Immortalis Journal of Health Law and Public Policy (IJHLPP) is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and academic integrity in scholarly publishing. The journal adheres to internationally recognized ethical principles and publication practices, particularly those established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), where applicable. These principles serve as the foundation for ensuring transparency, accountability, fairness, originality, and academic integrity throughout the publication process. The journal expects all parties involved in scholarly publishing, including authors, editors, reviewers, editorial board members, and the publisher, to maintain professional conduct and comply with the ethical standards outlined below.

1. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors submitting manuscripts to IJHLPP must ensure that their work is original, scientifically sound, and has not been published previously or submitted simultaneously to another journal. Authors are responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and reliability of their research, including the proper presentation of data, methods, findings, legal analysis, and references. All sources, ideas, quotations, and previously published materials must be appropriately acknowledged and cited. Authors must disclose relevant funding sources, potential conflicts of interest, research limitations, and any ethical considerations associated with their work. All listed authors must have made substantial scholarly contributions, approved the final manuscript, and agreed to be accountable for the integrity of the published work.

2. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for evaluating submitted manuscripts objectively, independently, and fairly based on their academic quality, originality, relevance, methodological rigor, and contribution to the journal's scope. Editorial decisions must not be influenced by the authors' nationality, institutional affiliation, gender, religious beliefs, political views, personal relationships, or commercial interests. Editors must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and ensure that all manuscripts undergo an appropriate editorial assessment and peer-review process. Editors must also identify and manage potential conflicts of interest, address allegations of publication misconduct, and take appropriate action to correct the scholarly record whenever necessary.

3. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers play an essential role in maintaining the academic quality and integrity of IJHLPP. They are expected to conduct manuscript evaluations objectively, constructively, confidentially, and within the agreed review period. Reviewers should assess the originality, theoretical foundation, research methods, legal reasoning, relevance, clarity, and scholarly contribution of submitted manuscripts. They must provide clear and evidence-based recommendations to support editorial decisions and manuscript improvement. Reviewers must not disclose, reproduce, or use unpublished information obtained during the review process for personal or professional advantage. Any potential conflicts of interest must be disclosed to the editor, and reviewers should decline assignments when impartiality cannot be maintained.

4. Peer Review Process

IJHLPP implements a double-blind peer review system to ensure an independent, objective, and impartial evaluation of submitted manuscripts. Initially, all submissions undergo editorial screening to assess their suitability, originality, compliance with submission requirements, and relevance to the journal's focus and scope. Manuscripts that pass the initial screening are subsequently evaluated by at least two independent reviewers with relevant academic expertise. Editorial decisions are based on reviewers' recommendations and the editor's independent assessment. The possible decisions include acceptance, acceptance with minor revisions, major revisions, or rejection. The editorial team reserves the right to seek additional reviews when necessary to ensure the quality and integrity of the evaluation process.

5. Publication Misconduct

IJHLPP does not tolerate any form of academic or publication misconduct. Prohibited practices include, but are not limited to, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, duplicate publication, redundant publication, inappropriate authorship attribution, citation manipulation, peer-review manipulation, and the unauthorized use of copyrighted materials. The journal may use appropriate similarity-checking tools and other research-integrity assessment procedures to identify potential violations. Allegations of misconduct will be assessed carefully, fairly, and confidentially. Depending on the severity and findings of the investigation, the journal may reject the manuscript, request clarification or correction, notify relevant institutions or funding bodies, issue an expression of concern, or retract a published article.

6. Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship must reflect genuine and substantial intellectual contributions to the research and manuscript. Individuals listed as authors must have contributed significantly to the conception or design of the study, data acquisition, analysis or interpretation, participated in drafting or critically revising the manuscript, approved the final version, and accepted accountability for the published work. Individuals who provide administrative support, funding, technical assistance, or other contributions that do not meet authorship criteria should be appropriately acknowledged rather than listed as authors. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all authors have approved the submitted manuscript and agreed to its submission to IJHLPP. Any changes to authorship or author order after submission must be justified and approved in writing by all affected authors.

7. Conflict of Interest and Funding Disclosure

All authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial board members must disclose any financial or non-financial relationships that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, their professional judgment. Such conflicts may include employment, consultancy, research funding, financial interests, institutional affiliations, personal relationships, academic competition, or other relevant interests. Authors must provide a clear statement of funding sources and explain the role of funders in the research design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, and publication process. Editors and reviewers with potential conflicts of interest must withdraw from the relevant editorial or review assignment. All disclosed conflicts of interest and funding information must be reported transparently in the published article where applicable.

8. Research Ethics and Protection of Human Participants

Research involving human participants, patients, medical records, or identifiable personal health information must comply with internationally recognized ethical standards, applicable national regulations, and relevant institutional requirements. Authors must obtain approval from an appropriate research ethics committee or institutional review board when required and provide the approval reference number in the manuscript. Informed consent must be obtained from research participants where applicable. Authors must ensure the confidentiality, privacy, dignity, and protection of participants, particularly vulnerable individuals and patients. Any information, photographs, or clinical details that could identify an individual must not be published without appropriate written consent for publication. Research involving animals must comply with applicable institutional and national standards for animal welfare and ethical treatment.

