Conflicts of Interest

Geliotekhnika is committed to transparency, impartiality, editorial independence, and the integrity of the scholarly record.

A conflict of interest, also referred to as a competing interest, exists when a financial, professional, institutional, academic, personal, intellectual, or other relationship could influence, or could reasonably be perceived as influencing, the conduct, interpretation, peer review, editorial assessment, or publication of scholarly work.

The existence of a conflict of interest does not by itself indicate misconduct and does not automatically prevent submission, peer review, editorial participation, or publication. However, all relevant interests must be disclosed transparently and managed appropriately.

Failure to disclose a relevant interest may result in editorial investigation and corrective action.

Scope of the Policy

This policy applies to all participants in the journal’s publication process, including:

  • authors and co-authors;

  • corresponding authors;

  • peer reviewers;

  • the Editor-in-Chief and Deputy Editor-in-Chief;

  • Section Editors and Associate Editors, where appointed;

  • the Coordinating Editor;

  • Editorial Board members;

  • Guest Editors;

  • editorial, administrative, and technical staff;

  • the Publisher;

  • persons involved in production or technical management;

  • external consultants involved in evaluation or publication.

Each participant is personally responsible for identifying and disclosing their own actual, potential, or perceived competing interests.

Actual, Potential, and Perceived Competing Interests

An actual competing interest exists where a relationship or interest directly affects a person’s responsibilities or decisions.

A potential competing interest exists where a relationship could reasonably create a conflict in the future or under particular circumstances.

A perceived competing interest exists where an informed third party could reasonably believe that a person’s judgment may be influenced, even if no actual influence has occurred.

Where uncertainty exists, the interest must be disclosed to the Editorial Office, which determines how it should be managed.

Types of Competing Interests

Competing interests may be financial or non-financial and include the following categories.

Financial Interests

Relevant financial interests may include:

  • research grants and contracts;

  • current or anticipated employment;

  • consultancy fees, honoraria, or speaker fees;

  • travel, conference, accommodation, or registration support;

  • paid expert services;

  • stock, share, equity, or other ownership interests;

  • royalties and intellectual property income;

  • patents or pending patent applications;

  • paid advisory board roles;

  • commercial research support;

  • provision of equipment, software, materials, or services;

  • any other direct or indirect financial relationship connected to solar energy devices, materials, technologies, or services.

Authors must disclose the official name of each funding organization and the applicable grant or contract number. Financial support must be disclosed regardless of whether the authors believe that the funder influenced the research.

Professional and Academic Interests

Professional or academic interests may include:

  • recent or ongoing scientific collaboration;

  • recent co-authorship;

  • supervisory or mentoring relationships;

  • employment at the same institution;

  • membership of a relevant editorial or advisory board;

  • a leadership role in a professional organization;

  • direct academic competition;

  • involvement in a competing research project;

  • a professional dispute;

  • participation in preparing or evaluating the work;

  • responsibility for assessing an author’s employment, promotion, degree, or funding application.

Personal Interests

Personal interests may include close personal or family relationships, serious personal disputes, relationships involving dependency, authority, or influence, and other circumstances that could compromise impartial judgment.

Personal information must be disclosed only to the extent necessary to identify and manage the conflict.

Institutional Interests

Institutional interests may include:

  • affiliation with an institution that may benefit from the findings;

  • institutional ownership of relevant intellectual property;

  • direct institutional involvement in funding or conducting the research;

  • institutional relationships that could affect editorial impartiality;

  • pressure from an employer, sponsor, Founder, institution responsible for the journal, or governing body.

Intellectual and Ideological Interests

Non-financial interests may also arise from:

  • strongly held scientific positions;

  • public statements directly related to the manuscript;

  • advocacy or lobbying roles;

  • involvement in policy or standards development relevant to the research;

  • participation in disputes concerning the theory, method, technology, or findings under review.

A scientific opinion or academic disagreement alone does not automatically constitute a conflict. It must be disclosed where it could reasonably interfere with objective evaluation.

Period Covered by Disclosure

The journal does not apply a fixed disclosure period.

Participants must disclose any current, recent, anticipated, or past interest that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the submitted work, peer review, editorial decision, or publication process.

A past relationship must still be disclosed if its relevance or influence continues.

Author Disclosure Requirements

All authors must disclose actual, potential, or perceived interests related to the manuscript, including:

  • funding and material support;

  • employment and institutional relationships;

  • consultancy and governance roles;

  • intellectual property and patents;

  • relevant commercial interests;

  • professional or academic relationships;

  • personal relationships that may affect impartiality;

  • editorial or governance roles related to the manuscript;

  • the sponsor’s role in the research and publication process.

Disclosures must be submitted at manuscript submission and updated when circumstances change.

