The editorial board has implemented appropriate procedures for dealing with cases of misconduct in publication practice. This applies in particular to misconduct that involves the violation of law by authors (e.g. misappropriation of someone else’s work). Detailed rules of conduct and good practice are presented here (link to PDF with rules)

The Authors are expected to:

1. declare that the submitted manuscript was written independently;
2. declare that they abide by the copyright law when using other authors’ work;
3. declare that they do not infringe the rights of third parties, including the right to privacy;
4. declare that the submitted manuscript has not been previously published (in whole or in part) and is not being processed in another journal;
5. ensure that all persons on the list of authors meet the definition of authorship: (1) they have made a creative contribution to conceptualisation or research, (2) they have written a sketch of the text or have contributed creatively to its development, (3) they have accepted the final version of the text before submission, and thus have taken responsibility for the text;
6. list in the acknowledgement section or another dedicated section all contributors (with their consent) i.e. those who contributed to the text but do not meet the definition of authorship;
7. obtain the consent of the relevant ethical committee (if required);
8. obtain the consent of research subjects (if required);
9. carry out the research in accordance with the procedures of relevant organisations/ institutions (if required);
10. provide reliable results based on collected data;
11. avoid bias;
12. provide sources of funding, if any;
13. inform about possible conflicts of interest;
14. amend the text (if required) within the prescribed period.

The Reviewers are expected to:

1. know and follow the rules adopted by the journal;
2. accept for reviewing only texts from fields in which the reviewer is competent;
3. inform about possible conflicts of interest, if any;
4. never use or show to third parties the manuscripts entrusted to them for evaluation;
5. inform the editorial board of any misconduct detected, including plagiarism;
6. never contact the author without the explicit consent of the editorial board;
7. evaluate the manuscript objectively;
8. prepare a clear and constructive opinion on the manuscript;
9. choose one recommendation;
10. prepare reviews within the prescribed period;
11. inform the editors of possible delays;
12. be impartial and evaluate the manuscripts without bias against sex, race, nationality, origin or other characteristics of the authors.

The Editors are expected to:

1. know and observe the rules adopted by the journal;
2. develop their knowledge of misconduct in publication practice and how to resolve it (e.g. on the basis of COPE materials);
3. participate in the development of rules for detecting and responding to misconduct in publication practice (e.g. through active participation in the work of COPE);
4. take responsibility for the content published in the journal;
5. ensure appropriate selection of reviewers and supervision of the correct review process;
6. prevent the occurrence of conflicts of interest;
7. verify whether the author has obtained the necessary consents (e.g. from the ethical committee);
8. undertake actions in the case of detection of misconduct in publishing practices;
9. never use or show to third parties the manuscripts entrusted to them for evaluation;
10. keep the tasks entrusted to them confidential;
11. be impartial and treat the processed manuscripts without bias against sex, race, nationality, origin, etc.