Publication Ethical Standards

The International Journal for Transparency and Accountability in Governance (“The Journal”) is a double-blind peer-reviewed academic journal. The quality and integrity of the works published by the Journal are the primary priorities of the Editorial Board, in the conduct, reporting, editing, and reviewing of the works. The Editorial Board encourages the highest standards of publication ethics and takes all reasonable preventative measures against publication malpractices through this Publication Ethical Standards

All persons associated with the Journal in the capacity of the author, reviewer, and editor, are expected to acquaint themselves and adhere to the terms of this statement.

Editors of this Journal shall have the following ethical duties:

Editors shall ensure that the submissions received are evaluated objectively and exclusively based on academic merit, without regard to any secondary consideration(s) such as the authors’ ethnic origin, religious belief, race, sexual orientation, gender, citizenship, political philosophy, or institutional affiliation.

• Notwithstanding the above, the editors shall reject any submissions that contain illegal material, including defamation, libel, slander, obscene content, or other unlawful content. Additionally, submissions determined to be unoriginal or plagiarized shall also be rejected, with such determinations made by the Editorial Board on an individual basis.

• The Editor-in-Chief shall hold full discretion over the Journal’s content and may decline to publish submissions if there is evidence of misconduct by the author(s) [See Authorship Guidelines]

• Should the Journal publish an article that critiques a previous submission, the editors will offer the author(s) of the original piece a chance to respond, provided the response adheres to the Journal’s review standards.

• The Editorial Board will not share any information or ideas from a submission with anyone other than the author(s), editorial team, reviewers, and publisher, unless authorized by the author(s).

• Editors are required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest and may be recused from making editorial decisions if they are involved or perceived to be involved in a conflict. If the conflict is significant, another editor will be assigned to handle the submission.

• Editors shall not use any unpublished information from the submission for their own research without explicit consent of the author(s).

• Submissions from members of the editorial team will not be accepted for publication in the Journal.

• Editors shall address inquiries, ethical concerns, and allegations of malpractice promptly and responsibly. Complaints or concerns about ethical issues or conflicts of interest should be sent to the editorial team at ctag@nludelhi.ac.in

• Any reports of unethical conduct will be investigated by the current Editorial Board, regardless of when the submission in question was published. If a complaint involves a member of the Editorial Board, the Faculty Advisor will handle the investigation and make a decision.

• There is no time limit on when unethical behaviour or malpractice may be reported.

• If an investigation confirms unethical behaviour or malpractice, the Editorial Board will issue a clarification, correction, expression of concern, retraction, apology, or another appropriate notice in a subsequent issue of the Journal.

• Editors are responsible for ensuring that all published issues are securely preserved and that the Journal remains open access and freely available. This may involve collaboration with other organizations or maintaining a dedicated digital archive.

The duties and responsibilities of all authors are, including but not limited to:

Authorship of the submitted manuscript should be based on the following criteria:

• Substantial intellectual contribution in either the ideation or conception of the submissions

• Substantial contribution in drafting of the submission and making subsequent revisions

• Authority to grant approval for the publication of the final version.

• Agreement to be responsible and accountable for the accuracy and integrity of all aspects of the submission.

• The Journal encourages collaboration and co-authorship, but authorship must be attributed only to those who meet the aforementioned criteria.

• All authors affirm that their submission does not infringe on any third party’s copyright or other legal rights, and that it does not contain defamatory, slanderous, libelous, obscene, or otherwise unlawful content. Authors agree to assume full legal responsibility for any violations.

• Contributors who do not meet all the criteria for authorship should not be listed as authors, but their contributions should be acknowledged with appropriate recognition.

• The corresponding author must secure written consent from all individuals being acknowledged. Without such permission, acknowledgments for that individual will not be published by the Journal.

• An author may request changes to the authorship, including the removal or addition of author(s), after submission, acceptance, or publication. In such cases, a detailed explanation and a signed agreement from all parties involved must be provided.

• The Journal and its Editors are not responsible for resolving disputes over authorship and will not intervene in such matters.

• The Journal reserves the right to reject a manuscript if the author(s) is found to have engaged in misconduct.

• If the Editorial Board suspect or are informed of any allegations of misconduct by an author, they are obligated to take appropriate action.

Misconduct shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following:

• Violations of publication ethics policy of another journal

• Previous criminal convictions by a court of law in any jurisdiction

• Ongoing criminal proceedings in any jurisdiction

• Allegations of, or ongoing proceedings, in any institution or organization, including those pertaining to ragging or bullying.

Author Responsibilities

• Authors are required to disclose any instances of misconduct involving the Journal as soon as possible.

• Manuscripts submitted to the Journal, or any variations thereof, must not be simultaneously submitted to other publications.

• If any part of the manuscript, or variation of it, has been published or accepted for publication elsewhere (whether in the same or a different language), the author(s) must disclose this information at the time of submission or immediately after the manuscript is accepted for publication, whichever occurs first. The Journal may request additional details about the prior or simultaneous publication.

• Plagiarism in any form is unethical and unacceptable. By submitting their work to the Journal, the author(s) guarantee that the manuscript is original, free of plagiarism, and does not infringe on the copyright or other rights of any third party. 

• Authors are responsible for properly acknowledging their sources and providing appropriate references in the format required by the Journal. Information obtained privately (e.g. through discussions or conversations with third parties) must not be used in the manuscript without explicit written consent from the concerned third party.

• Authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest, whether financial, institutional, personal, or otherwise, that could be perceived as influencing the content of their manuscript or the review process.

• Potential conflicts of interest may include relationships with the Journal’s Editors, employment, grants, consultancies, representation in legal disputes, or paid expert testimony.

• It is the responsibility of the author(s) to disclose such conflicts of interest at the earliest opportunity.

• If an author discovers significant errors in their published work, they must immediately notify the Journal and cooperate with the Journal to correct the errors.

• If the Editors come to know of such fundamental errors in a published manuscript, the author will be given the chance to demonstrate the accuracy of their work. If the author cannot prove the correctness of the work, they are expected to assist the Journal in rectifying the errors.

• The Editorial Board has the discretion to decide in what form and manner the error(s) shall be rectified.