Publication Ethics

Peer Review Process

A manuscript undergoes a double-blind review process. The reviews are managed by the section editors. Authors are required to upload revised versions and reply to reviewers’ comments.

Publication Frequency

The International Journal of Fiqh and Usul al-Fiqh Studies (IJFUS) is published twice a year – in January and July.

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

Archiving

This journal utilizes the LOCKSS system to create a distributed archiving system among participating libraries and permits those libraries to create permanent archives of the journal for purposes of preservation and restoration.

Plagiarism Issues

The manuscript must represent original work by the author(s). None of the material should be covered by any copyright; if copyrighted material exceeding approximately 100 words from a journal article or approximately 500 words from a book is used, the author has obtained written permission for its use. Further, this work should not infringe any intellectual property rights/secrecy laws of any person/organization/government/public or private agency, nor should it contain any defamatory matter.

IIUM Press does not bear any responsibility for verifying copyright permissions provided by the author. Any breach of copyright laws will result in retraction of the published article/material as well as reporting to relevant authorities at the authors’ institutions.

Editors' responsibilities

• To act in a objective, balanced, and fair way while carrying out expected duties, without discrimination on grounds of gender, religious or political beliefs, ethnic or geographical origin of the authors.
• To avoid any commercial influence, as well as conflicts of interests, for all submissions and evaluate them solely on academic and scientific merit.
• To address complaints of any nature and follow reasonable procedures according to the Journal’s policies.
• To give authors full opportunity to respond to complaints.
• To investigate a complaint regardless of the approval date of publication of an article.
• To document, compile, and file all complaints.

Reviewers' responsibilities

• To review the manuscript objectively and timely, inform the editor of a suitable decision and to uphold the quality of articles published in the journal.
• To maintain strict confidentiality of any information supplied to the reviewer  in the review process by the editor or author and ensure that the manuscript is for the reviewer’s eyes only and no copies are  transmitted or kept.
• To inform the editor of suspected plagiarism or absence of relevant published work which has not been cited. To avoid any potential conflicts of interests between the author and the reviewer and inform the editor of all developments.  

Authors' responsibilities

• To ensure that they have significantly contributed to the research, cited all related references and acknowledged financial support from funding agencies.
• To maintain accurate records of data associated with their submitted manuscript, and supply or provide access to these data, on reasonable request.
• To confirm that the submitted manuscript is not under consideration or accepted for publication elsewhere.
• To acknowledge and cite sources whose contents overlap in the submitted paper.  
• To provide the editor with a copy of any submitted manuscript(s) that might contain similar closely related or overlapping content.
• To ensure that any studies involving human or animal subjects conform to national, local and institutional laws and requirements.
• To confirm that approval has been sought and obtained where appropriate and obtain written permission from human subjects and respect their privacy.
• To declare any potential conflicts of interests.
• To promptly inform the journal editor or publisher if a significant error in their publication is detected and submit an erratum, addendum, corrigendum notice, to be published or retract the paper altogether if it is necessary.

Ownership and management

IIUM owns the journal and manages it through the office of IIUM Journal Publication and a team of Editors.

Publishing schedule

The International Journal of Fiqh and Usul al-Fiqh Studies (IJFUS) is published twice a year – in January and July.

Publisher responsibilities

The IIUM Journal Publication will help ensure that good practice is maintained according to the standards outlined above.

Procedures for dealing with unethical behaviour

Identification of unethical behaviour

• If any misconduct or unethical behaviour is reported to the editor or publisher at any time. The information and identity of the complainant shall be treated with strict confidentiality.

• In case of any report of misconduct or unethical behavior, sufficient information and evidence should be provided in order for an investigation to be conducted. All allegations shall be taken seriously and treated fairly.

 Investigation

• The editor shall make an initial decision. He may consult with or seek advice from the publisher/editorial board, if appropriate.

• Evidence shall be gathered, while maintaining the strictest confidentiality at all times.

 Minor breaches

• A minor misconduct might be dealt appropriately by the editor himself. The author shall be given the opportunity to respond to any allegations.

Serious breaches

• In case of serious misconduct, the editor, in consultation with the publisher/editorial board/experts, should make a decision on a suitable action, depending on the severity of the offence.

 Outcomes (in increasing order of severity, to be applied separately or together)

• Informing or educating the author or reviewer in case of a misunderstanding of acceptable standards.

• A warning letter be issued to the author or reviewer found culpable of the misconduct.

• Publication of a formal notice with details of the misconduct.

• Publication of an editorial with details of the misconduct.

• A formal letter to the head of the author's or reviewer's employers or funding agency.

• Formal retraction or withdrawal of a publication from the journal altogether, including informing, Abstracting & Indexing services and the readership of the publication.

• Barring on contributions from an author or reviewer for a defined period.
• Reporting the case and outcome to a professional organisation / higher authority for further investigation and action.

Ethical Statement

The manuscript must represent original work by the author(s). None of the material should be covered by any copyright; if copyrighted material exceeding approximately 100 words from a journal article or approximately 500 words from a book is used, the author has obtained written permission for its use. Further, this work should not infringe any intellectual property rights/secrecy laws of any person/organization/government/public or private agency, nor should it contain any defamatory matter.

IIUM Press does not bear any responsibility for verifying copyright permissions provided by the author. Any breach of copyright laws will result in retraction of the published article/material as well as reporting to relevant authorities at the authors’ institutions.

Copyright Notice

The International Journal of Fiqh and Usul al-Fiqh Studies (IJFUS) follows the open access policy.