Conflict of Interest Policy Statement International Surgery, Official Journal of the International College of Surgeons

International Surgery is owned by the International College of Surgeons (ICS) and is the official Journal for the ICS. The position of Editor-in-Chief is approved by the governing body of the International College of Surgeons, the International Executive Council. International Surgery has the important role in the International College of Surgeons of fulfilling the educational mission of the College. The Editor-in-Chief provides semi-annual reports on the functioning of International Surgery to the governance of the College, the International Executive Council.

International Surgery publishing standards are based on the principles and guidelines outlined by the following:

• Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)

• International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)

• Council of Scientific Editors (CSE)

• National Information Standards Organization (NISO), in particular Recommended Practices for the Presentation and Identification of E-Journals (PIE-J)

For authors, the definition of conflict of interest is that a conflict of interest exists when there is a divergence between an individual's private interests and their responsibilities to scientific and publishing activities.

The scope of conflicts of interest in relation to International Surgery include the areas of financial relationships, including funding relationships, academic and employment relationships, personal relationships, political and religious beliefs, and other institutional affiliations.

Authors are responsible for declaring and managing conflicts of interest. Authors of submitted manuscripts must openly declare in writing any potentially perceived conflicts of interest at the time of submitting a manuscript for the consideration of the Editor-in-Chief and editorial staff of International Surgery. Additional questions may be asked by the Editor-in-Chief and editorial staff pertaining to possible conflicts of interest.

For manuscripts involving more than one author, the corresponding author (the person responsible for communicating with the staff of International Surgery) must provide a declaration on behalf of all authors indicating the nature of any conflict of interest, if any.

The consequences of author(s) failing to declare a conflict of interest include no (further) consideration of the manuscript, exclusion of those persons with a conflict of interest from the review process, abstaining from decisions where a conflict of interest might evolve, and/or investigation by impartial observers.

Authors are asked to report any financial conflicts of interest related to research and written presentations of their work, as well as any other competing interests. Reviewers are asked if they have any conflicts of interests in reference to the manuscript under review. Editors will not make any editorial decisions, if they have any financial or other type of interest in a particular manuscript.