Procedure for reviewing complaints regarding violations of ethical standards

The procedure for handling complaints regarding violations of academic integrity and publication ethics is based on the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

 

Complaints may be submitted by authors, reviewers, editorial board members, readers, or other parties. Complaints are considered regarding plagiarism and self-plagiarism, data falsification, authorship violations, undeclared conflicts of interest, malpractice in peer review, unlawful use of materials, and violations of editorial procedures.

 

In the event of complaints concerning manuscripts under consideration or already published, the circumstances will be examined as to the validity of the arguments, and the complaint will only be taken up where substantiated evidence is provided.

 

Only complaints submitted to the official editorial address are considered, with the complainant identified and the nature of the violation, evidence, and contact details provided. Anonymous complaints or those posted on social media are not reviewed. The complaint is registered by the executive secretary of the editorial board. The Editor-in-Chief conducts a preliminary analysis of the complaint and determines whether it pertains to matters of academic integrity and publication ethics. If the information provided is insufficient, the complainant may be invited to submit additional materials.

 

After the preliminary review, a commission is established to analyse the materials and, where necessary, request explanations from the parties involved. Based on the findings, possible outcomes include: rejection of the complaint; introduction of corrections; retraction of an article; sanctions against the violator; notification of the scientific institution or employer of the author regarding the recorded violations. All materials are handled confidentially.

 

In the event of disagreement with the decision, the complainant may submit an appeal to the editorial council or the relevant service of the publisher. The appeal is reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief and, where necessary, editorial board members or external experts.

 

The editorial board of the journal guarantees the implementation of all procedures aimed at upholding the principles of academic integrity and ensuring compliance with all ethical standards.