Procedure for Handling Complaints Regarding Ethical Violations

Filing a Complaint

Any person may submit a complaint to the Journal's editorial board regarding a possible ethical violation in published or submitted materials. The complaint shall be submitted in writing to the editorial office's email address, specifying the relevant facts and providing substantiation.

Review of the Complaint

The editorial board reviews the complaint in accordance with COPE recommendations. The author(s) are given an opportunity to provide an explanation. The decision on the complaint is made by the editorial board taking into account all available facts.

Possible Response Measures

Based on the results of the complaint review, the following measures may be taken: publication of an Erratum/Correction in the event of unintentional errors; publication of an Expression of Concern where there are substantiated doubts regarding the reliability of the material; retraction (withdrawal) of the article in the event that a serious violation is confirmed (plagiarism, data falsification, duplicate publication, etc.); notification of the institution with which the author is affiliated in the event that a serious violation is confirmed.

Retraction (Withdrawal) of an Article

Retraction is carried out in accordance with the COPE Retraction Guidelines. An article subject to a retraction decision is not removed from the archive; instead, an appropriate marking is added to it and a retraction notice is published stating the grounds.

Expression of Concern

The editorial office publishes an Expression of Concern in cases where there are substantiated grounds for doubting the reliability of the material, but the investigation has not yet been completed or the evidence is not conclusive.

Erratum/Correction

In the event that unintentional errors are identified in a published article, the editorial office publishes a correction clearly specifying the nature and scope of the changes made.