Publication Ethics

8. Publication Ethics, Academic Integrity and Response to Misconduct

8.1. The Journal’s publication ethics rules are intended to ensure that the publishing process is conducted in accordance with the principles of academic integrity, scholarly independence, impartiality, transparency, and responsible publishing practice.

8.2. All persons involved in the Journal’s publishing process, including authors, reviewers, the Editor-in-Chief, members of the Editorial Board, and any other persons involved, shall comply with the principles of academic ethics and integrity.

8.3. The author shall be responsible for the originality of the manuscript and for the accuracy of the facts, data, conclusions, arguments, and sources presented therein. Plagiarism, self-plagiarism, fabrication or falsification of data, duplicate or simultaneous publication, improper attribution of authorship, citation manipulation, and any other violation of academic integrity are prohibited.

8.4. Only a person who has made a substantial intellectual contribution to the conduct of the research, preparation of the manuscript, or its substantive academic revision shall qualify as an author. All co-authors shall bear equal responsibility for the content of the manuscript and compliance with academic integrity requirements.

8.5. An artificial intelligence system may not be identified as an author or co-author of a manuscript. Where artificial intelligence is used, full responsibility for the content and accuracy of the manuscript, the reliability and proper use of sources, and compliance with academic integrity requirements shall rest with the author.

8.6. A reviewer shall evaluate a manuscript objectively and impartially and shall maintain strict confidentiality. A reviewer shall not use information obtained in the course of the review process for personal, professional, or any other improper purpose. Where a conflict of interest exists, the reviewer shall immediately notify the Editor-in-Chief.

8.7. The Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board shall make decisions concerning the acceptance, review, publication, or rejection of a manuscript solely on the basis of its scholarly quality, originality, relevance, methodological soundness, and conformity with the scope and profile of the Journal.

8.8. An author, reviewer, the Editor-in-Chief, or a member of the Editorial Board shall disclose in advance, or, where this is not possible, immediately upon becoming aware of it, any circumstance that may affect their independence or impartiality. A person having a conflict of interest shall not participate in the assessment of the relevant manuscript or in the decision-making process concerning its publication.

8.9. The Journal shall be entitled to examine a manuscript for possible violations of academic integrity, including through the use of appropriate technical means. The results of any technical screening shall constitute an auxiliary tool, while the existence of a violation shall be determined on the basis of a substantive assessment of the manuscript.

8.10. Where information concerning a possible violation of academic ethics is received, any interested person shall be entitled to contact the Journal’s editorial office through its official email address and request examination of the matter. The Editorial Board shall consider the submission within a reasonable period, examine the relevant circumstances, and, where necessary, provide the author or any other interested person with an opportunity to submit an explanation.

8.11. Where a violation is confirmed, the Editorial Board shall be entitled, taking into account the nature and seriousness of the violation, to refuse publication of the manuscript, suspend the publication process, require revision of the manuscript, publish a correction, retract the publication, or take any other proportionate measure.

8.12. The author shall be responsible for the opinions, assessments, and conclusions expressed in a manuscript published in the Journal. The Journal, the Editor-in-Chief, and the Editorial Board shall not be liable for the individual views expressed by authors, except where a violation of publication ethics by the Journal has been established.

8.13. Where a violation relating to a published manuscript is confirmed, the decision of the Editorial Board, accompanied by appropriate reasoning, shall be published on the Journal’s official electronic platform or, where necessary, in the subsequent issue of the Journal.