Ethical Oversight

KRTHA BHAYANGKARA expects all research submitted for publication to comply with applicable ethical standards, institutional requirements, and relevant national and international guidelines. Authors are responsible for ensuring that their research is conducted ethically and that the rights, safety, privacy, dignity, and legal interests of individuals and communities involved in the research are respected.

This policy applies to all research submitted to KRTHA BHAYANGKARA, including normative legal research, empirical legal research, socio-legal studies, comparative legal research, historical legal research, and theoretical or conceptual studies.

1. Research Involving Human Participants

Research involving human participants, including interviews, surveys, observations, focus group discussions, and other forms of data collection, must comply with applicable research ethics requirements.

Where ethical approval is required, authors must obtain approval from an appropriate research ethics committee or institutional review board before commencing the research. The manuscript must identify the approving institution and provide the approval reference number, where applicable.

Authors must obtain informed consent from participants before collecting research data. Participants must receive adequate information about the research objectives, their involvement, the intended use of their information, and any relevant risks. Participation must be voluntary, and participants must be informed of their rights, including the right to decline participation or withdraw where applicable.

Where written consent is not feasible, authors must explain the alternative consent procedure and how consent was obtained and documented.

Research involving children, victims of crime, prisoners, persons with disabilities, or other vulnerable individuals must incorporate appropriate additional safeguards. Consent from parents, legal guardians, or legally authorized representatives must be obtained where required by applicable ethical and legal standards.

2. Privacy and Confidentiality

Authors must protect the privacy, confidentiality, and personal information of individuals involved in research.

Identifiable information must not be disclosed in a manuscript without appropriate consent or another valid legal and ethical basis. Authors must take reasonable measures to anonymize personal information, interview records, case histories, and other sensitive research materials.

Particular care must be exercised in research involving criminal proceedings, victims, witnesses, law enforcement personnel, children, and individuals involved in ongoing legal disputes.

Research data must be collected, stored, processed, and shared in accordance with applicable data protection requirements and the conditions under which participants provided their consent.

Authors must ensure that confidential legal documents, restricted case records, and other protected information are not disclosed without proper authorization.

3. Research Involving Animals and Other Regulated Subjects

Research involving animals or other subjects requiring specific ethical approval or authorization must comply with applicable institutional and regulatory requirements.

Where such research is relevant to a manuscript submitted to KRTHA BHAYANGKARA, authors must provide details of the relevant ethical approval or research permit in the manuscript.

4. Normative Legal Research and Use of Legal Materials

Normative legal research based on legislation, judicial decisions, legal doctrines, legal principles, and other authoritative legal materials must maintain accuracy, authenticity, and proper attribution.

Authors must ensure that all legal sources are authentic, relevant, and accurately represented. Statutory provisions, court decisions, case numbers, judicial reasoning, and legal quotations must be verified against reliable and authoritative sources.

Authors must not fabricate, manipulate, or misrepresent legal materials or judicial decisions. Any interpretation or criticism of legislation, judicial decisions, or legal doctrines must be presented accurately and supported by appropriate legal references.

Where research uses confidential legal documents, restricted case records, or materials subject to legal protection, authors must obtain the necessary authorization and comply with applicable confidentiality and disclosure requirements.

5. Empirical, Socio-Legal, and Documentary Research

Research based on interviews, surveys, observations, institutional records, court documents, secondary data, publicly available information, or other documentary sources must comply with applicable ethical and legal requirements.

The use of publicly available information does not automatically remove the obligation to consider privacy, confidentiality, informed consent, and potential harm, particularly when individuals or vulnerable communities may be identifiable.

Authors must ensure that research data are obtained through lawful and ethical means. Access to institutional records, non-public court documents, police records, government databases, and other restricted materials must be supported by appropriate authorization where required.

Where ethical approval is not required or an exemption has been granted, authors should provide an explanation and, where applicable, details of the relevant institutional determination. Authors must not claim an ethical exemption solely on their own assessment when a formal determination is required by the relevant institution.

6. Research Permits and Institutional Authorization

Authors conducting research involving government institutions, law enforcement agencies, courts, correctional institutions, educational institutions, or other public and private organizations must obtain the necessary research permits or institutional authorizations where required.

Authors are responsible for complying with applicable national regulations, institutional policies, and other legal requirements governing research access, data collection, and the use of institutional information.

The journal may request copies of research permits, authorization letters, or other supporting documents when necessary to assess the ethical and legal compliance of a manuscript.

7. Editorial Assessment

KRTHA BHAYANGKARA may request evidence of ethical approval, informed consent, research permits, institutional authorization, or other supporting documentation when necessary to assess a manuscript.

If ethical or legal concerns arise during submission, peer review, or after publication, the journal may:

1. Request clarification or additional documentation from the authors.

2. Seek advice from an appropriate ethics committee, independent expert, or relevant institution.

3. Request revisions to address identified ethical or legal concerns.

4. Reject a manuscript if significant ethical or legal requirements have not been met.

5. Refer serious concerns to the relevant institution or authority, where appropriate.

For published articles, further editorial action may be taken in accordance with the journal's Publication Ethics and Corrections and Retractions policies.

All ethical concerns will be assessed fairly, objectively, and confidentially. An allegation of an ethical violation will not, by itself, constitute proof of misconduct.

8. Authors' Responsibilities

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their research complies with this Ethical Oversight Policy and all applicable ethical and legal requirements.

By submitting a manuscript to KRTHA BHAYANGKARA, authors confirm that the research has been conducted responsibly, that necessary approvals and permissions have been obtained where required, and that the rights and interests of research participants and other relevant parties have been respected.

This policy should be read in conjunction with the journal's Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement, Allegations of Research Misconduct Policy, Use of Generative AI Policy, and other relevant editorial policies.