Parewa Saraq: Journal of Islamic Law and Fatwa Review is committed to maintaining high standards of publication ethics, research integrity, transparency, and responsible scholarly publishing. The journal is committed to ensuring that all manuscripts are handled fairly and that published research contributes to a reliable and trustworthy scholarly record.

The journal does not tolerate plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, duplicate or redundant publication, inappropriate authorship, citation manipulation, peer-review manipulation, undisclosed conflicts of interest, or other forms of research and publication misconduct.

All editors, authors, reviewers, and members of the Editorial Board are expected to uphold the principles of academic integrity, confidentiality, fairness, transparency, and accountability throughout the submission, peer-review, editorial decision-making, and publication processes.

By submitting a manuscript to Parewa Saraq, authors confirm that the work is original, has not been published previously in whole or in substantial part, and is not simultaneously under consideration by another journal or publisher.

COPE Guidelines

Parewa Saraq refers to the principles, guidance, and good practices developed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) in addressing publication ethics, research integrity, and suspected publication misconduct.

Relevant COPE guidance may be considered when dealing with issues relating to authorship, plagiarism, conflicts of interest, peer review, research misconduct, and other publication-ethics matters.

1. Editorial Governance and Decision-Making

The Editor-in-Chief has ultimate responsibility for editorial decisions concerning manuscripts submitted to Parewa Saraq.

The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for ensuring that editorial decisions are made fairly, transparently, and in accordance with the journal's focus and scope, scholarly standards, peer-review procedures, and publication-ethics principles.

The Editor-in-Chief may assign a manuscript to an appropriate handling editor or consult qualified members of the Editorial Board when necessary. A handling editor may coordinate the peer-review process and provide an editorial recommendation.

Peer reviewers provide independent scholarly assessments and recommendations but do not make the final editorial decision.

The Editor-in-Chief or the assigned handling editor may decide to accept a manuscript, request revision, invite resubmission where appropriate, or reject a manuscript after considering the peer-review reports and the manuscript's scholarly and ethical quality.

Where reviewer recommendations substantially conflict, the Editor-in-Chief or handling editor may seek an additional independent review or consult another qualified editor or Editorial Board member.

An invitation to revise and resubmit a manuscript does not guarantee subsequent acceptance.

Editorial decisions are based on scholarly considerations, including originality, methodological soundness, academic significance, clarity, relevance to the journal's focus and scope, and compliance with publication ethics.

2. Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship should reflect substantial intellectual or scholarly contributions to the research and manuscript.

Individuals listed as authors should have made a significant contribution to one or more of the following:

• conception or design of the study;
• acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data;
• development of the research argument or methodology;
• drafting or substantive revision of the manuscript; and
• approval of the final version of the manuscript.

All listed authors must approve the final manuscript and accept responsibility for the integrity and accuracy of the work within their respective contributions.

Individuals who have contributed to the work but do not meet the criteria for authorship should be appropriately acknowledged rather than listed as authors.

The journal does not permit guest authorship, gift authorship, or ghost authorship.

The corresponding author is responsible for communicating with the journal and confirming that all listed authors have approved the submission and agree with the authorship and order of authorship.

Any request to add, remove, or change the order of authors after submission must be supported by a written explanation and consent from all affected authors. The Editorial Team may request additional documentation before approving such a change.

Authorship disputes should primarily be addressed by the authors and their affiliated institutions. The journal may suspend editorial processing while an authorship dispute is being investigated.

3. Authors' Responsibilities

Authors are responsible for:

1. Ensuring that the submitted manuscript represents their original work.
2. Ensuring that the manuscript has not previously been published elsewhere, except where prior publication has been transparently disclosed and is permitted by the journal.
3. Ensuring that the manuscript is not simultaneously under consideration by another journal or publisher.
4. Presenting research findings accurately, honestly, and transparently.
5. Ensuring that data, evidence, quotations, references, and other scholarly materials are reported accurately.
6. Appropriately acknowledging and citing all sources used in preparing the manuscript.
7. Obtaining appropriate permission for copyrighted materials where required.
8. Disclosing relevant financial, institutional, professional, personal, or other conflicts of interest that could influence the interpretation or evaluation of the research.
9. Disclosing relevant sources of research funding where applicable.
10. Participating responsibly in the peer-review and editorial process.
11. Cooperating with the Editorial Team in responding to reasonable questions concerning research integrity, authorship, data, or publication ethics.
12. Promptly notifying the Editorial Team if they discover a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work.

4. Reviewers' Responsibilities

Reviewers are expected to:

1. Treat all manuscripts and information obtained through the review process as confidential.
2. Conduct reviews objectively, fairly, and professionally, without personal criticism of the authors.
3. Provide clear, constructive, and evidence-based comments that support their recommendations.
4. Evaluate manuscripts according to their scholarly quality, originality, methodological soundness, relevance, and contribution to the field.
5. Identify relevant published work that has not been appropriately cited when such omissions are significant.
6. Inform the Editor-in-Chief or handling editor of any substantial similarity, overlap, or other potential ethical concern identified during the review process.
7. Decline an invitation to review when they do not have appropriate expertise to evaluate the manuscript.
8. Decline to review manuscripts when they have a conflict of interest arising from competitive, collaborative, personal, financial, institutional, or other relationships connected to the manuscript or its authors.
9. Not use unpublished information, data, arguments, or findings obtained through peer review for personal, professional, financial, or academic advantage.
10. Complete reviews within the agreed timeframe or promptly inform the editor if additional time is required.

