Novus Orbis: Journal of Politics and International Relations is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and academic integrity.

The journal follows internationally recognised ethical publishing principles and supports the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

All parties involved in the publication process — editors, reviewers, and authors — are expected to comply with ethical standards and responsible academic conduct.

1. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for evaluating submitted manuscripts fairly, objectively, and exclusively on the basis of academic merit.

Editors shall:

• ensure the integrity of the peer review process,
• maintain confidentiality during evaluation,
• prevent conflicts of interest,
• evaluate submissions regardless of authors’ race, gender, nationality, institutional affiliation, political views, or religious beliefs,
• take appropriate action in cases of ethical misconduct.

Editorial decisions are based solely on scholarly quality, originality, methodological rigour, and relevance to the journal’s scope.

2. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers contribute to the editorial decision-making process through objective academic evaluation.

Reviewers are expected to:

• evaluate manuscripts fairly and constructively,
• maintain confidentiality,
• avoid conflicts of interest,
• report ethical concerns to the editors,
• complete reviews within the requested timeframe.

Reviewers should not use unpublished materials obtained through peer review for personal advantage.

3. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for submitting original and ethical academic work.

Authors must:

• ensure that submitted work is original,
• properly cite all sources,
• avoid plagiarism, self-plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, and duplicate publication,
• disclose conflicts of interest,
• provide accurate authorship information,
• obtain ethical approvals and permissions where required.

Submitting the same manuscript simultaneously to multiple journals is considered unethical.

4. Authorship Policy

Only individuals who have made substantial academic contributions to the manuscript should be listed as authors.

All listed authors must approve the final submitted version of the manuscript.

Ghost authorship, honorary authorship, and gift authorship are considered unethical practices.

5. Conflict of Interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any financial, institutional, personal, or academic conflicts of interest that may affect the evaluation or publication process.

Where necessary, the editorial team may take appropriate measures to prevent conflicts from influencing editorial decisions.

6. Plagiarism and Similarity Check

All submissions are screened using plagiarism detection software such as iThenticate and/or Turnitin prior to peer review.

Plagiarism, self-plagiarism, fabricated data, falsified information, duplicate publication, and unethical academic conduct are strictly prohibited.

The editorial team evaluates similarity reports qualitatively and does not rely solely on numerical similarity percentages.

7. Retraction and Correction Policy

Where ethical violations, major errors, or unreliable findings are identified after publication, the journal may publish corrections, expressions of concern, or retraction notices.

Retraction decisions are made in accordance with internationally recognised publication ethics principles.

8. Complaints and Appeals

Authors may submit complaints or appeals regarding editorial decisions or ethical concerns by contacting the editorial office.

All complaints and appeals are evaluated fairly, confidentially, and in accordance with publication ethics standards.

9. Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions are made independently by the editorial team.

Institutional affiliations, political considerations, financial interests, sponsors, or external organisations do not influence editorial evaluations or publication decisions.