9. Originality, Plagiarism, and Duplicate Submission

All manuscripts submitted to IJHLPP must represent original scholarly work. Plagiarism, including the unacknowledged use of another person's ideas, words, research findings, or intellectual contributions, is strictly prohibited. Authors must properly cite all sources and obtain permission for the use of copyrighted materials where necessary. Manuscripts must not be under consideration by another journal while being evaluated by IJHLPP. Previously published articles, substantial duplication of existing publications, and inappropriate fragmentation of research findings are not acceptable. Manuscripts previously disseminated as preprints must be disclosed at submission and properly referenced. The editorial team evaluates similarity reports in context rather than relying solely on numerical similarity scores.

10. Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

IJHLPP recognizes the use of artificial intelligence and AI-assisted technologies in academic research and scholarly communication, provided that their use is transparent, responsible, and ethically appropriate. Authors must disclose the use of generative AI tools or other AI-assisted technologies when they have been used to generate or substantially modify manuscript content, analyze data, produce images, or support other substantive research activities. The tools and purposes of their use should be described in the appropriate section of the manuscript. AI tools cannot be listed as authors or co-authors because they cannot assume responsibility for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of scholarly work. Authors remain fully responsible for verifying all AI-generated content, including legal references, regulations, case law, data, and scientific claims. Reviewers and editors must not upload confidential manuscripts or unpublished research materials to external AI systems without appropriate authorization and adequate confidentiality safeguards.

11. Data Availability and Research Transparency

Authors are encouraged to ensure the accuracy, transparency, and reproducibility of their research by providing access to relevant data, research materials, analytical procedures, and supporting documentation where appropriate. A data availability statement should be included in the manuscript when applicable. Data involving confidential information, personal health records, legally protected materials, or sensitive research participants must be protected in accordance with applicable ethical and legal requirements. Where data cannot be made publicly available, authors should clearly explain the restrictions and indicate the conditions under which access may be granted. Authors must retain sufficient research records to support the validity of their findings and respond to reasonable editorial requests for clarification or verification.

12. Complaints and Appeals

IJHLPP is committed to handling complaints and appeals in a transparent, impartial, and timely manner. Authors may submit a formal appeal against an editorial decision by providing a clear explanation and relevant evidence demonstrating why the decision should be reconsidered. Complaints concerning editorial conduct, peer-review procedures, publication practices, or alleged ethical violations may be submitted to the editorial office through the journal's official communication channels. All complaints and appeals will be assessed by the Editor-in-Chief or an appropriate independent editorial representative. Where a complaint involves the Editor-in-Chief, the matter will be referred to the publisher or an independent authorized representative. The journal ensures that complaints are handled confidentially and without retaliation against individuals who raise legitimate concerns.

13. Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

IJHLPP is committed to maintaining the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record. Corrections will be issued when published articles contain errors that affect the accuracy or clarity of the publication but do not invalidate its overall findings or conclusions. Retractions may be issued when substantial evidence indicates that an article contains unreliable findings, serious methodological errors, plagiarism, fabricated or falsified data, unethical research practices, or other significant violations of publication ethics. An expression of concern may be published when serious questions arise regarding an article's integrity while an investigation is ongoing. All corrections, expressions of concern, and retraction notices will clearly explain the reasons for the editorial action and be linked to the original publication. Retracted articles will remain accessible in the scholarly record with an appropriate retraction notice to preserve publication transparency.

14. Copyright and Intellectual Property

IJHLPP respects the intellectual property rights of authors, publishers, and other rights holders. Authors are responsible for ensuring that submitted manuscripts do not infringe copyright, intellectual property rights, or other applicable legal protections. Any third-party material reproduced in a manuscript must be properly acknowledged and supported by the necessary permissions. Copyright ownership, publication licensing, and open-access distribution conditions are governed by the journal's separately stated Copyright and Licensing Policy. The journal is committed to ensuring that all published materials are disseminated in accordance with the applicable licensing terms and legal requirements.

15. Editorial Independence and Publication Integrity

IJHLPP maintains editorial independence in all aspects of manuscript evaluation, peer review, and publication decisions. Editorial decisions are based exclusively on scholarly merit, academic relevance, research integrity, and compliance with the journal's editorial policies. The publisher, sponsors, advertisers, institutional affiliations, and other external parties must not interfere with editorial decisions or influence the acceptance or rejection of manuscripts. Any publication fees, if applicable, must be transparently communicated to authors and must not influence the peer-review process or editorial decisions. Through these commitments, IJHLPP seeks to maintain public trust, promote responsible scholarly communication, and contribute to the advancement of ethical and high-quality research in health law and public policy.

Ethical Commitment

By submitting a manuscript to Immortalis Journal of Health Law and Public Policy (IJHLPP), authors acknowledge their responsibility to comply with the journal's publication ethics and editorial policies. The editorial team, reviewers, and publisher are equally responsible for upholding these standards and ensuring that all scholarly publications meet the principles of academic integrity, transparency, fairness, and accountability.