Editorial Policies

1. Open Access Policy
2. Licensing Policy
3. Copyright Policy
4. Intellectual Property Rights Policy
5. Conflict of Interest Policy
6. Authorship and Contributorship Policy
7. Research Data Availability and Sharing Policy
8. Funding Disclosure Policy
9. Peer Review Policy
10. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Policy
11. Editorial Independence Policy
12. Privacy and Confidentiality Policy
13. Digital Archiving/Preservation Policy
14. Self-Archiving Policy
15. Artificial Intelligence and AI-Assisted Technologies Policy
16. Special Issues Publishing Policy
17. Disclaimer Policy
18. Post-Publication Policy
19. Post-Publication Discussion Policy
20. Policy for Advertising and Sponsored Content
21. Appeals and Complaints Policy

JMIS of Maritime Innovation and Sustainability (JMIS) is committed to maintaining high standards of editorial integrity, academic quality, transparency, and responsible scholarly publishing. Its editorial policies provide a clear framework for the fair, consistent, and independent management of manuscripts throughout the submission, peer review, editorial decision-making, production, and publication processes. The policies are intended to safeguard the credibility of JMIS, protect the interests of authors, reviewers, editors, and readers, and ensure that all published content meets appropriate standards of originality, rigor, ethical conduct, and scholarly relevance. Editorial decisions are made on the basis of academic merit and JMIS's aims and scope, without discrimination or undue influence from commercial, institutional, personal, or other external interests.

1. Open Access Policy

JMIS of Maritime Innovation and Sustainability (JMIS) follows an open-access publishing model designed to ensure that scholarly research is freely available to readers worldwide. All articles are published online with immediate and permanent access, without subscription requirements or paywalls. Readers may access, read, and share published articles in accordance with the applicable licensing terms. The open-access model is intended to enhance the accessibility, visibility, dissemination, and academic impact of published research.

2. Licensing Policy

All articles published by JMIS are made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License. This license permits others to copy, distribute, reproduce, and adapt the published work for non-commercial purposes, provided that the original author(s) and JMIS are appropriately acknowledged, the applicable license is identified and linked, and any changes made to the original work are clearly stated.

The use of published material for commercial purposes is not covered by the CC BY-NC 4.0 License. Commercial reproduction, redistribution, adaptation, or other commercial exploitation requires prior authorization from the relevant copyright holder(s).

3. Copyright Policy

Authors retain copyright in their published manuscripts and do not transfer ownership of copyright to JMIS or its publisher, Open Horizon Global. Acceptance and publication of an article therefore do not constitute an assignment of copyright.

By agreeing to publication, authors grant JMIS and Open Horizon Global a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual right to publish, reproduce, distribute, communicate, archive, preserve, index, and promote the article in existing and subsequently developed formats and media. This license also permits JMIS to identify itself as the original publisher of the work and to maintain the article as part of its permanent scholarly record.

4. Intellectual Property Rights Policy

JMIS recognizes and respects the intellectual property rights of authors and other rights holders. Authors are responsible for ensuring that the material submitted for publication is original, does not unlawfully infringe the intellectual property rights of others, and contains appropriate permissions for any copyrighted material reproduced from third-party sources.

Publication of an article does not diminish the author's underlying intellectual property rights. Any third-party material incorporated into an article remains subject to the rights and conditions applicable to that material.

4.1 Author Rights as Copyright Holders

As copyright holders, authors may continue to use and share their published work without obtaining additional permission from JMIS or Open Horizon Global, provided that such use is consistent with the applicable license and does not misrepresent the original publication.

Authors may deposit the published article in personal, institutional, or subject repositories; include it in a thesis or dissertation; use it for teaching, educational, research, and professional purposes; reproduce it in books or other scholarly works; and translate, revise, or adapt it for legitimate future academic use. Authors should acknowledge the original publication in JMIS whenever the article is reused or redistributed and, where available, provide the article's DOI to facilitate accurate identification and citation of the published version.

