CONFLICT OF INTEREST is an official protocol implemented by the journal, requiring authors to submit or disclose a conflict of interest statement during the submission or publication of their work.

The journal “Kraieznavstvo” adheres to the principles set out in:

• Guidelines published on good publication and the Code of Conduct by the Committee of Publication Ethics (COPE).
• Disclosure of Financial and Non-Financial Relationships and Activities, and Conflicts of Interest

A conflict of interest arises when personal, financial, professional, or other relationships may influence or potentially influence the objectivity, impartiality, or independence of the evaluation of a scientific work.

Possible conflicts of interest may include:

• financial interests (grants, research funding, commercial collaboration);
• professional relationships between authors, editors, and reviewers;
• joint research projects or employment at the same institution;
• personal relationships or academic competition.

DECLARATION OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST BY AUTHORS

Authors are required, at the time of manuscript submission, to disclose all financial and personal relationships that could have influenced their research and to clearly state whether any potential conflicts of interest exist.

Authors must also:

• acknowledge individuals who contributed to the writing of the article or provided other support;
• indicate the source of funding for the research.

Authors must explicitly and unambiguously state the presence or absence of a conflict of interest within the text of the article, in a separate paragraph following the conclusions.

The conflict of interest declaration is published in the final article as a note:
“Conflict of Interest: …”; if none exist — “None declared.”

In cases where a conflict of interest is identified, the editorial office applies procedural safeguards consistent with COPE recommendations:

• replacement of the reviewer or editor;
• appointment of an independent handling editor;
• additional external peer review;
• publication of an editorial note;
• corrections, expressions of concern, or other post-publication actions in accordance with escalation procedures.

The editorial board records and reviews reports from readers, reviewers, and third parties regarding potential conflicts or misconduct, acting in accordance with principles of procedural fairness and confidentiality.

PROCEDURE FOR HANDLING MANUSCRIPTS SUBMITTED BY THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OR MEMBERS OF THE EDITORIAL BOARD

If a manuscript is submitted by the Editor-in-Chief or a member of the editorial board, the following rules apply:

• the individual is excluded from all stages of the editorial process for that manuscript;
• an independent editor (guest editor or another editorial board member without a conflict of interest) is appointed;
• the manuscript undergoes standard blind peer review;
• full impartiality and confidentiality of the process are ensured;
• the presence of a conflict of interest is explicitly stated in the article.

These rules are established in accordance with COPE case guidance:
https://publicationethics.org/guidance/case/editor-author-own-journal

PROCEDURE FOR IDENTIFYING AND MANAGING CONFLICTS OF INTEREST BETWEEN REVIEWERS AND AUTHORS

Identification of Conflict of Interest
A reviewer must immediately inform the editorial office of any real or potential conflict of interest, including if they:

• have personal, professional, or financial relationships with the author;
• work at the same institution or have recently collaborated with the author;
• have competing or conflicting research interests.

Reviewer Recusal
In the event of a conflict of interest, the reviewer must decline to review the manuscript and notify the editor without delay.

Editorial Actions
The editorial office:

• evaluates the reported conflict of interest;
• immediately terminates the reviewer’s involvement in the process;
• appoints another independent reviewer;
• ensures confidentiality of the information.

Conflict Identified After Review Has Begun
If a conflict of interest is identified after the review process has started or been completed:

• the review may be rejected;
• the editorial office assigns a new review;
• if necessary, an internal investigation is conducted.

Author Responsibilities
Authors must:

• inform the editorial office of potential conflicts with prospective reviewers (if required by journal policy);
• refrain from any attempts to influence the peer review process.

Principles of Transparency and Ethics
The journal adheres to the principles of:
     • impartiality and independence of review;
     • confidentiality of the process;
    • compliance with international ethical standards, in particular the COPE recommendations

These rules are established in accordance with COPE guidance on reviewer–author conflicts of interest:  Конфлікт інтересів рецензент/автор | COPE: Комітет з етики публікацій