AI Policy
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI-Assisted Technologies Policy
1. Policy Statement
IJTIHAD: Jurnal Hukum dan Ekonomi Islam is committed to maintaining academic integrity, transparency, accountability, and ethical standards in scholarly publishing. This policy governs the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies by authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial staff throughout the publication process.
This policy is informed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) position on authorship and AI tools and relevant ethical guidance for scholarly publishing. It should be read in conjunction with the journal’s Publication Ethics, Plagiarism Policy, Author Guidelines, and peer-review procedures.
The use of AI must not compromise the originality, reliability, confidentiality, or scholarly integrity of any manuscript submitted to or published by IJTIHAD.
2. Use of AI by Authors
2.1 Permitted Use
Authors may use generative AI and AI-assisted tools for limited language-related purposes, including improving grammar, spelling, readability, and linguistic clarity. Such use must remain under meaningful human supervision and must not replace the authors’ own scholarly reasoning, analysis, interpretation, or academic judgment.
Consistent with IJTIHAD’s editorial policy, AI tools must not be used to generate substantive scientific content or research conclusions.
2.2 Prohibited and Unacceptable Use
Authors must not use AI tools to fabricate or falsify research data, evidence, quotations, legal provisions, court decisions, scholarly references, citations, or other research materials.
Authors must not present AI-generated content as independently verified scholarly findings or use AI-generated references without checking the existence, accuracy, and relevance of the original sources.
AI-generated text must not be used to misrepresent authorship, originality, research procedures, or the actual contribution of the authors. Any use that violates the journal’s requirements concerning originality, plagiarism, copyright, or research integrity may be treated as publication misconduct.
For manuscripts concerning Islamic law, jurisprudence, and Islamic economics, authors remain responsible for independently verifying Qur’anic verses, hadith, classical and contemporary scholarly sources, legal opinions, statutory provisions, court decisions, and other relevant evidence.
2.3 Disclosure of AI Use
Authors who use AI tools for language improvement or other permitted purposes must disclose such use in the submitted manuscript. The disclosure must identify the AI tool and explain its purpose and scope of use.
The disclosure should be placed in an “AI Use Disclosure” statement at the end of the manuscript, before the reference list. Where AI use forms part of the research methodology, the authors must also explain the relevant procedures in the Methods section, where applicable.
Authors who have not used AI tools in preparing the manuscript may include the following statement:
“No generative AI or AI-assisted technologies were used in the preparation of this manuscript.”
Authors who have used AI tools may use the following template:
“During the preparation of this manuscript, the author(s) used [name of AI tool and version, where available] for [specific purpose]. The author(s) reviewed and verified the relevant output and take full responsibility for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and final content of the manuscript.”
Routine spelling or grammar correction may be distinguished from more substantive AI-assisted activities when describing the scope of use. Authors must not make a disclosure that is inaccurate or misleading.
2.4 Human Responsibility and Authorship
AI tools cannot be listed as authors or co-authors. Authorship is reserved for human contributors who meet the journal’s authorship requirements and can take responsibility for their contributions.
Authors remain fully accountable for all content submitted and published under their names, including any material produced with permitted AI assistance. They must ensure that the manuscript is accurate, original, properly cited, and compliant with applicable copyright and publication ethics requirements.
3. Use of AI by Reviewers
Manuscripts submitted to IJTIHAD are confidential documents and are subject to a double-blind peer-review process.
Reviewers must not upload, submit, or otherwise expose manuscripts, supplementary files, reviewer reports, or confidential editorial communications to external generative AI systems or AI tools that may process or retain such information.
Reviewers must not use AI tools to generate, draft, or refine peer-review reports, including for language improvement. Reviewers must assess manuscripts independently and provide objective, evidence-based evaluations within their expertise.
Reviewers are personally responsible for the accuracy, fairness, confidentiality, and integrity of their reports. Any suspected misuse of AI or concerns about a manuscript’s integrity should be communicated directly to the handling editor.
4. Use of AI by Editors and Editorial Staff
Editors and editorial staff must maintain the confidentiality of all submitted manuscripts, reviewer identities, review reports, editorial correspondence, and other non-public information.
They must not upload manuscripts or confidential editorial materials to external AI tools. Editorial decisions, including decisions on acceptance, revision, rejection, and suspected publication misconduct, must not be delegated to AI systems.
Editors are responsible for ensuring that decisions are based on the manuscript’s scholarly quality, originality, relevance, validity, and compliance with the journal’s ethical standards. AI-generated assessments must not substitute for independent editorial judgment.
Any suspected breach of this policy must be assessed fairly and confidentially by the editorial team, in accordance with the journal’s Publication Ethics and applicable publication-ethics guidance.
5. AI-Generated Images, Figures, and Artwork
The use of AI to generate or substantially alter figures, images, illustrations, or artwork is not permitted unless the use is an integral and justified part of the research methodology.
Where AI-assisted image generation or processing is an essential part of the research method, authors must obtain editorial approval where appropriate and provide a transparent description of the tool, version where available, purpose, and relevant procedures in the Methods section.
Routine adjustments to brightness, contrast, or color balance are acceptable only when they do not obscure, remove, or misrepresent original information or research data.
AI-generated graphical abstracts and cover artwork are not permitted without prior approval from the editor and publisher and appropriate attention to copyright, licensing, and attribution.
6. Verification, Investigation, and Consequences
IJTIHAD evaluates suspected violations of this policy in conjunction with its Publication Ethics and Plagiarism Policy. Concerns must be assessed on the basis of relevant evidence and a fair editorial process.
Where appropriate, the editorial team may request clarification, supporting documentation, or a revised disclosure from the authors. Depending on the nature and seriousness of the violation, and subject to the applicable editorial procedures, possible actions include requesting revisions, rejecting a submission, suspending the review process pending investigation, or correcting or retracting a published article.
AI-detection tools or automated indicators must not, on their own, be treated as conclusive evidence of misconduct. Editorial action must be based on an assessment of the available evidence and the authors’ opportunity to respond.
7. Policy Review
IJTIHAD may periodically review and update this policy in response to developments in AI technology, scholarly publishing standards, and publication-ethics guidance. Any revision must remain consistent with the journal’s established ethical principles and be communicated through the journal’s official website.
