Procedure for considering complaints regarding violations of academic integrity and publication ethics
- Filing a complaint
A complaint may be filed by any member of the scientific community: author, reviewer, reader, or other person. It is submitted in writing (by e-mail to the editorial office) and must contain:
- an accurate description of the violation;
- supporting materials (references to sources, copies of documents, excerpts of texts, etc.);
- contact details of the complainant.
- Initial review
The graduating editor records the complaint.
The editor-in-chief conducts a preliminary assessment to determine whether the complaint concerns issues of academic integrity or publication ethics.
If necessary, the complainant may be asked to provide additional documents or explanations.
- Review of the complaint by the editorial board
The complaint is forwarded for detailed consideration to the members of the editorial board.
During the review, the following is assessed:
- type of violation (plagiarism, falsification of data, double publication, illegal authorship, violation of the review procedure, etc.);
- scale and consequences of the violation;
- available evidence.
If necessary, independent experts are involved.
- Decision-making
The editorial board may make one of the following decisions:
- reject the complaint if it is unfounded;
- make comments to the authors and require correction of errors;
- reject the article at the review stage if the violation is confirmed;
- withdraw an already published article with an official notification of the reasons;
- notify the scientific institution or the author’s employer of the recorded violations;
- temporarily prohibit the author from publishing in the journal (sanction).
- Notification of the parties
The author(s) and the applicant receive written information about the results of the review.
In the event of a retraction of an article, an announcement explaining the reasons is published on the journal’s website
- Appeal
The author or applicant may file an appeal within 30 days of receiving the decision.
The appeal is considered by the editor-in-chief, and if necessary, by members of the editorial board or external experts.
- Basic principles
Transparency – the procedure is clearly described and available on the journal’s website.
Confidentiality – complainants and reviewers remain anonymous if they wish.
Impartiality – decisions are made collegially, based on all available evidence.
Compliance with international standards – the procedure is based on the principles of COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics).