Journal on Labour​

​

The Journal on Labour, published by the Centre for Labour Law Research and Advocacy (CLLRA), National Law University Delhi, is committed to maintaining high standards of academic integrity, research integrity and ethical scholarly publishing.

The journal expects authors, reviewers, editors, members of the editorial and advisory boards, and all other persons involved in the publication process to act in accordance with the principles of academic honesty, fairness, transparency, confidentiality and responsible scholarly conduct.

​​

The journal follows the principles reflected in the Core Practices and relevant guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), as applicable to the journal and its interdisciplinary subject areas.

​

The journal takes reasonable measures to prevent and address plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, duplicate or redundant publication, authorship misconduct, undisclosed conflicts of interest, unethical research practices and other forms of publication misconduct.

​

Where a concern regarding research or publication ethics arises, the journal will assess the matter fairly and confidentially and may seek clarification or relevant information from authors, reviewers, editors, institutions or other appropriate persons or bodies.

 

The journal may return, reject, correct, publish an expression of concern about, or retract a manuscript or published article where circumstances warrant such action.

​​

1. Authorship

​

Authorship should accurately reflect substantial intellectual contribution to the work.

​

Individuals should ordinarily be listed as authors where they have made a substantial contribution to one or more of the following:

1. conception or design of the research;

2. acquisition, analysis or interpretation of data or other research material, where applicable;

3. development of the substantive arguments, analysis or interpretation;

4. drafting the manuscript or undertaking substantive intellectual revision of the manuscript; and

5. approval of the final version for publication and acceptance of responsibility for the integrity of the work.

 

All listed authors must have read and approved the final manuscript and must agree to take appropriate responsibility for the accuracy and integrity of the work.

 

Authorship should not be granted solely on the basis of seniority, institutional position, supervision, funding, administrative responsibility or other non-substantive involvement.

 

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

 

Individuals who have contributed to the research or manuscript but do not meet the criteria for authorship should be appropriately acknowledged, with their permission where appropriate.

 

The corresponding author is responsible for communicating with the journal and should ensure, to the extent reasonably possible, that all authors have approved the submitted manuscript and the order in which their names appear.

 

Changes in authorship

 

Requests to add, remove or reorder authors after submission must be accompanied by a written explanation and confirmation from all affected authors.

 

The journal may request written agreement from all authors before approving a change in authorship.

 

Where an authorship dispute cannot be resolved among the authors, the journal may suspend consideration or publication of the manuscript and may refer the matter to the relevant institution or competent authority.

 

The journal will not ordinarily determine institutional disputes concerning authorship.

 

2. Originality and Exclusive Submission

 

Authors must submit original work that has not been published elsewhere and is not simultaneously under consideration by another journal.

A manuscript must not be submitted to more than one journal at the same time.

 

Authors must disclose any substantially similar work that has already been published, accepted for publication, submitted elsewhere, or made publicly available where such material overlaps with the submitted manuscript.

 

The submission of substantially identical or materially overlapping manuscripts to more than one publication venue may constitute publication misconduct.

 

Authors remain responsible for ensuring that their submissions do not infringe the copyright, intellectual property, privacy or other legally protected rights of third parties.

 

3. Research Integrity

 

Authors are responsible for ensuring that the research and scholarship reported in their manuscripts are conducted and presented honestly and accurately.

 

Authors must not fabricate, falsify or materially misrepresent research data, sources, evidence, interviews, findings, quotations, legal authorities, references or other research material.

 

Where empirical or qualitative research is reported, authors should accurately describe the research methods used and should not misrepresent the nature, extent or results of the research.

 

Authors must retain appropriate research records and supporting materials where reasonably necessary to substantiate the work.

 

Where the journal has reasonable grounds to believe that research findings or supporting material have been fabricated, falsified or seriously misrepresented, it may request clarification or supporting information and may take appropriate editorial action.

 

4. Plagiarism and Unauthorised Use of Third-Party Material

 

Plagiarism in all its forms is unacceptable.

 

Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:

1. presenting another person's words as one's own without appropriate acknowledgement;

2. presenting another person's ideas, arguments, analysis, findings or research as one's own;

3. copying substantial portions of another person's work without appropriate attribution;

4. inappropriate reuse of one's own previously published material without disclosure and appropriate acknowledgement; and

5. unauthorised appropriation of data, tables, figures, images or other original material.

​

The journal may use plagiarism-detection or text-comparison tools as part of its editorial assessment. Such tools are aids to editorial assessment and do not, by themselves, determine whether publication misconduct has occurred.

 

Authors must appropriately acknowledge all sources and provide references in accordance with the journal's prescribed citation requirements.

