Publication Ethics

General Principles

The publication of articles in SHACRAL: Shari’ah Economics Review Journal represents a collective effort to advance scholarly knowledge in Islamic economics and related fields. Ethical publishing practices are therefore essential to maintain academic integrity, public trust, and scholarly credibility. SHACRAL adheres to the principles and best practices promoted by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Editorial decisions are made independently and are not influenced by advertising, sponsorship, reprints, or other commercial considerations. When necessary, the journal cooperates with other publishers or journals to address ethical issues.

Duties of Editors

Editors are responsible for determining which submitted manuscripts proceed to review and eventual publication. Decisions are guided by the academic merit, originality, clarity, and relevance of the work to the journal’s scope. Editors must ensure that manuscripts comply with ethical standards, including the prevention of plagiarism, defamation, and copyright infringement.

Editors evaluate submissions solely on intellectual content, without discrimination based on gender, ethnicity, religion, nationality, institutional affiliation, or political views. All information related to submitted manuscripts is treated as confidential and shared only with authors, reviewers, editorial advisors, or the publisher when necessary. Unpublished material must not be used for editors’ own research without written permission from the authors.

Editors must avoid handling manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest. Any competing interests disclosed by authors, reviewers, or editors must be transparently managed. Ethical concerns raised before or after publication will be investigated carefully, and appropriate actions, such as corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions, will be taken when warranted.

Duties of Reviewers

Peer review supports editorial decision-making and improves manuscript quality. Reviewers who feel unqualified or unable to provide a timely review should inform the editor and decline the invitation. All manuscripts under review are confidential documents and must not be shared or used for personal research purposes.

Reviews should be objective, constructive, and supported by clear arguments. Personal criticism of authors is inappropriate. Reviewers should identify relevant prior work that has not been cited and alert editors to any substantial similarity between the manuscript and other published works. Reviewers must decline manuscripts where conflicts of interest exist.

Duties of Authors

Authors are responsible for presenting original research accurately, transparently, and honestly. Data, methods, and citations must be reported correctly. Fabrication, falsification, or misrepresentation of research findings constitutes unethical behavior.

Plagiarism in any form, including unattributed copying, improper paraphrasing, or claiming others’ results as one’s own, is unacceptable. Manuscripts should not be submitted simultaneously to more than one journal, nor should substantially similar work be published in multiple outlets without proper disclosure. Authorship is limited to individuals who have made significant scholarly contributions and who approve the final manuscript.

All authors must disclose any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest. If significant errors are discovered after publication, authors are obliged to inform the editor promptly and cooperate in issuing corrections or retractions.

Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism is defined as the use of another person’s ideas, words, data, or creative work without proper acknowledgment. This includes verbatim copying, close paraphrasing, improper citation, and redundant publication (self-plagiarism).

SHACRAL screens all submitted manuscripts using plagiarism-detection software. Manuscripts with a similarity index exceeding 25 percent, including self-plagiarism, may be rejected or returned for revision, depending on severity and context.

Sanctions

When plagiarism is confirmed, actions may include:

  • Rejection of the manuscript;
  • Request for revision with proper citation;
  • Publication of a notice of plagiarism or redundant publication;
  • Notification of authors’ institutions in severe cases.

Responsibility for ethical compliance rests with all listed authors.

Use of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies

SHACRAL supports transparency in the responsible use of generative AI tools.

Author Guidelines:

  1. Generative AI must not be used to generate core scientific content, analysis, conclusions, or policy recommendations.
  2. AI tools may be used to improve language quality, clarity, or grammar.
  3. Any use of AI must be disclosed in a dedicated section titled “Declaration of AI and AI-Assisted Technologies in the Writing Process.”

Disclosure Statement Template:

During the preparation of this manuscript, the author(s) used [tool/service name] for [specific purpose, e.g., language editing]. The author(s) reviewed and edited the content and take full responsibility for the integrity of the work.

The journal reserves the right to request additional information or verification regarding AI use.

Retraction Policy

Editors may retract a published article if there is clear evidence of ethical violations, unreliable findings, plagiarism, or misconduct. Retraction requests initiated by authors must be submitted formally to the editorial office for review.

Retraction may be declined if:

  1. The dispute concerns authorship without affecting the validity of the findings;
  2. Errors can be corrected without invalidating the main results;
  3. An investigation is ongoing and evidence is inconclusive;
  4. Disclosed conflicts of interest are deemed not to have influenced the study’s conclusions.

All retractions will be handled in accordance with COPE guidelines to ensure transparency and fairness.