5. Conflict of Interest Policy

JMIS recognizes that undisclosed competing interests can undermine confidence in scholarly research and editorial decision-making. To preserve the credibility, fairness, and independence of the publication process, all individuals involved in the publication of a manuscript—including authors, reviewers, editors, Guest Editors, and Editorial Board members—are expected to identify and disclose relationships or circumstances that could affect, or appear to affect, their professional judgment.

Authors must disclose any interests that could reasonably be considered relevant to their research or its interpretation. Such interests may include research sponsorship or funding, employment, consultancy arrangements, institutional affiliations, financial relationships, patents or intellectual property interests, advisory positions, and significant personal or professional relationships. The disclosure should be made at the time of submission and updated if circumstances change during the review or publication process. Where no competing interests are present, authors should state: “The authors declare that they have no competing interests.”

Editors and reviewers are likewise responsible for declaring circumstances that may interfere with their impartial assessment of a manuscript. A person should not participate in the review or editorial handling of a submission when a conflict could reasonably compromise, or be perceived to compromise, independent judgment. Where necessary, JMIS will appoint another editor or reviewer to manage the manuscript and maintain an objective and unbiased evaluation.

The existence of a conflict does not automatically constitute grounds for rejection or prevent an article from being published. Disclosed interests will be evaluated according to their nature and significance, and JMIS may introduce appropriate safeguards, such as additional editorial review, independent assessment, or disclosure statements, where required.

If a relevant competing interest is discovered after submission or publication, JMIS may take proportionate corrective action. Depending on the circumstances, this may include requesting a disclosure, publishing a correction or clarification, reconsidering an editorial decision, or taking other measures necessary to protect the transparency and reliability of the scholarly record.

6. Authorship and Contributorship Policy

JMIS considers authorship to represent both scholarly credit and accountability for a published work. The journal expects authorship to be assigned transparently and only to individuals who have made meaningful intellectual or scholarly contributions to the research and manuscript. All individuals listed as authors must have participated sufficiently in the work to understand and take responsibility for the parts of the research relevant to their contribution.

6.1 Eligibility for Authorship

Authorship should normally be reserved for individuals who have made substantial contributions to one or more significant aspects of the research, such as:

developing the research concept, objectives, or study design;
conducting the investigation or acquiring research data;
developing or applying the research methodology;
analyzing, validating, or interpreting the findings;
developing software, models, analytical procedures, or other substantive research components;
preparing the initial manuscript; or
making substantial intellectual revisions to the manuscript.

In addition to making a substantive contribution, each author must have reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript and agreed to its submission to JMIS. Authors should also be willing to accept appropriate responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, and scholarly content of the published work.

6.2 Contributorship and Acknowledgement

Not every contribution to a research project qualifies for authorship. Individuals who provide administrative assistance, routine technical support, general supervision, funding or resource support, language editing, proofreading, or other limited services should not be included as authors solely on the basis of those contributions.

Where such contributions are meaningful but do not satisfy JMIS's authorship requirements, they should be recognized in the Acknowledgements section, with the individual's permission. Authors are encouraged to provide a clear description of significant individual contributions so that the respective roles of all contributors can be understood.

6.3 Author Contributions Statement

For multi-author manuscripts, JMIS may require an Author Contributions statement identifying the principal roles undertaken by each author. Depending on the nature of the research, contributions may include conceptualization, methodology, investigation, data collection, data analysis, validation, software development, resources, supervision, project administration, writing of the original draft, and review or editing of the manuscript.

The contribution statement should accurately represent the work performed by each author and must not be used to assign authorship to individuals who do not meet the JMIS's authorship requirements.

6.4 Corresponding Author

Each multi-author submission must designate a corresponding author who will serve as the principal contact between the author group and JMIS. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that:

all listed authors have made appropriate contributions and agreed to their authorship;
all authors have reviewed and approved the submitted manuscript;
all authors have agreed to the order in which their names are presented;
the submission information is complete and accurate;
relevant conflicts of interest and funding information have been disclosed; and
all co-authors are informed of significant communications and editorial decisions concerning the manuscript.

