A relevant competing interest may be actual, potential, or reasonably perceived.

A conflict of interest (also known as a competing interest) exists when financial, personal, professional, institutional, intellectual, or other interests could compromise, or reasonably be perceived to compromise, the objectivity of research, peer review, or editorial decision-making.

• Financial interests. Research funding, employment, consultancy fees, honoraria, patents, royalties, commercial affiliations, financial investments, or relationships with organizations that may benefit from the findings.
• Personal relationships. Family relationships, close friendships, personal disputes, or other connections capable of influencing professional judgment.
• Professional and academic relationships. Current institutional affiliations, recent collaborations, supervisory relationships, joint grants, academic competition, or professional rivalries.
• Other competing interests. Intellectual commitments, institutional obligations, or relationships that may reasonably affect the interpretation, evaluation, or dissemination of research.

In civil engineering, relevant interests may involve infrastructure contractors, consulting firms, construction-material suppliers, testing laboratories, software providers, patent holders, or project sponsors, where their relationship to the submitted research could affect impartial judgment.

Having a competing interest is not, by itself, evidence of misconduct. Prompt and complete disclosure enables the editorial team to evaluate and manage potential bias appropriately.

Every co-author must disclose relevant interests and research sponsorship.

All authors must disclose relevant financial and non-financial competing interests at submission. The corresponding author is responsible for obtaining accurate declarations from every co-author and communicating them to the editorial office.

• Research funding. Identify funding sources and, where applicable, describe the role of sponsors in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and the decision to submit the work.
• Relevant relationships. Disclose financial, professional, institutional, personal, or other relationships that might affect, or appear to affect, the work and its interpretation.
• Updates. Promptly inform the editorial office if any new or previously unrecognized competing interest arises during review, production, or after publication.

JICE requires a Conflict of Interest declaration for each manuscript, including when no relevant competing interests exist. An acceptable declaration is:

If a competing interest exists, the statement must identify the relevant relationship and explain its connection to the study; a no-conflict declaration must not be used in that situation.

Peer reviewers must disclose conflicts and protect unpublished information.

Reviewers must disclose actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest before accepting an invitation to review. Such interests may involve financial relationships, employment, institutional affiliation, recent collaboration, supervisory relationships, close personal connections, or direct academic or commercial competition involving the authors or the research.

Reviewers must decline assignments when a conflict could compromise their independence or impartiality. If a possible conflict becomes apparent after accepting an invitation, the reviewer must immediately inform the handling editor and obtain guidance before continuing.

Because JICE uses double-blind peer review, reviewers must not attempt to identify authors. If they nevertheless recognize an author or discover a relevant relationship from the manuscript content, they must disclose the concern confidentially to the editor.

Reviewers must maintain manuscript confidentiality and must not use unpublished data, analyses, drawings, specifications, designs, or other information obtained through review for personal, professional, or commercial advantage.

Conflicted editors must recuse themselves from editorial handling and decisions.

Editors and editorial board members must disclose relevant competing interests concerning any manuscript assigned to them. Editorial decisions must be based on scholarly merit, methodological quality, originality, ethical compliance, and relevance to the journal rather than personal or institutional considerations.

An editor who has an actual or potentially compromising conflict must recuse themselves from handling the manuscript, selecting reviewers, accessing confidential review materials beyond what is necessary for reassignment, and making the publication decision. Responsibility must be transferred to a suitably qualified independent editor or, where necessary, a publisher representative.

Manuscripts submitted by editors, editorial board members, or individuals closely associated with the journal must undergo an independent editorial and peer-review process. The individual concerned must not control reviewer selection or participate in the editorial decision about their own work.

Universitas Teknokrat Indonesia, as the journal publisher, and those involved in journal management must respect editorial independence and must not exert improper financial, institutional, commercial, or personal pressure on manuscript decisions.

The journal assesses, documents, and manages competing interests proportionately.

JICE expects disclosure as early as possible during manuscript submission, reviewer invitation, or editorial assignment. The Editor-in-Chief or an independent designated editor assesses the nature and relevance of reported interests and determines proportionate measures.

• Request further information or clarification from any relevant party.
• Assign the manuscript to an independent editor where editorial impartiality could be compromised.
• Replace a reviewer or decline a review recommendation affected by an unmanaged conflict.
• Request an accurate Conflict of Interest statement or additional funding disclosure for inclusion in the published article.
• Apply other safeguards necessary to protect objective assessment, confidentiality, and editorial independence.

A disclosed competing interest does not automatically disqualify a manuscript from publication. Decisions depend on whether the interest can be transparently declared and appropriately managed.

Relevant author disclosures must be reflected in the final published article. The editorial office will keep appropriate confidential records of disclosures, assessments, and management actions.

Concerns raised before or after publication are examined fairly and on the evidence.

If a potentially undisclosed competing interest is identified during review or after publication, the editorial office will assess the available information and provide the affected parties with a reasonable opportunity to explain or correct the disclosure.

Where an omission is confirmed, JICE will consider its seriousness, whether it may have affected the reliability of the research or the independence of the editorial process, and what action is warranted by the evidence.

Possible responses include updating the disclosure statement, publishing a correction, reassessing the editorial process, investigating suspected misconduct, or issuing an expression of concern or retraction when justified under the journal's correction and retraction procedures.

An undisclosed interest does not automatically establish research misconduct or require retraction. Any editorial action must be evidence-based, proportionate, and consistent with the journal's relevant policies.

A clear declaration supports trust in independent scholarly evaluation.

JICE recognizes that timely disclosure and responsible management of competing interests are essential to public confidence in scholarly publishing. Authors, reviewers, editors, the editorial board, and journal management share responsibility for ensuring fair, transparent, and independent editorial procedures.

This policy will be reviewed periodically to remain consistent with the journal's publishing practices and recognized principles of scholarly publication ethics, including the COPE Core Practices.