature and severity of the violation and whether it has been substantiated.

2. Research Ethics

Authors are responsible for conducting their research in accordance with the principles of integrity, scientific rigor, transparency, and compliance with applicable legislation. The research methods, sources used, data obtained, and conclusions reached must be presented accurately and in a verifiable manner. Misrepresenting sources, citing non-existent sources, fabricating or falsifying data, and using the work of others without appropriate attribution are unacceptable.

Depending on the nature of the research, the necessary ethics committee approvals, institutional permissions, and informed consents must be obtained. Research involving human participants or the processing of personal data must comply with the principles of voluntariness, privacy, personal data protection, and non-maleficence. Where applicable, the manuscript must disclose that the necessary permissions have been obtained and ethical obligations fulfilled. Where ethics committee approval is not required, this must be stated together with the reasons.

Studies based exclusively on the examination of published legislation, court decisions, archival documents, legal doctrine, and other sources are not required to obtain ethics committee approval unless such approval is required by the nature of the research or applicable legislation.

3. Authors’ Responsibilities

Authors are responsible for the originality of their work, its compliance with scientific and ethical principles, the accuracy of its references, and the reliability of the information presented. The contributions of individuals who have contributed to the work must be accurately acknowledged, and authorship must be granted only to those who have made a meaningful scholarly contribution. Listing individuals as authors without sufficient contributions or excluding individuals who have made meaningful contributions from the author list is unacceptable.

Authors must disclose any financial, academic, institutional, or personal conflicts of interest that could affect the conduct of the research or its findings. Financial support and other relevant contributions to the research must be disclosed transparently. Authors must appropriately cite ideas, data, and statements belonging to others and must not use them without the necessary permissions.

If a significant error is identified in a work that could affect its scientific findings or reliability, the authors must promptly notify the editorial office and cooperate in making the necessary corrections.

Authors are also required to comply with the journal’s provisions concerning manuscript preparation, the use of artificial intelligence, copyright, and other publication policies, which are published on separate policy pages.

4. Editors’ Responsibilities

In academic evaluation and publication decisions, editors take into account scholarly quality, originality, methodological adequacy, and conformity with the journal’s aims and scope. Manuscripts are evaluated without discrimination on the basis of authors’ ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, religious beliefs, political views, or personal characteristics.

Editors are responsible for safeguarding editorial independence, ensuring impartiality throughout the evaluation process, and preventing conflicts of interest involving themselves or other participants in the process. Individuals who have a conflict of interest or a relationship that may give rise to such a conflict must not participate in the relevant evaluation process. An independent editor is appointed where necessary.

Editors must maintain the confidentiality of submissions, reviewers’ reports, and unpublished information obtained during the evaluation process. Such information must not be disclosed to unauthorized persons or used to obtain personal or academic advantage. Where suspected ethical misconduct arises, editors must initiate the necessary investigation and ensure that appropriate measures are taken.

5. Reviewers’ Responsibilities

Reviewers must evaluate the manuscripts submitted to them impartially, constructively, and with reasoned justification, taking into account scholarly quality, originality, methodological consistency, and contribution to the literature. Evaluations must be based on the scholarly merits of the work rather than personal judgments.

Reviewers must decline to review manuscripts that fall outside their areas of expertise or that they cannot evaluate within the required timeframe. They must inform the editor of any conflict of interest or relationship that may give rise to such a conflict. They must keep confidential any information obtained during the evaluation process, refrain from using unpublished ideas or research findings in their own work, and not share manuscripts with unauthorized persons.

If reviewers identify plagiarism, fabrication of sources, duplicate publication, misleading presentation of data, or other potential ethical violations, they must notify the editor and provide supporting reasons. Confidentiality and the independence of the evaluation process must be maintained throughout peer review.

6. Ethical Complaints and Handling of Violations

Authors, reviewers, and other relevant parties may submit reasoned complaints to the journal’s editorial office concerning practices they believe to be contrary to publication ethics. Complaints are examined in accordance with the principles of impartiality, confidentiality, and fairness. Persons who are the subject of a complaint must be excluded from the investigation and decision-making processes concerning that complaint.

In investigating allegations of ethical misconduct, the explanations provided by the parties concerned, available documentation, and expert opinions where deemed necessary are taken into account. If a violation is substantiated, appropriate action is taken in proportion to its nature and severity. Corrections and retractions concerning published works are handled in accordance with the journal’s relevant policies.

Appeals against editorial decisions may be submitted to the editorial office together with the relevant scholarly or procedural grounds. Appeals are examined in light of the existing evaluations and the reasons for the decision. Independent expert opinions may be sought where deemed necessary.

7. Publication Policy

In accordance with its law-centred interdisciplinary approach, DiHA publishes scholarly works that examine legal phenomena, norms, and institutions within their historical, social, political, and technological contexts. The journal adopts scholarly originality, conceptual consistency, methodological clarity, and contribution to the relevant literature as its fundamental publication criteria.

Editorial decisions are based on academic quality and ethical compliance. Decisions are made in accordance with the journal’s aims and scope and the principles of scholarly publishing, rather than in pursuit of personal or institutional interests. The selection of works for publication and publication planning take into account not only scholarly quality but also the journal’s editorial capacity and publication policies.

The journal’s submission and evaluation procedures, manuscript preparation requirements, editorial board decisions, withdrawal procedures, copyright and licensing conditions, archiving practices, and rules concerning the use of artificial intelligence are set out on separate policy pages. These provisions are applied as an integral whole together with the present Ethics Principles and Publication Policy.