 

Information obtained through private or confidential communication should not be reproduced in the manuscript without appropriate permission where such permission is required.

 

Where third-party copyrighted material is reproduced, authors are responsible for obtaining permission where necessary and providing appropriate acknowledgement.

 

Where substantial plagiarism or unauthorised appropriation of material is identified before publication, the manuscript may be rejected.

 

Where such concerns arise after publication, the journal may publish a correction, expression of concern or retraction, depending on the circumstances and seriousness of the matter.

 

The journal may also refer serious cases to the author's institution, relevant academic body or other appropriate authority where necessary.

 

5. Use of Artificial Intelligence and Generative AI

 

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity and proper attribution of their manuscripts, regardless of whether artificial intelligence tools have been used during preparation.

 

Artificial intelligence tools, including generative AI systems, cannot be listed as authors or co-authors.

 

Authors may use AI-assisted tools for legitimate purposes such as language improvement, formatting or other editorial assistance, provided that such use does not compromise the originality, accuracy, confidentiality or integrity of the work.

 

Where an AI tool has materially contributed to the generation, analysis, interpretation or substantive development of the manuscript, authors should disclose such use in an appropriate statement.

 

AI tools must not be used to:

1. fabricate or manipulate data or research findings;

2. fabricate quotations, sources, references or legal authorities;

3. misrepresent the existence or content of scholarly or legal sources;

4. conceal plagiarism or unauthorised appropriation of another person's work; or

5. otherwise misrepresent the nature or origin of the research.

 

Authors remain responsible for verifying all information generated or assisted by AI tools, including citations, quotations, legal authorities, factual claims and references.

 

The use of an AI tool does not relieve an author of responsibility for errors or inaccuracies contained in the published work.

 

Reviewers and editors must maintain the confidentiality of unpublished manuscripts. They should not upload confidential manuscript material or unpublished research into external AI systems where doing so could compromise confidentiality, intellectual property or the integrity of the peer-review process.

 

6. Conflicts of Interest

 

A conflict of interest may arise where a person's financial, professional, institutional, personal or other interests could reasonably be perceived as influencing their judgment or participation in the publication process.

 

Authors

 

Authors must disclose any actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest that could reasonably affect the research or its presentation.

 

Where no relevant conflict exists, authors should make a clear declaration of the absence of a conflict where required by the journal.

 

Reviewers

 

Reviewers must disclose any actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest before accepting a manuscript for review.

 

A reviewer should decline the assignment where the conflict could compromise, or reasonably appear to compromise, independent assessment of the manuscript.

 

Editors

 

Editors must disclose and appropriately manage conflicts of interest.

 

An editor should not participate in editorial decisions concerning a manuscript where the editor has a personal, professional, institutional, financial or other conflict that could reasonably affect impartiality.

 

Where appropriate, the manuscript should be assigned to another editor who does not have such a conflict.

 

If an undisclosed conflict of interest is discovered after publication, the journal will assess the circumstances and may publish an appropriate correction, expression of concern or retraction, depending on the seriousness of the matter.

 

7. Research Involving Human Participants

 

Authors conducting research involving human participants must comply with applicable ethical, legal and institutional requirements.

 

Where required, authors should obtain approval from the relevant institutional ethics committee or other competent review body before commencing research.

 

Where informed consent is required by the nature of the research, authors must obtain appropriate consent from participants.

 

Particular care should be taken where research involves vulnerable, marginalised or otherwise at-risk populations.

 

Authors must take reasonable measures to protect the privacy and confidentiality of research participants.

 

Identifying information concerning participants should not be published without appropriate consent or other lawful and ethical justification.

 

Where research involves interviews, surveys, fieldwork, participant observation or other forms of research involving individuals, authors should provide sufficient information in the manuscript concerning relevant ethical safeguards where appropriate.

 

Where ethical approval was not required, authors may be asked to provide an explanation of the basis for that determination.

 

The journal may request information concerning ethical approval, informed consent or research procedures where necessary to assess compliance with research ethics requirements.

 

8. Data, Sources and Research Materials

 

Authors should provide sufficient information about their research methods, sources and materials to enable readers to understand and assess the basis of the work.

 

Where appropriate and legally and ethically permissible, authors should make relevant research materials or supporting data available.

 

Where research data cannot be publicly shared because of privacy, confidentiality, consent restrictions, legal restrictions or other legitimate reasons, authors should clearly state the applicable limitation where appropriate.

 

Authors must not disclose confidential or personally identifiable information concerning research participants without appropriate consent or other lawful basis.

 

Authors are responsible for ensuring that data, sources, quotations, citations and other research materials are accurately represented.

