Purpose and Scope
This policy governs charges levied in connection with publication by journals operating under the LMI publishing framework, and the financial-integrity safeguards that accompany them. It establishes principles; it does not state amounts.
Transparency of Charges
Each journal shall publish, on its own website and in a location readily findable before submission, every charge that may become payable: the article processing charge or equivalent, any other fee of any kind, the currency, the applicable taxes or payment-processing costs where they are borne by the author, and the point at which each becomes payable. No charge shall be levied that was not disclosed in this way before submission. Surprise fees, fees introduced after acceptance, and charges presented only at the payment stage are prohibited.
Where a journal levies no charge, or charges only for certain article types, that shall be stated with equal clarity. Publication charges shall never be described in terms implying that payment secures or accelerates a favourable decision.
The Payment–Decision Firewall
Ability or willingness to pay shall have no influence whatsoever on any editorial matter, including: initial screening; selection or assignment of reviewers; the conduct or outcome of peer review; the decision to accept or reject; the timing or priority of publication; and any record action upon published content. This firewall is absolute and admits no exception; it applies equally where a waiver has been requested, granted or refused. It gives effect, in the financial domain, to the guarantee in A3.
To give the firewall operational effect, an article processing charge or other publication charge shall become payable only after an editorial decision to accept has been made on scholarly grounds. Editorial personnel shall not collect payment, negotiate amounts or assess an author’s means, beyond information genuinely necessary to administer an accepted article; and information about payment status, waiver applications or an author’s financial circumstances shall not be available to those making editorial decisions. A waiver request shall never disadvantage an author or delay handling. LMI journals shall not levy a mandatory submission or pre-review fee unless it has been expressly approved through publisher governance, is disclosed prominently before submission, and is administered without editorial access to payment information.
Attempts to influence editorial outcomes through payment, or to solicit payment in exchange for favourable handling, are serious breaches addressed under C5 and, where editorial personnel are involved, B1. Payment never purchases publication. Any approved submission or processing fee shall be described solely as a charge for the stated administrative service, shall never be represented as guaranteeing acceptance or expedited favourable treatment, and remains subject to the payment–decision firewall.
Waivers and Reductions
Each journal shall operate a waiver and reduction scheme so that inability to pay does not prevent publication of work accepted on merit. LMI requires that: the scheme and its criteria be published; the application route and timing be clear and available before submission; decisions be made by persons other than those taking editorial decisions on the manuscript; decisions be communicated with reasons and recorded; and the operation of the scheme be monitored under H2. The criteria and quantum of waivers are set by each journal.
Refunds, Records and Correctness
Each journal shall publish its refund position, including the treatment of duplicate payments, payments made for articles subsequently withdrawn by the journal, and payments made in error. Retraction of an article does not ordinarily entitle an author to a refund of charges for services already rendered, and the refund position shall not be structured so as to create any financial disincentive to correcting the scholarly record (G2, A3).
LMI shall maintain accurate financial records of charges, waivers and refunds sufficient for audit and assurance purposes (H2), and shall ensure that public fee information corresponds to what is actually charged. Where charges change, the change shall be published in advance and applied prospectively; work already submitted shall be handled on the terms published at submission.
Journal Implementation
Each journal publishes its own amounts, currency, waiver and reduction criteria, refund rules, payment instructions and invoicing arrangements. These are excluded from this policy because they differ across journals and change over time; LMI requires only that they exist, be truthful, be publicly stated in advance, and comply with the principles above.
Standards and Guidance
Informed by the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing, the COPE Core Practices and OASPA guidance on open-access business practices.