Complaints and Appeals

Istinbath: Jurnal Hukum is committed to providing a fair, transparent, impartial, and accountable process for handling complaints and appeals related to its editorial, peer-review, publication, and ethical practices. The journal seeks to ensure that concerns raised by authors, reviewers, readers, editors, or other stakeholders are considered carefully and resolved in a timely and professional manner.

This policy applies to complaints concerning the journal, its editors, editorial board members, reviewers, journal staff, publisher, editorial decisions, peer-review procedures, published articles, and other matters related to scholarly publishing.

Istinbath: Jurnal Hukum follows the principles and Core Practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) in addressing complaints, appeals, research integrity concerns, and publication ethics issues.

Types of Complaints

Complaints may include, but are not limited to:

  • allegations of research misconduct or publication misconduct;
  • concerns regarding plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, citation manipulation, or duplicate publication;
  • allegations of copyright infringement or unauthorized use of intellectual property;
  • concerns regarding authorship or contributor disputes;
  • allegations of undisclosed conflicts of interest or competing interests;
  • concerns regarding editorial bias, discrimination, or unfair treatment;
  • disputes concerning the conduct or integrity of the peer-review process;
  • inappropriate conduct by editors, reviewers, journal staff, or other parties involved in the publication process;
  • concerns regarding editorial procedures, publication delays, or communication;
  • concerns relating to corrections, retractions, Expressions of Concern, or other post-publication actions; and
  • other matters that may affect the integrity, fairness, transparency, or credibility of the journal.

Submitting a Complaint

Authors, reviewers, readers, researchers, institutions, or other concerned parties may submit a complaint to the Editorial Office of Istinbath: Jurnal Hukum through the journal's official contact channel.

A complaint should include, where applicable:

  • the complainant's name and contact information;
  • the title, DOI, manuscript identification number, or other details of the article concerned;
  • a clear description of the issue;
  • the specific journal policy or ethical principle believed to have been violated;
  • relevant evidence or supporting documentation; and
  • the outcome or remedy requested, where appropriate.

Complaints should be presented clearly, objectively, and in good faith.

Anonymous complaints may be considered when they raise credible and verifiable concerns. However, anonymous allegations may be more difficult to investigate when insufficient evidence is provided.

Acknowledgement and Initial Assessment

Upon receiving a complaint, the Editorial Office will conduct an initial assessment to determine:

  • whether the complaint falls within the journal's responsibility;
  • whether sufficient information has been provided;
  • whether the complaint raises a substantive editorial or ethical issue;
  • whether immediate action is necessary; and
  • who should be responsible for handling the matter.

Where additional information is required, the complainant may be asked to provide clarification or supporting evidence.

If the complaint falls outside the authority of Istinbath: Jurnal Hukum, the complainant will be informed and, where possible, directed to the relevant institution, publisher, authority, or other appropriate body.

Confidentiality

Complaints and appeals will be handled confidentially.

Information concerning the complainant, respondent, manuscript, investigation, and supporting documentation will be disclosed only to individuals who need access to the information in order to assess or resolve the matter.

The journal will seek to protect the privacy and legitimate interests of all parties while maintaining sufficient transparency to ensure a fair investigation.

Confidentiality does not prevent the journal from disclosing information where:

  • disclosure is required by law;
  • consultation with an institution or relevant authority is necessary;
  • an investigation requires external expert advice; or
  • disclosure is necessary to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

Fairness and Impartiality

All complaints will be considered impartially and without discrimination.

Individuals who are directly involved in the subject of a complaint, or who have a conflict of interest, must not participate in investigating or deciding the matter.

The journal will seek to provide all relevant parties with a reasonable opportunity to explain their position and submit supporting information before a final decision is made.

Submitting a complaint in good faith will not result in retaliation or disadvantage in future editorial consideration.

Investigation Process

Where a complaint raises a credible and substantive concern, the Editorial Team may initiate an investigation.

The investigation may include:

  • reviewing manuscript records and editorial correspondence;
  • reviewing peer-review reports;
  • examining published material;
  • requesting explanations from authors, reviewers, editors, or other relevant parties;
  • consulting independent experts;
  • requesting original research data or supporting documentation where appropriate;
  • contacting an author's institution or research organization where serious research misconduct is suspected; and
  • consulting applicable publication ethics guidelines.

The scope of the investigation will depend on the seriousness and complexity of the complaint.

Complaints Concerning Editors or Editorial Board Members

If a complaint concerns an editor, editorial board member, or another member of the journal management team, that person must not participate in handling or deciding the complaint.

The matter will be assigned to another editor who has no conflict of interest.

If the complaint concerns the Editor-in-Chief, responsibility for handling the complaint may be transferred to an independent senior editor, appropriate editorial committee, or the publisher.

Complaints Concerning the Publisher

Where a complaint concerns the publisher, the matter should be handled in a manner that preserves editorial independence and impartiality.

Individuals directly implicated in the complaint must not participate in the investigation or decision-making process.

Where necessary, independent academic or ethical advice may be sought.

Complaints Concerning Peer Review

Complaints concerning the peer-review process may relate to:

  • inappropriate reviewer conduct;
  • potential conflicts of interest;
  • breach of confidentiality;
  • excessive or irrelevant reviewer demands;
  • suspected bias;
  • unprofessional comments; or
  • procedural irregularities.

The Editorial Team will examine relevant review records and determine whether the review process complied with the journal's policies.

Where appropriate, a reviewer may be replaced, an additional review obtained, or the manuscript reassessed by another editor.

Resolution and Editorial Action

After reviewing the available evidence, Istinbath: Jurnal Hukum will determine an appropriate course of action.

