Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism Policy

Publication Ethics & Malpractice Statement – Anti-Plagiarism Regulation

The International Journal of Law and Social Science (IJLSS) firmly upholds academic integrity and recognizes that plagiarism in any form is unacceptable. To safeguard the quality and credibility of scholarly work, IJLSS enforces a strict plagiarism policy aligned with the ethical guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Any manuscript that violates these ethical principles may be rejected, retracted, or removed at any point in the publication process, including post-publication.

All manuscripts submitted to IJLSS are subjected to an initial plagiarism screening using Turnitin or equivalent similarity-detection software. This screening is conducted by the Editorial Office immediately after submission. Manuscripts with a similarity index above 20% (excluding references) will be automatically rejected.

Definition of Plagiarism

Plagiarism refers to the use, duplication, or close imitation of another author’s language, ideas, findings, or expressions without proper acknowledgment, and presenting them as one’s own original work.
This includes direct copying, paraphrasing without credit, or using substantial parts of another work without permission.

Policy & General Guidelines

Originality

  • Submitted manuscripts must be original, unpublished, and not under review elsewhere.

  • All borrowed material must be clearly identified using quotation marks, indentation, and proper citation.

Fair Use and Permissions

  • Text exceeding two or three sentences, or any graphic, table, or figure from another source, requires:

    1. Proper citation

    2. Clear identification

    3. Permission from the copyright holder

Editorial Action When Plagiarism Is Detected

The Editor-in-Chief will assess the severity of plagiarism and determine the appropriate penalty, following these categories:

Levels of Plagiarism & Corresponding Actions

1. Minor Plagiarism

Description:
Small sections of text are copied without proper citation; no major data, findings, or original ideas are taken.
Action:
A warning is issued, and authors are asked to revise and properly cite the original sources.

2. Intermediate Plagiarism

Description:
A significant portion of text is copied or paraphrased without citation, but does not include replication of major data or findings.
Action:
The manuscript is immediately rejected, and the authors are banned from submitting to IJLSS for one year.

3. Severe Plagiarism

Description:
Substantial copying of text, data, tables, or ideas, including reproduction of original results or conceptual frameworks.
Action:
The manuscript is rejected, and the authors are prohibited from submitting to IJLSS for five years.

Author Responsibility

All authors submitting to IJLSS share equal responsibility for the integrity of their manuscript.
If plagiarism is detected, all authors listed in the manuscript will be subject to the same penalty.

In cases of repeated offenses, the Editorial Board may impose a permanent submission ban.

Self-Plagiarism / Redundant Publication

This policy also applies to content reused from an author’s own previously published work.
If significant overlap is detected between multiple submissions (to IJLSS or another journal), the case will be classified as follows:

  • Minor overlap (<10%) → Warning

  • Intermediate overlap (10–50%) → Rejection and 1-year ban

  • Severe overlap (>50%) → Treated as serious misconduct, 5-year ban

Use of previously published material must always be explicitly identified, differentiated from new content, and accompanied by permission where required.

Conference Papers, Translations & Reproductions

  • Manuscripts derived from conference papers must include the name of the conference, date, and prior publication details.

  • Previously published work in another language may be considered if fully credited, with necessary permissions.

  • Historic or special republications must be clearly identified as such.

Editorial Oversight & Enforcement

The IJLSS Layout and Editorial Office maintain a confidential list of authors penalized for plagiarism.
All incoming submissions are cross-checked against this list to prevent violations.
A copy of this Plagiarism Policy is provided to authors upon submission and is included in the journal’s submission guidelines.