Editorial Independence Policy

This policy establishes the principles that protect the independence of editors and ensure that decisions about the publication of scholarly work are based solely on academic and editorial considerations.

Editors have full authority over the editorial content and publication decisions of their journals. Editorial decisions must be based on the scholarly merits of a manuscript, including:

Editorial decision-making is structurally and operationally separate from commercial and business activities at VERALIS.

• Acceptance or rejection is never dependent on payment, and article processing charges (where applicable) do not influence editorial decisions. Payment is handled separately from the editorial process.
• Marketing activities, advertising, and sponsorship have no role in manuscript evaluation.
• Editorial decisions are not determined by revenue or publication targets, author or institutional relationships, commercial affiliations, or payment status.

Editors are responsible for making independent editorial decisions based on the available evidence, peer-review reports, and the journal's policies. The publisher provides operational and administrative support but does not override legitimate editorial judgment.

Editors must be free to select and manage reviewers, assess peer-review reports, request revisions, accept or reject manuscripts, recommend transfers, and take appropriate action when concerns about research integrity arise, in line with VERALIS's Research Integrity and Publication Ethics Policy.

To safeguard editorial independence, the appointment and removal of Editors-in-Chief and other senior editorial roles follows a documented process that is separate from day-to-day commercial decision-making. Editors are appointed based on relevant expertise and standing in their field, and may only be removed for clearly defined reasons (such as breach of ethical standards or failure to fulfil editorial duties) — never on the basis of editorial decisions they have made in good faith.

Editors, reviewers, and all personnel involved in editorial decision-making must treat manuscripts and related correspondence as confidential throughout the review process. Manuscript content, author identities (where applicable to the review model), and reviewer identities and reports must not be disclosed to third parties without appropriate authorization, except as required for the editorial process itself or as permitted by the journal's peer-review policy.

Editors must identify and manage conflicts of interest that could affect their independence. An editor with a competing interest must not participate in the decision-making process for the affected manuscript. The manuscript should be reassigned to an appropriate independent editor. Authors, reviewers, editors, sponsors, and other parties must not attempt to improperly influence editorial decisions.

VERALIS expects editorial decisions to be consistent, documented, and capable of independent review. Editors should provide clear reasons for decisions where appropriate and maintain confidentiality throughout the editorial process, as set out above.