The position of corresponding author does not indicate academic seniority, leadership, or greater contribution relative to the other authors.

6.5 Prohibited Authorship Practices

JMIS does not permit guest, honorary, gift, or ghost authorship. Adding an individual because of academic position, reputation, institutional status, personal relationship, or other non-scholarly considerations is inappropriate. Similarly, individuals who have made qualifying intellectual contributions must not be deliberately excluded from authorship.

Artificial intelligence systems and AI-assisted technologies cannot be listed as authors because they cannot assume responsibility or accountability for a scholarly publication. Human authors remain responsible for the content and integrity of the manuscript.

6.6 Changes to Authorship

The authorship list and order of authors should be finalized before submission. Requests to add, remove, or reorder authors after submission must be submitted to the editorial office by the corresponding author and must include a clear explanation for the requested change.

Any proposed change should be supported by written confirmation from all affected authors, including the consent of authors being added or removed. Changes requested after acceptance will generally be considered only in exceptional circumstances and may require additional documentation or institutional confirmation. JMIS may suspend further processing of the manuscript until the matter has been satisfactorily resolved.

6.7 Authorship Disputes

Authors are expected to resolve disagreements concerning authorship, contribution, or author order before submitting a manuscript. JMIS does not normally determine individual entitlement to authorship or arbitrate disputes between authors. Where a dispute arises during editorial consideration,  JMIS may pause peer review, publication, or other editorial activity until the authors reach a documented resolution.

If necessary, JMIS may request clarification or supporting documentation from the authors or their affiliated institutions. Where an authorship concern emerges after publication, JMIS may take appropriate corrective action to protect the accuracy and integrity of the published record, including publication of a correction, expression of concern, or retraction where warranted.

7. Research Data Availability and Sharing Policy

JMIS encourages responsible data sharing to promote transparency, reproducibility, and confidence in published research. Authors should make the data supporting their findings accessible whenever reasonably possible, unless sharing is restricted by ethical, legal, privacy, confidentiality, contractual, or proprietary considerations.

Research data may be provided through recognized public or institutional repositories, discipline-specific archives, or supplementary files. Where available, authors should provide a persistent identifier, such as a DOI or accession number, to facilitate access and appropriate reuse.

Authors of all manuscripts involving research data are encouraged to include a Data Availability Statement indicating how the supporting data can be accessed or explaining why they cannot be shared. Where applicable, authors may state that data are publicly available through a specified repository, available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request, included in the article or supplementary materials, or unavailable because of legitimate ethical, legal, privacy, or confidentiality restrictions etc.

Authors must ensure that shared datasets do not disclose confidential or personally identifiable information and comply with applicable data-protection and research-ethics requirements. Where data are provided for peer review, identifying information should be removed where necessary to preserve the JMIS's double-blinded review process.

8. Funding Disclosure Policy

JMIS is committed to transparency regarding the financial support underlying published research. Authors must disclose all sources of funding or financial assistance that contributed to the research, manuscript preparation, or publication. Funding disclosures should identify the name of the funding organization and, where applicable, the grant, award, or project number.

Authors should also indicate the role of the funding organization in the study, including whether it contributed to the research design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or decision to submit the work for publication. If the funder had no involvement in these activities, this should be stated explicitly.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that funding information is complete and accurate. Failure to disclose relevant financial support may result in a request for clarification, correction of the published article, or other appropriate editorial action.

9. Peer Review Policy

JMIS is committed to a rigorous, fair, and impartial peer-review process that safeguards the quality and integrity of published research.  JMIS normally follows a double-blind peer-review model, with author and reviewer identities concealed to the extent practicable. Manuscripts are assessed for originality, scholarly significance, methodological quality, relevance to the JMIS’s scope, clarity, and ethical compliance.

9.1 Editorial Workflow

All submissions undergo an initial editorial screening to assess their suitability, originality, basic quality, and compliance with JMIS’s submission requirements. Manuscripts that are unsuitable for JMIS or fail to meet essential requirements may be declined without external review.

