FLC commits to confidentiality and objectivity in peer-review process and will avoid or declare conflicts of interest. The Editor-in-Chief will decide whether a submitted paper should be published solely based on expert reviewer reports. Guided by the policies of the journal, the Editor-in-Chief may confer with the members of the Editorial Board to make publication decisions, or be bound by legal requirements as will then be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement, or plagiarism.

Confidentiality

The Editor-in-Chief, the members of the Editorial Board, and editorial staff will not disclose any information about a submittedpaper to anyone other than the corresponding author of the paper, potential expert reviewers, and editorial advisers, as appropriate. The names and email addresses will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of the journal and will not be made available to any other party for any other purposes.

Objectivity

FLC follows a non-discriminatory policy in offering its services. All submitted papers will be evaluated for their intellectual substance irrespective of race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or any other factor that is irrelevant to scholarly standards. Papers are anonymously and doubly peer-reviewed to guarantee an objective assessment, ensure confidentiality, and assist the Editor-in-Chief in making editorial decisions.

Conflict of Interest

Unpublished data and materials discussed and disclosed in a submitted paper will not be used in the research of the Editor-in-Chief, the members of the Editorial Board, or expert reviewers, unless the express written consent of the author(s) has been already obtained.

Allegations of Misconduct

The Editor-in-Chief and Board of FLC shall take reasonable steps to identify and prevent the publication of papers in which research misconduct has occurred. FLC shall not knowingly allow such misconduct to take place, and strongly discourages any conduct that contradicts its Publication Ethics.

In case FLC editors are made aware of any allegations of research misconduct, the Editor-in-Chief will take appropriate measures to address the claims and clarify the situation. In such cases, allegations shall be accompanied by proper documentation and will be presented to FLC’s Editorial Board. In cases of proven misconduct, either an erratum will be published or the affected paper will be retracted. FLC will always be willing to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies when needed.