Ethics Statement

Modern Consumer Law in Perspective (MCLP) adheres to the Core Practices and Best Practice Guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and expects all parties involved in publication (authors, reviewers, and editors) to follow these standards. Suspected cases of misconduct, including plagiarism, data fabrication, duplicate publication, and undisclosed conflicts of interest, are handled in accordance with the relevant COPE guidance. Corrections and retractions are governed by the policy set out in our Author Guidelines.

The MCLP ensures the highest level of integrity in the published content. This means that all authors are required to consider and declare any competing interests (financial or non-financial), sources of funding, as well as adherence to institutional standards of research reporting, including study-specific approvals by appropriate ethics committees. For any research involving personal data, with human or animal participants, authors need to have obtained necessary institutional ethical approvals prior to conducting their research, complied with their guidelines, including on informed consent from human participants or on welfare of animals, ensuring data safety and protection.

All authors should refrain from misrepresenting research results, as well as submitting the manuscript to other publications for simultaneous consideration. The submitted work should be original and the authors' own. Proper acknowledgment to other sources must be given, whether these have been used verbatim, summarized, or paraphrased.

Upon request authors must send relevant documentation or data validating the results presented in the manuscript, both during review and after publication.

Research content articles published in this journal are double-blind peer-reviewed. Manuscripts will only be sent to peer review if the editorial board determines they meet the appropriate quality and relevance requirements, and fit within the MCLP's scope. Peer reviewers will not be affiliated with the same institution as the authors to ensure there is no review bias. Editors reserve the right to reject a manuscript, without sending it out for peer review, if it has been submitted in breach of these ethical guidelines.

Authorship

Authorship is limited to those who have made a substantial intellectual contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the work, have participated in drafting or critically revising the manuscript, and have approved the final version submitted for publication. All listed authors are jointly accountable for the content of the work. Contributions that do not meet these criteria (such as technical assistance, language editing, or general supervision) should instead be recognised in the Acknowledgements. Generative AI tools cannot be listed as authors; see our AI Policy.

Changes to authorship

Any request to add or remove an author, or to change the order of authors, after submission must be sent to the editors at editors@modernconsumer.eu, together with a written explanation of the reason for the change and written confirmation of agreement from all authors, including any author being added or removed. Changes to authorship after acceptance will only be made in exceptional circumstances. Disagreements about authorship that cannot be resolved among the authors will be referred to the authors' institution(s), in line with COPE guidance.

Plagiarism screening

All submissions are screened for textual overlap using plagiarism-detection software before being sent to peer review. Similarity reports are assessed by the editors with attention to the nature and context of the overlap in addition to the software output; properly quoted and referenced material is not treated as plagiarism. Manuscripts showing unattributed overlap, redundant publication, or text recycling will be returned for revision or rejected. Confirmed plagiarism in published work is handled under the journal's correction and retraction policy.

EDI commitment

The MCLP is committed to promoting and protecting equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in its publication processes. Its contribution to the EDI-mindful and supportive academic environment is to create a discussion platform welcoming and valuing scholars with diverse backgrounds and experiences. The journal's publications aim to reflect the full diversity of authorship and content within the MCLP scope and be generally accessible.

Respect

The MCLP editorial board believes in building mindful, respectful academic relationships and intends to communicate with authors and reviewers by maintaining professional courtesy, creating trust. We expect our authors, reviewers, and audiences to respond to us with the same respect and professionalism. We do not tolerate aggressive behaviour, harassment, or bullying. If needed, we may refuse to engage further with individuals who violate this policy.

Competing interests

Authors must declare financial (funding, employment, consultation fees, patents, stocks, etc.) and non-financial interests (editorial board membership, expert witness, board of directors position, etc.) that are directly or indirectly related to the work submitted for publication, if these could be reasonably perceived as influencing the submitted work. Such transparency will help readers form their own judgments on potential bias rather than in any way suggest that conducted research is inappropriate.