Transparency regarding actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest is critical for maintaining credibility in scientific communication. Journal of Integrated Natural Science (JINS) requires all participants in the publication process (authors, reviewers, and editors) to disclose any competing interests.

1. Definition of Competing Interests

A conflict of interest exists when professional judgment concerning a primary interest (such as research validity and educational integrity) may be influenced by a secondary interest (such as financial gain, career promotion, personal competition, or institutional loyalties).

2. Obligations for Authors

All manuscripts must include a dedicated "Conflict of Interest Statement" before the reference list. Authors must declare: direct financial support, employment or consulting roles, patents or stock holdings, and relevant personal or political affiliations. If no conflict exists, authors must state: "The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this manuscript."

3. Obligations for Reviewers

Peer reviewers must recuse themselves if they have co-authored with the authors in the preceding 3 years, belong to the same institution/department, maintain personal or financial ties, or feel unable to render an impartial assessment.

4. Obligations for Editors

Editorial board members must not participate in decisions concerning their own submissions or those of collaborators. Such manuscripts are assigned to an alternate, unbiased handling editor.