Complaints and Retraction Policy

The editorial board adheres to international standards of academic ethics and best practices, including the recommendations of COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics), in the process of handling complaints and making retraction decisions.

The journal’s editorial board recognizes the right of authors, reviewers, and readers to submit complaints regarding editorial decisions, the peer-review process, ethical issues, or the content of published materials. All submissions are considered in accordance with the principles of transparency, objectivity, and academic integrity.

Complaints may concern, in particular, violations of peer-review procedures, conflicts of interest, cases of plagiarism, duplicate publication, data inaccuracy, or other ethical breaches.

To submit a complaint, the complainant must send it to the editorial office in written form with a clear justification and, where possible, supporting evidence.

Upon receiving a complaint, the editorial board conducts an initial review and, if necessary, involves members of the editorial board, independent experts, or reviewers to ensure an objective assessment of the situation. If required, the editorial board may also contact the authors’ institutions or other competent authorities.

The time required to review complaints depends on the complexity of the case; however, the editorial board strives to provide a response within a reasonable timeframe and to inform the complainant about the outcome or the interim status of the review.

If, as a result of the investigation, significant violations of academic ethics or data reliability are identified, the editorial board may take appropriate measures, including:

• a request for correction (corrigendum);

• the publication of an erratum;

• retraction of the article.

Retraction is applied in cases of serious misconduct, such as data fabrication, plagiarism, duplicate publication, substantial errors affecting the results of the study, or other violations that call into question the academic integrity of the work.

The decision on retraction is made by the editorial board based on a comprehensive review of the case materials. Retraction is accompanied by an official notice stating the reasons for the action and preserving access to the publication’s metadata with an appropriate indication of its status.