Policy on Submissions by Editors and Editorial Board Members

1. Purpose

To ensure that submissions authored by RDENTJ editors or editorial board members are handled independently, transparently, and fairly, without preferential treatment.

2. Scope

This policy applies to all manuscripts submitted to RDENTJ in which at least one author is:

  • The Editor-in-Chief

  • An Associate or Section Editor

  • A current member of the Editorial Board

  • A staff member of the publishing office

3. Declaration and Identification

  1. During submission, the submitting author must identify their editorial role in the journal.

  2. The submission will be automatically flagged in the editorial system for independent handling.

  3. A signed Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form must accompany the submission.

4. Independent Editorial Handling

  1. The Editor-in-Chief shall not handle their own submission.

  2. An unconflicted handling editor, usually a senior associate editor or external guest editor, will be appointed.

  3. The handling editor must declare no conflicts of interest and sign a statement of independence before review begins.

  4. The submitting editor will have no access to the peer review records, reviewer identities, or decision-making process.

5. Peer Review Process

  1. At least two independent external reviewers must evaluate submissions authored by the editor.

  2. Standard double-blind review procedures must be followed without modification.

  3. Reviewers must not have recent collaborations or institutional links with the editor-author.

6. Decision-Making and Oversight

  1. The handling editor makes the final decision on acceptance or rejection, independent of the Editor-in-Chief.

  2. In cases of acceptance, a second senior editor (not an author) verifies the fairness and completeness of the review process.

  3. The Editor-in-Chief may not overrule the handling editor’s decision on their own paper.

7. Publication Transparency

Each editor-authored article shall carry the following disclosure:

“[Author Name] serves as [position] of Al-Rafidain Dental Journal. This submission was handled independently by [Handling Editor Name, Affiliation], who declared no conflict of interest. The author did not participate in the editorial decision.”

This statement appears in the published article under “Editorial Independence Statement.”

8. Recordkeeping and Audit

  • The full editorial history, including assignment, correspondence, reviewer identities, reports, and decisions, is archived for a minimum of five years

  • The journal may publish an annual summary of editor-authored submissions (number received, accepted, and the independent handling editors involved).

9. Misconduct and Appeals

Any allegation that an editor-authored paper was improperly handled will trigger an independent review by the publisher or the editorial ethics committee, following COPE flowcharts for Ethical Oversight.

10. Compliance

This policy complies with:

  • COPE Guidelines on Editor-Authored Papers

  • DOAJ Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing

  • The ICMJE Recommendations for Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work.

11. Effective Implementation

The journal commits to:

  • Embedding automated COI flags and independent assignment 

  • Providing staff training on COI and editorial recusal

  • Periodically reviewing and publishing statistics on editor-authored submissions.

Updated on 1-11-2025