 

9. Responsibilities of Authors

 

Authors are responsible for ensuring that:

1. the manuscript represents their original work;

2. all sources and contributions are appropriately acknowledged;

3. the research has been conducted and reported honestly;

4. all authors meet the applicable authorship requirements;

5. all authors have approved the submitted version;

6. relevant conflicts of interest are disclosed;

7. necessary permissions have been obtained for third-party material;

8. research involving human participants complies with applicable ethical requirements;

9. the manuscript is not simultaneously under consideration elsewhere;

10. significant errors identified after submission or publication are promptly communicated to the journal; and

11. they cooperate reasonably with editorial enquiries concerning research or publication integrity.

 

Authors should respond promptly and substantively to reasonable requests from the editors concerning revisions, clarification, sources, data, research methods or ethical matters.

 

Authors may respond to post-publication comments and published correspondence concerning their work.

 

10. Responsibilities of Reviewers

 

Reviewers play an important role in maintaining the scholarly quality and integrity of the journal.

 

Reviewers must:

1. treat manuscripts received for review as confidential;

2. not disclose, reproduce, distribute or use unpublished information obtained through peer review without appropriate permission;

3. provide objective, constructive and reasoned assessments;

4. assess manuscripts on their scholarly merits rather than on the identity, institutional affiliation, nationality, gender, caste, religion, political position or other irrelevant characteristics of the author;

5. disclose actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interest;

6. decline a review where they cannot provide an impartial assessment;

7. inform the editor where they identify substantial plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabricated material or other serious ethical concerns; and

8. avoid using information obtained through peer review for personal or professional advantage.

 

Reviews should focus on the manuscript and should not contain personal, discriminatory or otherwise inappropriate criticism of authors.

 

Reviewers should not demand citations to their own work or the work of colleagues unless those citations are genuinely relevant to the scholarly assessment of the manuscript.

 

11. Responsibilities of Editors

 

Editors are responsible for maintaining the academic integrity and fairness of the editorial process.

 

Editors must ensure that manuscripts are evaluated objectively and on the basis of academic merit, originality, relevance, scholarly quality and other legitimate editorial considerations.

 

Editorial decisions must not be influenced by discrimination, favouritism or irrelevant considerations relating to an author's identity, institutional affiliation, nationality, gender, caste, religion, political position or other personal characteristics.

 

Editors must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and must not disclose unpublished material or information obtained through the editorial or peer-review process except to persons appropriately involved in the publication process.

 

Editors must not use unpublished information or ideas obtained from a submitted manuscript for their own research or professional advantage without the author's permission.

 

Editors must appropriately manage conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from decisions where necessary.

 

Editors must take reasonable steps to investigate credible allegations of research or publication misconduct.

​

Editors should ensure that appropriate corrective action is taken where a published article is found to contain a significant error or where serious concerns arise regarding its integrity.

 

Where the journal publishes a substantive critique of a previously published article, the authors of the original article should, where appropriate and practicable, be given a reasonable opportunity to respond.

 

Editorial team submissions

 

Members of the editorial team may submit manuscripts to the journal, but they must not participate in the editorial decision, peer-review process or publication decision concerning their own submission.

 

Such manuscripts should be handled through an independent editorial process and, where practicable, by an editor who has no conflict of interest with the submitting author.

 

12. Research and Publication Misconduct

 

Research and publication misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

1. fabrication of data, sources, interviews, findings or other research material;

2. falsification or manipulation of research material or findings;

3. plagiarism or substantial unauthorised appropriation of another person's work;

4. duplicate or redundant publication;

5. simultaneous submission of the same manuscript to multiple journals;

6. ghost, guest or gift authorship;

7. manipulation or misrepresentation of citations or sources;

8. undisclosed conflicts of interest that materially affect the work or editorial process;

9. unethical research involving human participants;

10. material misrepresentation of research methods or findings; and

11. other conduct that materially undermines the integrity of scholarly publication.

 

Allegations of misconduct will be assessed on the basis of the information and evidence available to the journal.

 

The journal may seek clarification from authors and may, where appropriate, seek information from reviewers, editors, institutions or other relevant bodies.

 

Where an allegation concerns institutional research conduct that falls outside the journal's ability to determine, the journal may refer the matter to the relevant institution or competent authority.

 

Depending on the circumstances, the journal may reject a manuscript, suspend publication, publish a correction, issue an expression of concern, retract a published article or take another appropriate editorial action.

 

13. Complaints

 

Complaints concerning the editorial process, publication ethics, peer review, authorship, conflicts of interest, editorial conduct or other matters relating to the journal may be submitted to the editorial office.

 

Complaints should, where possible, identify the relevant manuscript or published article and provide sufficient information to enable the journal to understand and assess the concern.

 

Complaints will be handled fairly and confidentially.