Depending on the circumstances, the journal may:

  • provide an explanation or clarification;
  • correct an editorial or administrative error;
  • reconsider an editorial decision;
  • arrange additional peer review;
  • replace a reviewer;
  • issue a warning;
  • request a correction from the authors;
  • publish a Correction;
  • issue an Expression of Concern;
  • retract an article;
  • refer the matter to the relevant institution;
  • restrict an individual's future involvement in the journal where serious misconduct is established; or
  • take other actions necessary to protect the integrity of the publication process and scholarly record.

The complainant will normally be informed of the outcome to the extent permitted by confidentiality, privacy, and ethical considerations.

Appeals Against Editorial Decisions

Authors may appeal an editorial decision when they believe that:

  • a significant factual or procedural error occurred;
  • relevant evidence was overlooked;
  • the peer-review process was materially flawed;
  • a reviewer or editor had an undisclosed conflict of interest;
  • the manuscript was evaluated on grounds inconsistent with the journal's policies; or
  • the decision resulted from a demonstrable misunderstanding of the manuscript.

An appeal should not be based solely on disagreement with the editorial decision.

The appeal must provide a clear and reasoned explanation of why the decision should be reconsidered and should respond directly to the relevant editorial or reviewer concerns.

Submitting an Appeal

An appeal should include:

  • the manuscript title and identification number;
  • the original editorial decision;
  • a clear explanation of the grounds for appeal;
  • responses to relevant reviewer or editor comments;
  • supporting evidence where appropriate; and
  • any information that was not available during the original decision-making process.

Submission of an appeal does not guarantee that the original decision will be changed.

Appeals Handling

Appeals will, where possible, be reviewed by an editor or qualified individual who was not primarily responsible for the original disputed decision.

The person handling the appeal will review:

  • the manuscript;
  • the original editorial decision;
  • relevant peer-review reports;
  • the author's appeal;
  • applicable journal policies; and
  • any additional evidence considered necessary.

Where appropriate, the manuscript may be referred to an independent reviewer or additional expert.

The appeal process is intended to determine whether the original editorial decision was reached fairly and appropriately, rather than automatically initiating a new peer-review process.

Appeals Involving Conflicts of Interest

Any editor who has a personal, professional, institutional, academic, financial, or other competing interest relating to an appeal must recuse themselves from the process.

The appeal will be assigned to an independent editor or other qualified person who has no relevant conflict of interest.

Final Decision on Appeals

Following reconsideration, the journal may:

  • uphold the original editorial decision;
  • modify the decision;
  • request further revision;
  • obtain additional peer review; or
  • reconsider the manuscript for publication.

The outcome of the appeal will be communicated to the appellant together with an appropriate explanation.

Once the journal's formal appeal procedure has been completed, the resulting editorial decision will normally be considered final.

Research Misconduct and Serious Ethical Concerns

Complaints involving suspected plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, unethical research, serious authorship disputes, systematic citation manipulation, or other substantial research misconduct may require investigation beyond the authority of the journal.

In such cases, Istinbath: Jurnal Hukum may refer the matter to:

  • the author's institution;
  • a research ethics committee;
  • a funding organization;
  • another journal;
  • the publisher; or
  • another appropriate authority.

The journal may take interim editorial action while an external investigation is underway when necessary to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

Post-Publication Complaints

Complaints concerning already published articles will be considered according to their seriousness and potential effect on the reliability of the scholarly record.

Where a complaint identifies a substantiated problem, the journal may publish an appropriate notice, including:

  • a Correction;
  • an editorial clarification;
  • an Expression of Concern; or
  • a Retraction.

Such notices will, where technically possible, be clearly linked to the original article.

Abusive, Malicious, or Unsupported Complaints

Istinbath: Jurnal Hukum welcomes legitimate criticism and will not reject a complaint merely because it challenges an editorial decision or published work.

However, the journal may decline to pursue complaints that:

  • contain abusive, threatening, discriminatory, or defamatory language;
  • repeatedly raise matters that have already been fully investigated without presenting new evidence;
  • contain knowingly false information;
  • are clearly intended to harass authors, reviewers, editors, or journal staff; or
  • provide no substantive information that can reasonably be investigated.

This provision will not be used to suppress legitimate scholarly criticism or good-faith allegations of misconduct.

Record Keeping and Transparency

The journal will maintain appropriate internal records of complaints, appeals, investigations, decisions, and relevant correspondence.

Records will be handled in accordance with applicable confidentiality and data protection requirements.

Where a complaint or appeal leads to an action affecting the published scholarly record, Istinbath: Jurnal Hukum will seek to communicate that action transparently through an appropriate publication notice.

Individual complaint records will not ordinarily be made publicly available where publication could compromise confidentiality, privacy, due process, or ongoing investigations.

Relationship with Other Journal Policies

This Complaints and Appeals Policy should be read together with other policies of Istinbath: Jurnal Hukum, including those concerning:

  • Publication Ethics;
  • Peer Review;
  • Conflicts of Interest / Competing Interests;
  • Allegations of Research Misconduct;
  • Plagiarism;
  • Authorship and Contribution;
  • Corrections and Retractions;
  • Post-Publication Discussion; and
  • Copyright and Licensing.

Where an issue falls primarily under another journal policy, the procedures established in that policy may also apply.

Review of the Complaints and Appeals Policy

Istinbath: Jurnal Hukum will periodically review and update this policy to ensure that it remains consistent with recognized standards of publication ethics, editorial independence, procedural fairness, and responsible scholarly publishing.

Any substantive revision will be made publicly available through the journal's official website.