5. Editors' Responsibilities

Editors are responsible for:

1. Maintaining the quality, integrity, and independence of the journal's editorial process.
2. Making editorial decisions based on the scholarly and ethical merits of manuscripts.
3. Ensuring that manuscripts are handled fairly and consistently in accordance with the journal's policies.
4. Protecting the confidentiality of manuscripts and information obtained during the editorial process.
5. Protecting reviewer confidentiality in accordance with the journal's double-blind peer-review policy.
6. Ensuring that appropriate and qualified reviewers are selected for manuscripts.
7. Considering the legitimate interests of authors, reviewers, readers, and the wider scholarly community.
8. Ensuring that published research complies with applicable ethical standards and relevant scholarly guidelines.
9. Taking appropriate action when credible concerns arise regarding research or publication misconduct.
10. Ensuring that relevant sources of research funding are disclosed where required.
11. Not reversing a previous editorial decision without a substantive and documented reason.
12. Maintaining appropriate documentation of significant editorial decisions and ethical investigations.
13. Handling manuscripts independently and impartially, without discrimination based on irrelevant personal or institutional characteristics.

6. Editorial Conflicts of Interest

Editors must disclose and appropriately manage any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest involving a submitted manuscript, its authors, reviewers, institutions, or other parties involved in the editorial process.

An editor must not participate in the peer-review or editorial decision-making process when the editor has a personal, professional, institutional, financial, academic, or other relationship that could reasonably affect impartiality.

When the Editor-in-Chief has a conflict of interest concerning a manuscript, the manuscript will be assigned to another qualified editor who has no relevant conflict of interest. The assigned editor will oversee the peer-review process and make the editorial decision independently in accordance with the journal's policies.

Members of the Editorial Board must also disclose relevant conflicts of interest and must not participate in decisions concerning manuscripts with which they have a conflict.

Editors must not use unpublished information obtained through manuscript handling or peer review for personal, professional, financial, or academic advantage.

7. Authors' and Reviewers' Conflicts of Interest

Authors must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest that could influence the research, interpretation of findings, or presentation of the manuscript.

Reviewers must disclose any conflict of interest that could affect the impartiality of their assessment. Reviewers with relevant conflicts must decline the review invitation.

Conflicts of interest may include, but are not limited to:

• financial relationships;
• employment;
• institutional relationships;
• close personal relationships;
• academic competition;
• research collaboration; or
• other circumstances that could reasonably affect objectivity.

8. Plagiarism and Publication Misconduct

Parewa Saraq does not tolerate plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, duplicate or redundant publication, citation manipulation, peer-review manipulation, inappropriate authorship, or other forms of research or publication misconduct.

Submitted manuscripts may be screened for plagiarism or inappropriate textual overlap using appropriate similarity-detection procedures.

If credible evidence of misconduct is identified during the editorial process, the Editorial Team may suspend consideration of the manuscript, request clarification or supporting documentation, reject the manuscript, or take other appropriate action in accordance with applicable publication-ethics principles.

Concerns regarding published articles will be handled in accordance with the journal's Retraction and Correction Policy.

9. Research Integrity and Ethical Conduct

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their research is conducted in accordance with applicable ethical standards and relevant institutional or national requirements.

Research involving human participants, personal data, confidential information, or other ethically sensitive materials must comply with applicable ethical requirements.

Where ethical approval is required, authors should obtain approval from an appropriate research ethics committee or institutional review body before conducting the research and provide relevant information in the manuscript.

The Editorial Team may request evidence of ethical approval or other supporting documentation when necessary.

The journal may decline to publish research when there is insufficient evidence of compliance with applicable ethical requirements.

10. Confidentiality and Data Integrity

Editors and reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and must not disclose information about a manuscript to anyone other than those directly involved in the editorial and peer-review process.

Authors are responsible for ensuring the accuracy and integrity of the data and evidence presented in their manuscripts.

Authors should retain appropriate research records and supporting materials and should be able to provide reasonable clarification or documentation when requested by the Editorial Team.

Unpublished information obtained through the editorial or peer-review process must not be used for personal, professional, financial, or academic advantage.

11. Editorial Independence and Fairness

Editorial decisions are made independently on the basis of scholarly and ethical considerations.

The journal does not discriminate against authors on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, nationality, institutional affiliation, or other irrelevant personal characteristics.

The journal's institutional affiliation, ownership, sponsorship, or other external relationships must not improperly influence editorial decisions concerning the acceptance, revision, rejection, or publication of manuscripts.

Editors must not use their editorial position to obtain personal, professional, financial, or academic advantage.

12. Complaints and Appeals

Authors may appeal an editorial decision when they believe that the decision resulted from a significant procedural error, misunderstanding of the manuscript, or other substantive issue.

Appeals should provide a clear explanation and relevant evidence. An appeal does not guarantee reversal of the original decision.

The Editor-in-Chief will review the appeal and may seek advice from another qualified editor or Editorial Board member who has no conflict of interest with the manuscript.

Complaints concerning editorial procedures or publication ethics will be handled confidentially and investigated in accordance with the journal's policies and applicable publication-ethics principles.

13. Commitment to Publication Ethics

Parewa Saraq is committed to continuously reviewing and improving its publication-ethics policies in accordance with recognized international standards of responsible scholarly publishing.

All members of the journal's Editorial Team, authors, and reviewers share responsibility for maintaining the integrity, transparency, and credibility of the scholarly publishing process.