 

The journal may seek information from the authors, reviewers, editors, institutions or other relevant persons or bodies where necessary.

 

Complaints concerning the conduct of the Editor-in-Chief should be directed to an appropriate senior authority of the Centre for Labour Law Research and Advocacy or National Law University Delhi.

 

The journal will make reasonable efforts to address complaints in a timely and responsible manner.

 

Editorial contact: jol@nludelhi.ac.in

14. Appeals

 

Authors may appeal an editorial decision where they believe that:

1. a material factual error affected the decision;

2. relevant information was overlooked;

3. a significant procedural irregularity occurred; or

4. the decision was materially affected by a conflict of interest or other improper consideration.

 

An appeal should identify the specific grounds on which reconsideration is requested. An appeal should not merely restate disagreement with the academic judgment of reviewers.

 

Where practicable, an appeal should be considered by an editor who was not directly responsible for the original decision.

 

The journal may uphold the original decision, reconsider the decision, seek further review or take another appropriate action.

 

An appeal decision will ordinarily be final once the applicable editorial review process has been completed.

 

15. Corrections, Expressions of Concern and Retractions

 

The journal is committed to maintaining the accuracy and integrity of the published record.

 

Corrections

 

A correction or corrigendum may be published where an error in a published article affects its accuracy, clarity or completeness but does not invalidate its principal findings or conclusions.

 

Expressions of Concern

 

Where substantial concerns arise regarding the reliability or integrity of a published article but the available information is insufficient to reach a final conclusion, the journal may publish an expression of concern while further enquiries are undertaken.

 

Retractions

 

An article may be retracted where there is reliable evidence that serious error or misconduct materially affects the reliability or integrity of the published work.

 

Circumstances that may justify retraction include, but are not limited to:

1. fabricated or falsified data or research material;

2. substantial plagiarism;

3. duplicate publication;

4. serious ethical violations;

5. major undisclosed conflicts of interest;

6. substantial manipulation or misrepresentation of sources or findings; or

7. other circumstances that materially undermine the integrity of the published record.

 

Retractions and expressions of concern will be clearly identified and linked to the original publication.

 

The original publication will ordinarily remain part of the journal archive, with an appropriate post-publication notice explaining the action taken.

 

Authors who identify a significant error in their published work must promptly notify the journal and cooperate with the editors in determining the appropriate corrective action.

 

16. Post-Publication Concerns and Discussion

 

Readers may raise substantive concerns regarding published articles by contacting the editorial office.

 

The journal may seek clarification from authors, editors, reviewers, institutions or other relevant persons where necessary.

 

Where a concern is substantiated, the journal may publish a correction, expression of concern, retraction or other appropriate notice.

 

The journal may also publish substantive correspondence or responses relating to published work where such material meets the journal's editorial standards.

 

17. Copyright and Intellectual Property

 

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their manuscripts do not infringe the copyright or other intellectual property rights of third parties.

 

Authors must obtain appropriate permission where required for the reproduction of copyrighted material.

 

All sources and intellectual contributions must be appropriately acknowledged.

 

Publication in the journal does not remove the author's responsibility for the accuracy, originality and lawful use of material contained in the manuscript.

 

Copyright and licensing arrangements applicable to the journal are governed by the journal's separate copyright and submission policies.

 

18. Editorial Action

 

Where the journal determines that a manuscript or published article does not comply with this policy, it may take proportionate editorial action, including:

1. requesting clarification or additional information;

2. requiring correction or revision;

3. rejecting a manuscript;

4. suspending consideration or publication;

5. publishing a correction;

6. publishing an expression of concern;

7. retracting a published article;

8. referring a matter to an author's institution or other competent authority; or

9. taking other appropriate action consistent with the circumstances.

 

The action taken will depend on the nature, seriousness and available evidence concerning the matter.

 

19. Application of the Policy and Exceptional Circumstances

 

The Editorial Board is responsible for overseeing the application of this Publication Ethics and Research Integrity Policy.

 

Where a matter is not expressly addressed by this policy, the journal may consider relevant principles of academic and research integrity, applicable institutional requirements, disciplinary standards and recognised publication-ethics guidance, including relevant COPE guidance.

 

The journal will seek to apply this policy consistently while recognising that individual cases may require consideration of their particular circumstances.

 

The journal may revise this policy from time to time to reflect developments in scholarly publishing, research ethics and recognised publication-ethics standards.

 

20. Contact

 

Questions, complaints, concerns regarding publication ethics, allegations of misconduct, conflicts of interest or post-publication concerns may be directed to:

 

Editor-in-Chief
Journal on Labour
Centre for Labour Law Research and Advocacy
National Law University Delhi

Email: jol@nludelhi.ac.in