Complaints Handling and Article Retractions

Procedure for Handling Complaints Regarding Violations of Academic Integrity and Publication Ethics

 

1. General Provisions

 

This procedure defines how the journal handles complaints concerning violations of academic integrity and publication ethics (plagiarism, fabrication or falsification of data, improper authorship, etc.) related to submitted or published materials. Its purpose is to ensure fairness and transparency in resolving ethical issues.

 

2. Submission of a Complaint

 

A complaint may be submitted by any person (author, reader, reviewer). It must be sent to the editorial office email address and should include:

  • a link to the article or manuscript in question;

  • a description of the alleged violation and, where possible, supporting materials (quotations, comparison tables, references, etc.);

  • the complainant’s contact details.

 

Anonymous complaints are accepted if they contain sufficient information for verification.

 

3. Preliminary Review

 

The Editor-in-Chief or an authorized member of the editorial board evaluates the complaint within ten working days to determine its validity and whether it falls within the journal’s competence. If the complaint is unfounded or outside the journal’s jurisdiction, the complainant is informed of the refusal to proceed.

 

4. Formal Investigation

 

If the complaint is considered justified, an ethics committee is established, which may include independent experts. The committee reviews the complaint materials, requests explanations from the authors, and, if necessary, conducts additional peer review or verification.

 

The investigation is confidential; all parties are required to keep the information private until a final decision is made.

 

5. Decision-Making and Measures

 

The committee prepares conclusions and provides recommendations to the Editor-in-Chief. Depending on the seriousness of the violation, possible decisions include:

  • no violation found and closure of the case;

  • correction of the material and publication of an erratum or correction notice;

  • rejection of the manuscript or retraction of the published article;

  • notification of affiliated institutions or other interested parties.

 

The decision is communicated to the complainant and the authors. In the case of a published article, information about the outcome may be made public on the journal’s website.

 

6. Appeal

Authors and complainants have the right to appeal the committee’s decision within 30 days. Appeals are reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief together with members of the editorial board who were not involved in the previous review. The decision on the appeal is final.

The editorial board keeps records of all complaints and decisions. Based on the outcomes of such cases, changes may be introduced to the editorial policy in order to prevent repeated violations.

 

Procedure for Retraction of Published Articles

 

A retraction is the official procedure for removing or marking a published article as one that should no longer be considered part of the journal’s scholarly record. Retraction may be initiated either by the editorial board or at the author’s request. The purpose of retraction is to ensure the reliability of scientific information and the transparency of the publication process.

 

Grounds for Retraction

 

Retraction may be based on:

  • detection of plagiarism or self-plagiarism;

  • fabrication or falsification of data;

  • significant errors in the results or research methods that affect the conclusions;

  • violations of ethical standards;

  • duplicate publication or copyright infringement;

  • a justified request from the author to retract the article (for example, in the event of discovered errors or other substantial circumstances).

 

Initiators of Retraction

 

Retraction may be initiated by an author, the editorial board, a reviewer, or another interested party.

 

Authors have the right to submit a written request to the editorial board stating the reasons for retraction. In cases of multiple authorship, the request must be approved by all co-authors or include an explanation for the reasons behind such a request.

 

Review Procedure

 

The editorial board reviews the request or received information in accordance with the procedure for handling complaints regarding violations of academic integrity.

 

In the case of retraction at the author’s initiative, the editorial board may conduct an additional review of the grounds for such a request. If the article has not yet been published, the manuscript may be withdrawn without a full formal procedure.

 

Possible Decisions

 

Following the review, the editorial board may decide to:

  • refuse retraction (if there are insufficient grounds);

  • publish a correction if the errors do not affect the main results;

  • retract the article with publication of an official notice.

 

Retraction Notice

 

In the event of retraction, the editorial board publishes a notice containing:

  • the title of the article and the list of authors;

  • the reasons for retraction;

  • the date of the decision;

  • a link to the original publication.

 

The original text of the article remains available on the journal’s website but is clearly marked as “RETRACTED” in order to ensure transparency and preserve the scholarly record.

 

Right of Appeal

 

Authors or other interested parties have the right to appeal the editorial decision within 30 days. The appeal is considered in accordance with the established procedure, and the resulting decision is final.

 

Record Keeping

 

The editorial board maintains records of all retraction cases and uses the experience gained to improve editorial policy and prevent future violations.