Publication ethics and Malpractice Statement

The journal maintains the highest standards of ethics in the publication process, in accordance with guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). All parties involved in the publication process are expected to adhere to ethical principles and best practices in scholarly publishing.

Author Responsibilities

Authors must submit original work that has not been previously published or submitted elsewhere. Plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, and redundant publication are strictly prohibited. All co-authors must approve the final version of the manuscript. Authors must disclose any conflicts of interest and sources of funding. If a significant error is discovered after publication, authors must immediately notify the editorial board.

Research involving humans or animals must comply with institutional and international ethical standards. Authors must provide evidence of ethical approval and informed consent where applicable.

Editorial Responsibilities

Editors are responsible for making fair and impartial decisions based only on academic merit, originality, and relevance to the scope of the journal. Editors must ensure confidentiality, the integrity of the review process, and avoid conflicts of interest.

Reviewers Responsibilities

Reviewers must provide objective, constructive, and timely reviews. They must maintain confidentiality and disclose any conflicts of interest.

Plagiarism

The journal uses appropriate tools to detect plagiarism. Any form of plagiarism, self-plagiarism, or data manipulation will result in rejection of the manuscript and may lead to notification to the relevant institutions.

Misconduct

Any individual or institution may at any time report to the editor and/or editorial board information about violations of ethical standards and other irregularities and submit credible information/evidence in order to initiate an investigation. The procedure for verifying the evidence presented is as follows:

• the editor-in-chief makes a decision to initiate an investigation;
• during this procedure, all evidence is considered confidential material and is presented only to those persons directly involved in the case;
• the suspects are given the opportunity to respond to the accusations;
• if it is determined that an irregularity has indeed occurred, it is assessed whether it is a minor violation or a gross violation of ethical standards.

Minor violations, without consequences for the integrity of the work and the journal, for example when it comes to misunderstanding or incorrect application of journalistic standards, are resolved in direct communication with the authors and reviewers, without involving third parties, in one of the following ways, for example:

• a warning letter is sent to the authors and/or reviewers;
• a correction of the work is published, e.g. in the case where sources that are properly cited in the text are omitted from the reference list;
• an erature is published, e.g. if it turns out that the error was caused by an editorial oversight.

In the case of a gross violation of ethical standards, the editor-in-chief/editorial board may take various measures:

• publish a statement or editorial describing the case;
• officially notify the affiliated organization of the author/reviewer;
• withdraw the published work in the manner described under the Retraction Policy;
• issue a ban on publication in the journal for a certain period of time;
• present the case to the competent organizations and regulatory bodies for taking measures within their jurisdiction.

These measures can be applied individually or simultaneously. In the process of resolving the case, relevant expert organizations, bodies or individuals are consulted as necessary.

When resolving ethically questionable procedures, the editorial board is guided by the guidelines of the COPE.