Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement
 
The Bank and Policy Journal is fully dedicated to upholding the highest international standards of publication ethics, research integrity, transparency, and academic responsibility. As a committed member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the journal aligns all editorial policies, decisions, and procedures with COPE’s Core Practices, Best Practice Guidelines, and Ethical Flowcharts.

The journal emphasizes accountability among all stakeholders—authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher—and adheres to globally recognized principles of scientific integrity, intellectual honesty, and responsible scholarship. This statement outlines the ethical framework governing the journal’s operations to maintain trust in the academic record.

General Ethical Principles for Authors
 Originality and Authenticity
• All submitted manuscripts must be entirely original and previously unpublished.
• Concurrent submission to multiple journals is strictly prohibited.
• Any form of text recycling, redundant publication, or substantial overlap with previously published work must be disclosed at submission.

Verification of Originality
• All manuscripts undergo similarity screening using iThenticate (Crossref Similarity Check) or equivalent tools.
• Manuscripts with unacceptable similarity scores or evidence of plagiarism will be rejected.

 Accuracy of Author Information
• Authors must provide truthful academic and institutional details.
• False claims of affiliations or titles constitute academic misconduct.
• Manuscripts submitted on behalf of undisclosed individuals are prohibited.

ORCID Identification
• Authors are strongly encouraged to provide an ORCID iD to ensure correct attribution and transparency.

Conflicts of Interest
Disclosure by Authors
All authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest, including:
• Financial or commercial relationships
• Institutional roles
• Personal or professional associations
• Political or ideological interests

Disclosure by Editors and Reviewers
Editors and reviewers must declare any conflicts of interest and recuse themselves when necessary. Manuscripts involving conflicts are reassigned to impartial editors.

Language, Conduct, and Academic Integrity
Acceptable Language
Manuscripts must not contain defamatory statements, slander, offensive expressions, discriminatory remarks, or inappropriate political content.

Academic Integrity
The journal strictly prohibits:
• Plagiarism
• Data fabrication or falsification
• Image manipulation
• Misleading reporting
• Misappropriation of confidential data
• Citation manipulation

Error Reporting and Post-Publication Corrections
Author Responsibility
Authors must immediately notify the editorial office if errors or inaccuracies are identified in submitted, accepted, or published work.

Editorial Actions
Depending on the nature of the issue, the journal may publish:
• Correction (Erratum)
• Corrigendum
• Expression of Concern
• Retraction
All actions follow COPE’s transparent procedures.

Sanctions and Consequences for Misconduct
In confirmed cases of ethical misconduct, the journal may impose:
• Immediate rejection of the manuscript
• Retraction of published work
• Embargo on future submissions (up to five years)
• Notification to the author’s institution or funders
• Reporting severe misconduct to academic authorities

Repeated or severe violations may lead to permanent submission bans.

Editorial Responsibilities
Impartiality and Fair Evaluation
Editorial decisions are based solely on scholarly merit, rigor, and relevance. Author characteristics such as race, gender, religion, nationality, or political views do not influence decisions.

Confidentiality
Editors must treat all manuscripts as confidential and must not disclose content or use material without permission.

Management of Manuscripts with Conflicts
Manuscripts with potential conflicts of interest are reassigned to ensure objective evaluation.

Responsibilities of Reviewers
Reviewers must:
• Provide objective, constructive, and evidence-based evaluations
• Maintain confidentiality of manuscripts
• Report suspected plagiarism or ethical concerns
• Disclose conflicts of interest and decline biased assignments
• Deliver timely and scholarly reviews

Reviewer identities remain confidential unless open peer review is chosen.

Copyright, Licensing, and Permissions
Copyright Ownership
Articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0). Authors retain full copyright while granting the journal non-exclusive rights to publish.

Author Reuse Rights
Authors may reuse their work at any time provided proper citation to the Bank and Policy Journal is included.

Third-Party Material
Authors are responsible for obtaining permissions to reuse images, tables, and figures from copyrighted sources.

Reference and Citation Policy
Authors must ensure:
• Accurate and complete referencing
• Use of APA 7 style (numeric style accepted for Azerbaijani authors)
• Proper citation of Bank and Policy Journal publications to support discoverability
• Avoidance of inappropriate self-citation or citation manipulation

All citation misconduct is handled according to COPE flowcharts.
 

These should be linked prominently — COPE is the main international body you reference in your ethics statement:

🌐 COPE – Home (Official site, membership & general info)
https://publicationethics.org/

📜 COPE Core Practices (Standards all member journals follow)
https://publication-ethics.org/resources/cope-core-practices/

📘 COPE Guidelines & Ethical Tools (Guidance for editors, publishers, and journals)
https://publicationethics.org/guidance/guidelines

✍️ Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers (COPE document)
https://publicationethics.org/guidance/guideline/ethical-guidelines-peer-reviewers

Commitment to Human Rights

The journal upholds the highest standards of research ethics and academic responsibility, affirming its support for:

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations, 1948) – safeguarding dignity, freedom of opinion and expression, and equal access to cultural and scientific advancement.
• The Declaration of Helsinki (World Medical Association, 1964; amended 2013) – ensuring that research involving human participants respects autonomy, informed consent, and welfare.

The journal advocates for independent human rights protection and independent media as foundations of academic freedom and democracy.

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Conclusion

The Bank and Policy Journal is committed to remaining a free, open access, ethical, and non-commercial platform for scholarly research. By eliminating advertising, author charges, and subscription fees, the journal ensures full independence and accessibility, making scientific knowledge available to all without restriction.