Ethical Guidelines

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

The Pakistan Journal of Law and Policy is committed to maintaining high standards of research integrity, publication ethics, and scholarly responsibility. The journal's publication-ethics framework is informed by recognized international standards and best practices, including relevant guidance issued by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Authors are expected to conduct and report their research honestly, responsibly, and transparently. By submitting a manuscript, authors confirm that they have complied with applicable ethical and scholarly standards and accept responsibility for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of their contributions.

Author Responsibilities

Authors submitting manuscripts to the Pakistan Journal of Law and Policy are expected to comply with the following principles:

• Originality and Integrity: Manuscripts must contain original scholarly work and must not knowingly include fabricated, falsified, or misleading data, information, findings, legal arguments, or conclusions.

• Accuracy of Research: Authors are responsible for ensuring that the facts, evidence, data, analysis, citations, legal authorities, and conclusions presented in their manuscripts are accurate and appropriately supported.

• Proper Attribution and Citation: All ideas, arguments, information, data, quotations, materials, and other contributions derived from the work of others must be appropriately acknowledged and cited. Sources must be accurately identified in the text and reference list.

• Original Submission: A manuscript must not have been previously published in substantially the same form or be simultaneously submitted to another journal or publication outlet while under consideration by the Pakistan Journal of Law and Policy, except where expressly permitted by the journal.

• Plagiarism: The journal does not tolerate plagiarism, including substantial unattributed copying, inappropriate paraphrasing, self-plagiarism, or the presentation of another person's work, ideas, words, data, or findings as one's own. Manuscripts may be screened for plagiarism and other forms of inappropriate textual overlap in accordance with the journal's Plagiarism and Similarity Screening Policy.

• Copyright and Third-Party Material: Authors must ensure that their manuscripts do not infringe the copyright, intellectual property, privacy, confidentiality, or other legal rights of third parties. Where permission is required to reproduce copyrighted material, authors are responsible for obtaining the necessary authorization.

• Data and Evidence: Where applicable, research data, documentary sources, empirical evidence, datasets, survey materials, case materials, and other supporting information must be authentic, reliable, and reported accurately. Authors must not