Suitable manuscripts are assigned to an editor with relevant subject expertise, who selects independent and appropriately qualified reviewers. Normally, at least two reviewers are invited to evaluate each manuscript. Based on the reviewers’ reports and the editor’s assessment, a manuscript may be accepted, rejected, or returned for revision. Revised manuscripts may undergo further review where necessary. The final decision rests with the editor and is based on scholarly merit rather than any single reviewer recommendation.

9.2 Reviewer Selection and Responsibilities

Reviewers are selected for their relevant expertise, independence, and ability to provide an objective assessment. They must maintain confidentiality, disclose potential conflicts of interest, and provide timely, constructive, and evidence-based evaluations. Reviewers should avoid personal criticism, discriminatory comments, unnecessary citation requests, and any use of confidential manuscript information for personal advantage.

9.3 Reviewer Inclusion or Exclusion Requests by Authors

Authors may recommend suitable reviewers and may request the exclusion of particular individuals where a genuine conflict of interest exists. Such requests should be accompanied by a reasonable academic justification.  JMIS may consider these requests but retains full discretion over reviewer selection.

Reviewer exclusion will not normally be granted solely because an individual may be critical of the manuscript, has previously disagreed with the authors, or holds a different academic position. Editors will independently assess potential conflicts and may select any suitably qualified reviewer necessary to ensure an impartial and effective review.

9.4 Review Integrity and Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions are made independently of financial, institutional, personal, or other external interests.  JMIS may seek additional reviews or appoint alternative reviewers or editors where necessary to address conflicting assessments or potential conflicts of interest. Suspected manipulation of peer review or other conduct that compromises review integrity may result in appropriate editorial action.

10. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Policy

JMIS is committed to fostering a respectful, inclusive, and equitable scholarly publishing environment.  JMIS values diversity of perspectives, disciplines, institutions, geographical backgrounds, and professional experiences and seeks to ensure that all authors, reviewers, editors, and contributors are treated fairly and respectfully.

Editorial and peer-review decisions are based on scholarly merit, originality, methodological quality, relevance, and ethical standards.  JMIS does not discriminate on the basis of personal characteristics, institutional affiliation, nationality, geographical location, academic status, or other characteristics unrelated to the quality of the work.  JMIS also expects all participants in the publishing process to communicate professionally and to avoid discriminatory, harassing, or exclusionary conduct.

JMIS encourages broad participation in its editorial and reviewer communities and seeks, where practicable, to promote diversity in the composition of its editorial teams and reviewer pool. Concerns regarding discrimination, inequitable treatment, or inappropriate conduct may be reported to the editorial office and will be considered confidentially and addressed appropriately.

11. Editorial Independence Policy

JMIS maintains editorial independence in all aspects of manuscript assessment, peer review, editorial decision-making, and publication. Editorial decisions are based solely on the academic quality, originality, significance, relevance, and ethical integrity of submissions and must not be influenced by publisher, commercial interests, financial considerations, institutional pressure, personal relationships, political interests, author identity, or other external factors.

Editors are responsible for making independent and impartial decisions and must appropriately manage any actual or potential conflicts of interest. Authors, reviewers, publishers, sponsors, and other external parties must not interfere with editorial decisions or attempt to influence the outcome of peer review.

The publisher may provide administrative, technical, and operational support but does not determine the academic content or editorial outcome of individual manuscripts. Similarly, funding, advertising, partnerships, or other commercial relationships, where applicable, will not influence acceptance, rejection, review, or publication decisions.

JMIS retains authority over its editorial policies, peer-review procedures, editorial appointments, publication decisions, corrections, and other matters affecting the scholarly record. Where concerns arise regarding undue influence or interference, JMIS will take appropriate measures to protect editorial independence and the integrity of its publishing process.

12. Privacy and Confidentiality Policy

JMIS is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of authors, reviewers, editors, and other individuals involved in the publishing process. Personal information collected during submission, peer review, and publication will be used only for legitimate editorial and publishing purposes and will not be disclosed to third parties except where necessary for JMIS operations, legal requirements, or the investigation of ethical concerns.

