Conflict of Interest Policy

The Medical Journal of Internal Medicine (MJIM) is committed to ensuring transparency and integrity in the publication process. All participants — authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher — must disclose any potential conflicts of interest (COIs) that may influence, or be perceived to influence, their contributions.

A conflict of interest exists when personal, financial, or professional relationships may inappropriately affect judgment, objectivity, or decision-making in the research and publication process.

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1. Authors’ Responsibilities

• Authors must declare all potential conflicts of interest at the time of manuscript submission.

• Examples include (but are not limited to):

  • Financial ties (e.g., funding, employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patents, or royalties)

  • Personal or professional relationships that may bias the work

  • Institutional affiliations that could influence results or interpretation

• Authors must disclose all funding sources and clearly state the role of funders (if any) in study design, data collection, analysis, and manuscript preparation.

• If no conflicts exist, authors must include a statement: “The authors declare no conflicts of interest.”

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2. Reviewers’ Responsibilities

• Reviewers must declare any conflicts of interest before accepting a review invitation.

• Examples include:

  • Direct competition with the authors or institutions

  • Financial or personal relationships with the authors

  • Situations where impartial judgment may be compromised

• If a conflict exists, reviewers should decline the review request.

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3. Editors’ Responsibilities

• Editors handling manuscripts must recuse themselves in cases of conflicts of interest, such as:

  • Personal or professional relationships with authors

  • Financial interests in the subject matter

  • Employment or institutional affiliation with the authors

• In such cases, the manuscript will be reassigned to another editor without conflicts.

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4. Publisher’s Responsibilities

The publisher ensures that all declared conflicts are transparently disclosed in the published article and that the editorial process remains free from commercial influence.

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5. Disclosure in Published Articles

• A Conflict of Interest Statement must appear in every published article.

• If conflicts are declared, they will be clearly stated under a dedicated heading.

• If no conflicts are declared, the statement will read:
  “The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper.”

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6. Undisclosed Conflicts

• If a conflict of interest is discovered after publication, MJIM will investigate in line with COPE guidelines.

• Depending on severity, corrective actions may include:

  • Publishing a correction or erratum

  • Issuing an expression of concern

  • Retraction of the article