Responsibilities of the Editor

Responsibilities of the Editor / Handling Editor.

The handling editor is the editor responsible for guiding a specific manuscript through the peer-review process from assignment to editorial decision.

Assignment

  • Receives a manuscript from the Editor-in-Chief after it has passed the initial technical screening;
  • Confirms within five working days that they are willing and able to handle the manuscript, or declines on the grounds of conflict of interest, lack of expertise, or workload.

 Initial Assessment

  • Assesses whether the manuscript falls within the scope of the journal;
  • Assesses whether the manuscript is of sufficient quality and originality to warrant external peer review;
  • Where the manuscript is judged unsuitable, recommends rejection to the Editor-in-Chief.

Selection of Reviewers

  • Identifies at least two independent external reviewers whose expertise matches the subject of the manuscript;
  • Verifies the absence of conflicts of interest for each proposed reviewer;
  • Issues the reviewer invitations, including the formal review request, the anonymized manuscript, and the deadline.

Management of the Review

  • Monitors the progress of each review and reminds reviewers of upcoming deadlines;
  • Reviews the reports for tone, content, and appropriateness before forwarding to the corresponding author;
  • Synthesizes the reports into a clear editorial recommendation.

Recommendation to the Editor-in-Chief

  • Issues a written recommendation (Accept, Minor Revision, Major Revision, or Reject) with supporting reasoning;
  • Highlights any disagreements between reviewers;
  • Flags any ethical or integrity concerns that emerged during the review.

Re-evaluation

  • Where revisions are requested, evaluates the authors' point-by-point response;
  • Returns the revised manuscript to the original reviewers or additional reviewers as appropriate;
  • Issues a final recommendation to the Editor-in-Chief after re-evaluation.

Standards

  • Acts impartially, transparently, and in confidence;
  • Disqualifies themselves from any manuscript for which they have a conflict of interest;
  • Does not disclose any unpublished content or correspondence to anyone outside the editorial process.