Manuscripts, reviewer reports, unpublished research, and correspondence will be treated as confidential. Authors, reviewers, and editors are expected to protect confidential information obtained through the editorial process. Where research involves personal or sensitive information, authors must ensure that appropriate consent, anonymization, and data-protection measures are in place.  JMIS will take reasonable measures to safeguard personal and confidential information throughout the publishing process.

13. Digital Archiving/Preservation Policy

JMIS is committed to the long-term preservation and continued accessibility of its published content. Published articles and associated scholarly records are digitally archived through appropriate preservation systems, repositories, or trusted third-party services to reduce the risk of permanent loss and ensure continued access in the event of technical, organizational, or platform-related changes.

JMIS may deposit published content and relevant metadata in recognized digital preservation services, institutional repositories, indexing databases, or other appropriate archival systems. Archived content may include the final published article, supplementary materials, metadata, and persistent identifiers such as DOIs.  The journal may also maintain multiple preservation arrangements where appropriate to strengthen the long-term security and accessibility of the scholarly record.

14. Self-Archiving Policy

JMIS permits authors to preserve and share their published work through personal, institutional, or subject-specific repositories, subject to JMIS's applicable copyright and licensing terms. Authors may also make the published version available through personal academic webpages or other legitimate scholarly platforms where permitted by the article's license.

Authors should ensure that any archived copy accurately identifies JMIS as the original place of publication and includes the complete citation and DOI of the article whenever available. Self-archived material should not be presented as a separately published or independently reviewed version of the work.

Authors remain responsible for ensuring that self-archiving complies with any applicable third-party copyright, confidentiality, ethical, or contractual requirements relating to material included in the article.

15. Artificial Intelligence and AI-Assisted Technologies Policy

JMIS recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies may support various activities within scholarly publishing. To protect research integrity, transparency, confidentiality, and editorial independence, all participants involved in manuscript preparation, submission, peer review, editorial assessment, and publication must use such technologies responsibly and remain fully accountable for their work.

15.1 Authors

Authors may use AI tools for limited and appropriate purposes, such as language improvement, grammar correction, formatting, translation, or assistance with organizing material. AI tools must not replace the authors' intellectual contribution, research judgment, critical analysis, interpretation of findings, or responsibility for the manuscript.

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and completeness of all submitted content. AI-generated material must be carefully verified, particularly references, factual statements, data, quotations, and interpretations. Fabricated data, misleading content, fictitious references, manipulated results, or any other use of AI that compromises research integrity is prohibited.

AI systems must not be listed as authors or co-authors. Where AI has been used substantially in preparing the manuscript beyond routine language or formatting assistance, authors should disclose the tool used and the nature of its contribution.

15.2 Reviewers

Reviewers must not upload manuscripts, unpublished data, reviewer reports, or other confidential material into publicly accessible or third-party AI systems without appropriate authorization. AI tools must not be used to replace the reviewer's independent scholarly assessment.

Reviewers remain personally responsible for the confidentiality, accuracy, and integrity of their reports. Any use of AI assistance must comply with the JMIS's confidentiality and peer-review requirements.

15.3 Editors and Editorial Staff

Editors and editorial staff may use AI-assisted technologies only where appropriate and where their use does not compromise confidentiality, editorial independence, or the integrity of the decision-making process. AI must not independently determine whether a manuscript should be accepted, rejected, or sent for revision, nor may editorial decisions be delegated to an AI system.

Editors remain responsible for all editorial judgments and must independently evaluate manuscripts, reviewer reports, ethical concerns, and publication decisions. Confidential manuscript information must not be entered into AI systems where doing so could expose or improperly disclose unpublished material or personal information.

15.4 Transparency and Accountability

All participants must exercise professional judgment when using AI-assisted technologies and must verify any output before relying upon it. The use of AI does not transfer responsibility for scholarly or editorial work to the technology. JMIS may request clarification regarding AI use where necessary and may take appropriate action if AI has been used deceptively, improperly, or in a manner that violates research integrity, confidentiality, or publication ethics.

16. Special Issues Publishing Policy

JMIS may publish special issues devoted to emerging topics, significant research themes, or areas of particular scholarly interest within its scope. Special issues are expected to maintain the same standards of originality, academic quality, research integrity, and ethical conduct as regular JMIS issues.

Proposals for special issues are subject to editorial evaluation and approval. Guest Editors of the special issues may assist with topic development, manuscript solicitation, and reviewer recommendations but must comply with JMIS’s editorial and ethical policies. All submissions, including those invited for a special issue, are subject to the JMIS’s standard editorial screening and peer-review procedures. Editorial decisions remain independent and must not be influenced by the Guest Editors, authors, sponsors, or other external parties.

JMIS reserves the right to decline, modify, postpone, or discontinue a special issue where submissions do not meet the required scholarly or ethical standards. Articles accepted for publication in a Special Issue are subject to the JMIS's standard Article Processing Charge (APC) policy, unless otherwise indicated. Payment or waiver of APCs has no influence on editorial or peer-review decisions.

17. Disclaimer Policy

JMIS strives to ensure that all published content meets appropriate standards of academic quality, accuracy, and research integrity. However, the views, interpretations, findings, and conclusions expressed in published articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the JMIS, its editors, editorial board, or publisher.

Publication of an article does not constitute an endorsement of the methods, products, services, organizations, or opinions discussed by the authors. Readers are responsible for exercising their own professional and scholarly judgment when using information published in the JMIS.  JMIS and Open Horizon Global are not responsible for any loss, damage, or consequences arising from the use or interpretation of published content.

18. Post-Publication Policy

JMIS recognizes that maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record is an ongoing responsibility that continues after publication. Authors, readers, reviewers, and other stakeholders are encouraged to notify JMIS of significant errors, inaccuracies, ethical concerns, or potential research misconduct affecting published articles.

Following publication, JMIS may investigate reported concerns and, where appropriate, consult the authors, reviewers, editors, or relevant institutions. Depending on the nature and seriousness of the issue, JMIS may publish a correction, clarification, expression of concern, or retraction, or take other appropriate action.

Minor errors that do not affect the validity or interpretation of the work may be corrected without altering the article's scholarly conclusions. Substantive errors or ethical concerns will be assessed on a case-by-case basis in accordance with recognized publication-ethics principles. Any post-publication action will be clearly identified and linked to the original article to maintain transparency and preserve the integrity of the scholarly record.

18.1 Retraction Policy

JMIS is committed to maintaining the accuracy, reliability, and integrity of the scholarly record. Retraction is considered an appropriate corrective measure when a published article is found to contain serious problems that undermine the validity, reliability, or ethical acceptability of the work.  JMIS follows recognized publication-ethics principles when assessing whether retraction is warranted.

18.2 Grounds for Retraction

An article may be considered for retraction where there is clear evidence of significant problems, including but not limited to:

fabrication or falsification of data, results, images, or other research materials;
plagiarism, substantial unattributed copying, or serious text recycling;
duplicate or redundant publication that materially affects the scholarly record;
major errors or inaccuracies that invalidate the principal findings or conclusions;
serious methodological or analytical flaws discovered after publication;
unethical research, including research conducted without required ethical approval or appropriate consent;
serious undisclosed conflicts of interest that materially affected the research or its interpretation;
substantial authorship or contribution-related misconduct;
manipulation or fraudulent interference with the peer-review process;
use of fabricated, manipulated, or unreliable supporting information; or
other forms of serious misconduct that make continued reliance on the article inappropriate.

Retraction does not normally indicate misconduct by the authors. An article may be retracted because of an honest error when the error is sufficiently serious to affect the validity or reliability of the published findings.

18.3 Retraction Procedure

Concerns about a published article may be raised by authors, readers, reviewers, editors, institutions, or other appropriate parties. JMIS will assess the concern and may request an explanation or supporting evidence from the authors. Where necessary, JMIS may seek information from the authors' affiliated institution, research ethics body, funding organization, or other relevant authority.