The corresponding author is responsible for collecting all authors’ declarations and ensuring that the manuscript contains a complete Competing Interests statement. Each author remains individually responsible for the accuracy and completeness of their own disclosure.

Funding and the Role of the Sponsor

All sources of financial and material support must be disclosed.

The manuscript must state the role of the funder or sponsor in:

  • study conception or design;

  • selection of methods;

  • data collection;

  • analysis or interpretation;

  • preparation or revision of the manuscript;

  • approval of the final version;

  • the decision to submit;

  • control over access to data;

  • restrictions on publication.

Where the funder had no such role, the following statement may be used:

The funder had no role in the design of the study; the collection, analysis, or interpretation of the data; the preparation of the manuscript; or the decision to submit the article for publication.

Funding or sponsorship must not determine the journal’s editorial decision.

Author Competing Interests Statement

Every manuscript must contain a Competing Interests statement, including manuscripts for which no competing interests exist.

Where there are no relevant competing interests, the following statement should be used:

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Alternatively:

The authors declare that they have no competing interests related to the content of this article.

Where an interest exists, the statement must clearly identify:

  • the author concerned;

  • the relevant organization, person, or relationship;

  • the nature of the financial or non-financial interest;

  • measures taken to manage the interest.

The journal may edit the wording for clarity while preserving its meaning.

Examples of Disclosure Statements

Financial Relationship

A.A. received research funding from [Organization]. B.B. provided paid consultancy services to [Organization]. The other authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Patent-Related Interest

A.A. is named as an inventor on a patent application related to the technology described in this article.

Editorial Role

A.A. is a member of the Editorial Board of Geliotekhnika. The author was not involved in the peer review, selection of reviewers, or editorial decision concerning this manuscript. The manuscript was handled by an independent editor.

No Competing Interests

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Peer Reviewer Competing Interests

Before accepting an invitation, reviewers must assess whether they have an actual, potential, or perceived competing interest.

Reviewers must disclose:

  • recent or ongoing collaboration with an author;

  • recent co-authorship;

  • employment at the same institution;

  • supervisory, mentoring, personal, or family relationships;

  • a financial interest related to the manuscript;

  • a professional dispute;

  • direct academic competition;

  • involvement in the research;

  • access to the manuscript before submission;

  • any other circumstance that may compromise impartiality.

A reviewer should normally decline where a conflict could affect the independence or credibility of the review. If a conflict becomes apparent after review has begun, the reviewer must stop and immediately notify the editor. The editor determines whether the reviewer may continue or should be replaced.

Reviewers must not use the process to promote personal, institutional, financial, or academic interests.

Editor and Editorial Board Competing Interests

Editors and Editorial Board members must disclose interests relating to a manuscript before participating in its evaluation.

An editor must not handle a manuscript where the editor:

  • is an author or co-author;

  • contributed to the research;

  • recently collaborated or published with an author;

  • works at the same institution and impartiality may be questioned;

  • has a supervisory, mentoring, personal, family, or financial relationship with an author;

  • has a direct academic or commercial interest in the findings;

  • is involved in a professional dispute with an author;

  • has another relationship that could compromise editorial independence.

An editor with a competing interest must not:

  • access confidential materials beyond what is necessary to identify the conflict;

  • select reviewers;

  • communicate confidentially with reviewers;

  • participate in internal discussions;

  • make or influence the editorial decision.

The manuscript must be reassigned to an independent editor with no relevant competing interest.

Manuscripts Submitted by Editors and Editorial Board Members

Editors and Editorial Board members may submit manuscripts, but their submissions receive no preferential treatment.

Such manuscripts must:

  • be handled by an independent editor;

  • undergo the journal’s standard double-anonymous peer review;

  • be evaluated by at least two independent external reviewers;

  • be considered without the participation of the submitting editor or Board member;

  • receive no guaranteed acceptance or unjustifiably accelerated processing.

The published article must include an appropriate disclosure of the author’s editorial role and the independent handling arrangements.

Guest Editors and Special Issues

Guest Editors must disclose relevant interests before accepting an appointment.

A Guest Editor must not handle a manuscript where the Guest Editor:

  • is an author or co-author;

  • collaborated closely with the authors;

  • has a relevant institutional, financial, personal, or academic interest;

  • cannot ensure an independent and impartial process.

Such a manuscript must be transferred to the Editor-in-Chief or another independent editor.

Special issue sponsorship, external funding, or institutional support must be disclosed and must not influence manuscript acceptance or rejection.

Publisher and Editorial Staff Competing Interests

The Publisher and editorial staff must not use financial, institutional, commercial, political, or personal interests to influence decisions concerning individual manuscripts.

Staff involved in author fees, waivers, sponsorship, advertising, production, marketing, or technical support must not influence scientific evaluation or editorial decisions unless they also hold a formally declared editorial role and have no relevant conflict.

