Complaints Review Procedure

Complaints Procedure Regarding Violations of Academic Integrity and Publication Ethics

Complaints Review Procedure of the Editorial Board

  1. Submission of a Complaint

A complaint may be submitted by an author, reviewer, reader, or any other member of the scholarly community.

The complaint must be submitted in writing (by email to the journal's editorial address) and must include:

a clear description of the nature of the violation;

evidence (references to sources, copies of documents, excerpts from texts, etc.);

the complainant's contact details.

  1. Initial Review

The complaint is registered by the responsible secretary of the editorial board.

The editor-in-chief conducts a preliminary analysis of the complaint and determines whether it relates to matters of academic integrity and publication ethics.

If the information provided is insufficient, the complainant may be invited to submit additional materials.

  1. Review by the Editorial Board

The complaint is referred to the editorial board for consideration.

The editorial board examines:

the nature of the violation (plagiarism, data falsification, duplicate publication, improper authorship, breach of the peer review process, etc.);

the scope and consequences of the violation;

the available evidence.

Independent experts may be consulted where necessary.

  1. Decision-Making

The editorial board may adopt one of the following decisions:

Dismiss the complaint (if it is unsubstantiated or unsupported by evidence).

Issue a warning to the authors and require them to correct the errors.

Reject the article (if a violation is identified during the review stage).

Retract an already published article (with a corresponding official retraction notice).

Notify the author's academic institution or employer of the recorded violations.

Prohibit the author from publishing in the journal for a defined period (sanction).

  1. Notification of Parties

The author(s) and the complainant receive written notification of the outcome of the review.

In the event of a retraction, a notice stating the reasons is published on the journal's website.

  1. Appeal

The author or complainant has the right to submit an appeal within 30 days of receiving the decision.

The appeal is reviewed by the editor-in-chief and, where necessary, by members of the editorial board or external experts.

  1. Principles of the Process

Transparency - the procedure is clearly regulated and accessible for review on the journal's website.

Confidentiality - complainants and reviewers remain anonymous (at their request).

Impartiality - decisions are made collegially, taking all evidence into account.

Compliance with international standards - the procedure is based on the principles of COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics).