Publication Ethics
Publication ethics are implemented to ensure high academic quality, maintain public trust in research findings, and ensure that every author receives proper recognition for their work and ideas.
Article Evaluation
All submitted manuscripts undergo a peer-review process and are expected to meet standards of academic excellence. Once approved by the editor, manuscripts are evaluated by peer reviewers whose identities are kept confidential from the authors. Authors may request the exclusion of certain reviewers through a cover letter; however, the final decision remains with the editor in accordance with the needs of the review process.
The Research Integrity Team of ZICONS: Zawiyah International Conference on Sharia and Legal Studies (Proceedings Journal) may request additional assessments beyond the standard peer-review process, particularly for manuscripts with ethical, security, biosecurity, or significant social implications. Editors may consult experts or academic editors before making a decision, including appointing special reviewers, assigning additional handling editors, or rejecting the manuscript.
Plagiarism
Authors are prohibited from using the words, data, or ideas of others without proper attribution. All sources must be cited when used, and the reuse of sentences must be limited and clearly referenced. ZICONS: Zawiyah International Conference on Sharia and Legal Studies (Proceedings Journal) uses plagiarism-detection software to identify overlaps between submitted manuscripts and works that have been published or submitted to other journals. Manuscripts proven to contain plagiarism, whether from published or unpublished works, will be rejected and authors may be subject to sanctions. Articles that have been published and are later found to involve plagiarism may be corrected or retracted.
Duplicate Submission and Redundant Publication
ZICONS: Zawiyah International Conference on Sharia and Legal Studies (Proceedings Journal) accepts only original manuscripts that have not been previously published, including in other languages. Articles that have appeared solely on preprint servers, institutional repositories, or in theses may still be considered.
Manuscripts submitted to the ZICONS Proceedings Journal must not be under consideration by another journal during the review process and must be formally withdrawn before submission elsewhere. Authors found to have engaged in double submission may be subject to sanctions.
If authors use their previously published work as the basis for a new manuscript, the original work must be clearly cited and the differences explicitly explained. The reuse of figures or substantial portions of text requires permission from the copyright holder.
Publication of extended versions of conference papers is permitted provided that this is stated in the cover letter, the previous version is clearly cited, substantial development is demonstrated, and all necessary permissions have been obtained. Redundant publication (salami slicing), namely dividing what should be a single research output into multiple articles, may result in rejection or a request to merge manuscripts. Duplicate publication may lead to article retraction and sanctions against the authors.
Citation Manipulation
Authors found to include irrelevant citations for the purpose of increasing citation counts of specific authors or journals may be sanctioned. Editors and reviewers are prohibited from requesting authors to add references to increase citations to their own work or to particular journals.
Data Fabrication and Falsification
Authors proven to have fabricated or falsified data, including image manipulation, may be subject to sanctions. Published articles may be retracted.
Authorship and Acknowledgments
All listed authors must have made significant contributions to the research, approved the manuscript content, and agreed to be listed as authors. Contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship must be acknowledged in the Acknowledgments section with their consent. Any changes to authorship must be communicated to the journal and approved by all authors. Manuscripts submitted by parties other than the authors will not be considered.
Conflict of Interest
A conflict of interest arises when external factors have the potential to influence the objectivity of the work. All potential conflicts must be disclosed, even if they do not appear to have a direct impact. When in doubt, authors are encouraged to declare them.
Conflicts of interest may include funding or other financial support, institutional affiliations, intellectual property ownership, personal relationships, ideological beliefs, or academic competition. Authors are required to include a conflict of interest statement in a dedicated section. If no conflicts exist, authors should state:
“The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this article.”
All sources of funding must be disclosed in the Acknowledgments section.
Editors and Reviewers
Editors and reviewers must decline to handle a manuscript if they have co-authored publications or submissions with the authors, share or recently shared institutional affiliations, are currently or have previously collaborated with the authors, have close personal relationships, have financial interests related to the manuscript’s topic, or believe they cannot remain objective. Editors and reviewers must also disclose any prior discussions they may have had with the authors regarding the manuscript.
Sanctions
If ZICONS: Zawiyah International Conference on Sharia and Legal Studies (Proceedings Journal) identifies violations of publication ethics, whether in this journal or others, the following sanctions may be applied: rejection of the manuscript and any other submissions by the same author, a submission ban for a period of one to three years, and disqualification from serving as an editor or reviewer. Additional sanctions may be imposed for serious misconduct. All authors will be required to acknowledge and agree to the contents of the official notification regarding the decision.
