Property and Editorial Governance

1. Governance Structure and Editorial Oversight

VISUAL Review operates under a clearly defined governance framework separating:

Legal ownership
Administrative management
Editorial decision-making
Ethical oversight

The journal is legally owned and administratively managed by VisualCom Scientific Publications, S.L., a Spanish registered limited company (CIF B56200173).

However, editorial decisions are made independently by the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board in accordance with published editorial policies.

The publisher does not intervene in:

Acceptance or rejection decisions
Reviewer selection
Peer-review outcomes
Editorial prioritisation

This separation ensures structural editorial independence.

2. Editorial Independence and Decision-Making Integrity

All editorial decisions are based exclusively on:

Scientific merit
Methodological rigor
Relevance to scope
Contribution to the field

Financial considerations, institutional collaborations, or event affiliations have no influence on editorial outcomes.

The journal maintains documented internal procedures ensuring traceability of editorial decisions.

3. Peer Review Governance and Auditability

The journal applies a structured double-blind peer review process.

Each manuscript undergoes:

Initial editorial screening.
Assignment to an independent handling editor.
External review by at least two qualified reviewers.
Written reviewer reports.
Editorial decision with justification.

For compliance and audit purposes, the journal maintains internal records including:

Submission date
Reviewer invitation and response dates
Reviewer reports
Revision rounds
Final decision date
Handling editor identity

This documentation ensures full traceability in the event of an external review or audit.

Manuscripts derived from academic conferences are subject to the identical review procedure without exception.

There is no automatic acceptance of conference papers.

4. Conference-Related Submissions and Recusal Policy

The journal may disseminate academic information regarding conferences aligned with its thematic scope.

However:

Conference organisation is structurally separate from editorial governance.
Conference committees do not participate in editorial decision-making.
No preferential treatment is granted to conference-derived submissions.

Where a member of the Editorial Board has participated in the organisation of a conference from which a manuscript originates, a mandatory recusal policy applies:

The member is excluded from handling, reviewing, or influencing the manuscript.
A fully independent editor is assigned.
The recusal is internally documented.

This mechanism safeguards decision-making neutrality.

5. Conflict of Interest Management

The journal requires:

Author declarations of competing interests.
Reviewer conflict disclosures prior to review acceptance.
Annual conflict-of-interest declarations from Editorial Board members.

In cases of identified conflicts:

Recusal is mandatory.
Replacement editors or reviewers are appointed.
The process is recorded internally.

6. Publication Ethics Compliance

The journal formally aligns its ethics policies with the Core Practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Policies cover:

Authorship criteria
Plagiarism screening
Data integrity
Image manipulation
Corrections and retractions
Handling of research misconduct allegations

Plagiarism detection software is applied during the editorial screening phase.

7. Independent Ethics Oversight

To strengthen governance and external credibility, the journal has appointed Professor Fernando Lostao Crespo, Professor of Law at the Universidad San Pablo CEU, as Independent Editorial Ethics Advisor.

The Ethics Advisor:

Is not involved in operational editorial management.
Acts autonomously from the publisher.
Reviews complex ethical complaints.
Advises on policy updates and compliance reinforcement.

This role provides an additional layer of institutional oversight.

8. Transparency of Ownership and Operational Structure

The journal clearly discloses:

Legal ownership
Publisher identity
Registered address
Governance structure
Historical changes in management (if any)

The publisher operates from a professional coworking facility in Las Rozas (Madrid), where multiple independent organisations are located. Co-location does not imply shared governance, ownership, or editorial interdependence.

Each entity maintains independent legal and operational structures.

9. Financial Transparency and APC Policy

Article Processing Charges (APCs) apply only after acceptance.

Fees correspond exclusively to post-acceptance editorial services and are publicly itemised.

Editorial decisions are entirely independent from financial processes.

The journal does not operate on a pay-to-publish basis and does not guarantee publication in exchange for payment.

10. Ethical Complaint Handling Procedure

The journal has implemented a structured ethical complaint procedure including: