Retraction Policy for Published Articles
The Editorial Board adheres to international standards of publication ethics and follows the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) regarding the retraction of scientific publications. Retraction is considered a measure of last resort, applied to maintain the integrity of the scholarly record and to protect academic integrity.
- Grounds for Retraction
An article may be retracted in cases of:
– significant plagiarism or self-plagiarism;
– fabrication or falsification of data;
– substantial errors in research results that affect the validity of conclusions;
– duplicate publication or submission of the same work to multiple journals;
– authorship manipulation or undisclosed conflicts of interest;
– violations of research ethics standards (including studies involving human participants or animals).
- Initiation of the Procedure
The retraction process may be initiated by the Editorial Board, authors, reviewers, or third parties through a substantiated request. All submissions are reviewed in accordance with the journal’s procedure for handling complaints related to academic integrity.
- Investigation
The Editorial Board conducts an investigation in accordance with the principles of objectivity, impartiality, and confidentiality. Authors are given the opportunity to provide written explanations. Where necessary, independent experts or representatives of the authors’ affiliated institutions may be involved.
- Decision-Making
The decision to retract an article is made by the Editorial Board based on the results of the investigation. If a violation is confirmed, an official Retraction Notice is published, clearly stating the reasons for the decision.
- Publication of the Retraction Notice
Retracted articles are not removed from the journal’s archive in order to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record. The electronic version of the article is clearly marked as “Retracted” and linked to the official Retraction Notice explaining the reasons. The notice is published separately and indexed.
- Alternative Measures
In cases of minor errors that do not affect the overall conclusions, the Editorial Board may publish a correction (corrigendum) or clarification without retracting the article.
- Transparency and Fairness
The Editorial Board guarantees transparency of the procedure, a non-discriminatory approach, and the absence of conflicts of interest in decision-making. Individuals with potential conflicts of interest are excluded from the review process.
