Conflict of Interest

Last update: 13/03/2026

Pensar – Revista de Ciências Jurídicas adopts transparency in the identification, prevention, disclosure and management of conflicts of interest as a fundamental editorial principle, in accordance with internationally recognized editorial and scientific good practices, the guidelines of the COPE – Committee on Publication Ethics, the institutional policy of the University of Fortaleza (Unifor) and CNPq Ordinance No. 2.664, of March 6, 2026.

For the purposes of this policy, a conflict of interest is understood as any situation in which personal, academic, professional, institutional, political, ideological or financial interests may compromise, or appear to compromise, the impartiality, independence or integrity of the submission, peer review, editorial decision or publication of a manuscript.

1. Duties of authors

Authors must declare, at the time of submission, the existence of any conflict of interest of a personal, academic, institutional or financial nature that may influence the content of the article, the interpretation of data, the conduct of the research or the presentation of results. If no conflict exists, an explicit declaration must be made.

Authors must also:

disclose institutional, professional or contractual relationships that may interfere with the impartiality of the work;
inform funding sources, institutional support, scholarships, grants, consultancies, remuneration, sponsorships or benefits related to the research;
communicate relevant personal, academic or professional relationships between authors, institutions and possible beneficiaries of the published content;
inform any situation that may generate undue advantage or compromise scientific neutrality.

2. Duties of reviewers

Reviewers must act with rigor, objectivity, impartiality and confidentiality, and must withdraw from the evaluation process whenever a conflict of interest exists that could compromise their judgment.

Reviewers must:

decline review invitations when a conflict of interest exists;
immediately inform the editorial team of any relationship that may compromise the independence of the review;
maintain confidentiality regarding manuscripts, data and information obtained during the review process;
refrain from using the evaluated content for personal or third-party benefit;
inform the editorial team of any indication of scientific misconduct identified during the review process.

3. Duties of editors

Editors must ensure that editorial decisions are taken with independence, objectivity and impartiality.

Editors must:

verify that authors have submitted a conflict of interest declaration at the time of submission;
evaluate whether declared conflicts require clarification or editorial measures;
avoid appointing reviewers who have relevant relationships with the authors;
transfer the editorial handling to another editor when a conflict or suspicion of bias exists;
adopt appropriate measures in cases of omission or inadequate declaration of conflicts of interest.

4. Examples of conflict of interest

Situations that may constitute conflicts of interest include, among others:

personal, family or affective relationships between author, reviewer or editor;
kinship up to the third degree;
relevant institutional affiliation between reviewer and author;
recent co-authorship or direct research collaboration;
previous academic supervision relationships;
consultancy, funding or remuneration related to the subject of the manuscript;
direct or indirect economic interest in the publication outcome;
participation in organizations that may benefit from the article;
academic rivalry or professional dispute that may compromise impartiality.

5. Form of declaration

The journal adopts the following rule:

Conflict of interest: at the time of submission, authors must inform whether there is any personal, academic, institutional or financial conflict of interest that may influence the content of the article, or expressly declare the absence of such conflict.

When a conflict exists, the author must describe it clearly and objectively, indicating its nature and its relation to the manuscript. The editorial team may request additional information before deciding on the continuation of the editorial process.

Examples of declaration

Positive declaration

“The author(s) declare(s) the existence of a conflict of interest of the following nature: [describe], which was communicated to the journal at the time of submission.”

Negative declaration

“The author(s) declare(s) that there are no personal, academic, institutional or financial conflicts of interest related to this manuscript.”

6. Omission or inadequate declaration

Failure to disclose relevant conflicts, incomplete information or false declarations may lead to requests for clarification, suspension of the editorial process, rejection of the submission, post-publication correction, retraction or communication to the author’s institution, depending on the seriousness of the case.