A conflict of interest (or competing interest) arises when professional judgment concerning a primary interest, such as the validity of research, may be influenced by a secondary interest, such as financial gain or personal relationships. Philology: Journal Of English Language and Literature requires all participating actors in the publication process—authors, peer reviewers, and editors—to declare any potential conflicts of interest to ensure the transparency, integrity, and credibility of the published work.

1. For Authors

During the manuscript submission process, authors are responsible for disclosing any financial or personal relationships that could inappropriately bias their research, data interpretation, or manuscript writing.

• Financial Interests: This includes funding, grants, employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, or paid expert testimony from organizations that may gain or lose financially from the publication of the research.
• Personal or Professional Interests: This encompasses personal relationships, academic competition, or competing philosophical/political views with individuals or institutions related to the study.
• Disclosure: If a conflict exists, authors must include a formal "Conflict of Interest Statement" at the end of their manuscript before the reference section. If no conflict exists, authors must state: "The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article."

2. For Peer Reviewers

Reviewers must recuse themselves from evaluating a manuscript if they have a known conflict of interest with the authors or the substance of the work.

• Reviewers must decline the invitation to review if they have recently co-authored papers, collaborated on research projects, or share an institutional affiliation with any of the authors.
• Reviewers must notify the Editor immediately if they recognize the authors' identities (despite our double-blind review process) and feel unable to provide an objective, unbiased evaluation.
• Reviewers must not use any unpublished data or insights from the assigned manuscript for their own personal or professional advantage.

3. For Editors

The Editorial Board of Philology is committed to managing submissions fairly and objectively.

• Editors will recuse themselves from managing or making final editorial decisions on manuscripts written by colleagues within their own institution, close collaborators, or family members.
• In such cases, the evaluation process will be delegated to another independent member of the Editorial Board or a guest editor to guarantee a completely blind and unbiased decision.