Editorial Independence Policy

The Caucasus Journal of Social Sciences (CJSS) is committed to ensuring editorial independence, academic integrity, and transparency throughout the publication process. Editorial decisions are made independently and are not influenced by the publisher, institutional administration, financial considerations, political interests, or external parties.

The journal maintains a clear separation between editorial responsibilities and the administrative or financial functions of the publisher in accordance with internationally recognized standards of scholarly publishing and publication ethics.

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Editorial Decision-Making

All manuscripts submitted to CJSS are evaluated exclusively on the basis of:

  • scholarly merit;
  • originality and significance of the research;
  • methodological and theoretical rigor;
  • relevance to the aims and scope of the journal;
  • compliance with ethical and editorial standards; and
  • the outcomes of the peer review process.

Decisions regarding acceptance, revision, or rejection are made solely by the Editor-in-Chief and the editorial team following the journal’s editorial and peer review procedures.

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Independence from Publisher and Institutional Influence

CJSS is published with the support of the University of Georgia. The publisher provides administrative, technical, and financial support for journal operations; however, the publisher does not interfere in:

  • editorial evaluations;
  • reviewer selection;
  • peer review procedures;
  • editorial decisions; or
  • publication scheduling.

Editorial decisions are independent of institutional priorities, sponsorship, commercial interests, or external influence.

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Editorial Responsibility

The Editor-in-Chief has full authority over the editorial content of the journal and is responsible for:

  • ensuring the integrity and quality of the editorial process;
  • maintaining fair, unbiased, and confidential peer review;
  • safeguarding editorial independence;
  • ensuring compliance with publication ethics standards; and
  • making final decisions concerning publication.

Where a conflict of interest exists, editorial responsibility is reassigned to an appropriate independent editor.

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Protection from Undue Influence

CJSS is committed to protecting editorial processes from inappropriate influence, including:

  • political or ideological pressure;
  • commercial or financial interests;
  • institutional influence;
  • personal relationships; or
  • discriminatory practices.

Editorial decisions are made without discrimination based on nationality, ethnicity, gender, institutional affiliation, political beliefs, or religious background.

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Conflict of Interest

Editors are required to disclose and manage any conflicts of interest that may affect editorial objectivity. Editors will recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where competing interests could compromise impartial evaluation.

Appropriate alternative editorial oversight will be arranged when necessary.

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Ethical Publishing Standards

CJSS follows internationally recognized principles of publication ethics and supports the recommendations and guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

The journal is committed to:

  • transparency in editorial procedures;
  • integrity in peer review;
  • confidentiality during manuscript evaluation;
  • fairness in editorial decision-making; and
  • accountability in scholarly publishing.

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Financial Independence

CJSS is a fully open-access journal and does not charge submission fees, article processing charges (APCs), editorial handling fees, or publication fees.

Editorial decisions are made exclusively on academic merit and are not influenced by financial considerations or institutional interests.

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Commitment to Transparency

The journal continuously seeks to maintain and improve editorial standards in accordance with international scholarly publishing practices, indexing requirements, and ethical publishing principles relevant to major international databases and abstracting services.

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