The existence, payment, reduction, or waiver of an article processing charge must not affect acceptance or rejection.

Founder and Institutional Independence

The Founder — the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the S.A. Azimov Institute of Physics and Technology responsible for the journal’s activities, the Publisher, other associated institutions, funding organizations, government bodies, and commercial partners must not interfere with decisions concerning the acceptance, revision, or rejection of individual manuscripts.

Institutional support for the journal does not create a right to:

  • influence reviewer selection;

  • access confidential peer review information;

  • require publication of particular content;

  • prevent publication of scientifically valid content;

  • alter editorial decisions for non-scientific reasons.

Management of Disclosed Competing Interests

Disclosure does not automatically result in rejection, reviewer exclusion, or removal from an editorial role.

The Editor-in-Chief or an independent designated editor assesses:

  • the nature of the interest;

  • its relevance to the manuscript;

  • the degree of possible influence;

  • whether disclosure alone is sufficient;

  • whether additional safeguards are required;

  • whether the individual should recuse themselves;

  • whether the manuscript can be evaluated impartially.

Management measures may include:

  • publication of a disclosure statement;

  • appointment of an independent editor;

  • replacement of a reviewer;

  • exclusion from internal discussion;

  • independent statistical, technical, or methodological assessment;

  • clarification of the sponsor’s role;

  • additional documentation;

  • rejection where the interest cannot be appropriately managed.

Confidentiality and Publication of Disclosures

Competing interest information is handled confidentially during manuscript assessment and is available only to persons who require it for editorial evaluation and conflict management.

The journal may share relevant information with an editor, reviewer, research integrity adviser, or another authorized person where necessary for fair assessment.

If the manuscript is accepted, the Competing Interests statement is normally published with the article. The journal cannot guarantee complete confidentiality where publication or correction of the disclosure is necessary to protect the scholarly record.

Sensitive personal details not necessary to explain the interest will not be published.

Undisclosed Competing Interests Before Publication

If an undisclosed interest is identified before publication, the journal may:

  • request clarification or supporting documents;

  • require an updated statement;

  • suspend peer review or production;

  • replace a reviewer or editor;

  • arrange additional independent evaluation;

  • reject the manuscript where the omission was serious or intentional;

  • consider the matter under the journal’s publication ethics and misconduct policies.

The journal distinguishes an inadvertent omission from deliberate concealment.

Undisclosed Competing Interests After Publication

If a relevant interest is discovered after publication, the journal assesses:

  • whether it should have been disclosed;

  • whether it may have affected the research, peer review, or editorial decision;

  • whether the published conclusions remain reliable;

  • whether corrective action is required.

Possible actions include:

  • updating the statement;

  • publishing a formal correction;

  • conducting an editorial review;

  • requesting an institutional investigation;

  • publishing an Editorial Expression of Concern;

  • retracting the article where the undisclosed interest seriously compromises the reliability or integrity of the publication.

Disputes Concerning Competing Interests

A person who disagrees with the journal’s assessment or management decision may submit a reasoned written request to the Editorial Office.

The request must:

  • identify the disputed decision;

  • explain the factual or procedural concern;

  • provide relevant evidence;

  • avoid personal accusations and unsupported allegations.

Where possible, the matter is reviewed by an editor or qualified person who was not directly involved in the original decision.

The journal may seek guidance from an institution, research integrity office, funding organization, or other competent authority where the matter cannot be resolved through editorial assessment.

Complaints and Appeals

Complaints or appeals concerning competing interests are considered under the journal’s Complaints and Appeals Policy.

An appeal will not be upheld solely because an author, reviewer, or editor disagrees with a reasonable conflict-management measure.

The final decision is based on the need to protect impartiality, editorial independence, procedural fairness, and the integrity of the scholarly record.

External Standards

The competing interest practices of Geliotekhnika are informed by:

  • COPE Core Practices;

  • COPE guidance on competing interests;

  • COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers;

  • Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing;

  • DOAJ Guide to Applying;

  • Scopus requirements for publication ethics and malpractice statements;

  • Web of Science criteria concerning editorial quality and research integrity;

  • the journal’s Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement;

  • the journal’s Peer Review Policy;

  • the journal’s Editorial Board Policy;

  • the journal’s Authorship and Contributorship Policy;

  • applicable national legislation and internationally recognized standards of research integrity.

Policy Administration

This policy takes effect on the date of its publication on the journal’s official website and is reviewed periodically to maintain alignment with applicable ethical standards and the journal’s editorial practices.

Questions, disclosures, complaints, appeals, or reports of undisclosed competing interests should be submitted to the Editorial Office at ftikans@uzsci.net.

Relevant matters are considered in accordance with the journal’s applicable policies and current COPE guidance.

ISSN 0130-0997 (Print)
ISSN 2181-9963 (Online)