JMIS will assess the available evidence independently and determine the appropriate action. Where the evidence supports retraction, the decision will be made by the appropriate editorial authority.  JMIS may also issue an Expression of Concern while an investigation is ongoing if the available information raises substantial concerns but is not yet sufficient to justify retraction.

18.4 Retraction Notice

A retracted article will normally remain accessible as part of the scholarly record, but its status will be clearly identified. A separate Retraction Notice will explain the reason for the retraction and will be permanently linked to the original article. The notice will identify the retracted article and provide sufficient information to ensure that readers understand why the article should no longer be relied upon.

The original article will not ordinarily be deleted because maintaining the publication history is important for transparency. Where technically possible, the article will be clearly marked as “Retracted” on the article page and PDF, while its bibliographic information and DOI remain traceable.

18.5 Authorship and Institutional Investigations

Where a retraction involves suspected misconduct, JMIS may notify or cooperate with the relevant authors' institutions or other competent bodies.  JMIS does not normally conduct institutional investigations into matters that fall within the formal responsibility of an author's institution, but it may take appropriate editorial action based on reliable evidence available to it.

A retraction may be issued regardless of whether all authors agree with the decision. Where responsibility is attributable to specific individuals, the retraction notice may distinguish between the different circumstances where appropriate.

18.6 Retraction and Citation

Readers are expected to avoid relying on or citing retracted findings as valid evidence. Where a retracted article is cited for historical or methodological purposes, its retracted status should be clearly indicated.

Retraction is intended to correct the scholarly record rather than erase the publication history. JMIS will therefore seek to ensure that retractions are transparent, clearly documented, and permanently associated with the affected publication.

19. Post-Publication Discussion Policy

JMIS welcomes constructive scholarly discussion of published articles and recognizes that post-publication dialogue can contribute to research development and the correction of the scholarly record. Readers and researchers may raise substantive comments, concerns, or questions regarding published work by contacting the editorial office.

Post-publication comments should be evidence-based, professional, and relevant to the published research. Where a concern raises questions about the accuracy, methodology, ethics, or integrity of an article, JMIS may seek a response from the authors and conduct an appropriate editorial assessment. Depending on the outcome, JMIS may publish a clarification, correction, author response, expression of concern, or retraction where warranted.

JMIS does not permit defamatory, discriminatory, offensive, or unrelated comments and reserves the right to decline or remove communications that do not meet appropriate scholarly and professional standards.

20. Policy for Advertising and Sponsored Content

JMIS currently does not accept or publish advertisements, sponsored content, advertorials, or other paid promotional material.  JMIS's editorial and publishing activities are therefore not presently supported or influenced by advertising or sponsorship arrangements.

JMIS may consider introducing advertising or sponsored content in the future as its publishing activities develop. Any such arrangements will be governed by clear policies designed to maintain editorial independence, transparency, and separation between commercial activities and scholarly decision-making. Advertisements or sponsored material, if accepted in the future, will not influence manuscript evaluation, peer review, editorial decisions, or publication outcomes.

Any future advertising or sponsorship will be clearly distinguishable from editorial and scholarly content.  JMIS will have the right to reject advertisements or sponsored material that is misleading, inappropriate, incompatible with JMIS's academic purpose, or likely to create a conflict of interest. Where applicable, relevant relationships between JMIS and advertisers or sponsors will be transparently disclosed.

21. Appeals and Complaints Policy

JMIS is committed to handling appeals and complaints fairly, transparently, and without bias. Authors may appeal an editorial decision or raise a complaint concerning JMIS’s editorial, peer-review, or publication processes by contacting the editorial office at appeals_and_complaints@openhorizonglobal.com.

Appeals should clearly explain the reason for reconsideration and provide relevant supporting information. Appeals and complaints will be reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief or an appropriate editorial representative who was not involved in the original decision, where practicable. All matters will be treated confidentially and investigated in accordance with JMIS’s policies and applicable publication-ethics standards.

Following review, JMIS will communicate the outcome to the complainant within a reasonable timeframe. The decision reached through the appeal process will normally be considered final.