Artificial Intelligence, Complaints, Appeals and Retractions

Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence

The journal recognises that artificial intelligence tools and AI-assisted technologies may be used as supporting tools in the preparation of scholarly materials. Such use must be transparent, responsible and consistent with academic integrity.

AI tools may not be listed as authors or co-authors of a scholarly article, since they do not have legal personality and cannot assume responsibility for the content, reliability, originality or scholarly value of a publication.

Authors must disclose the use of AI tools if such tools were used for writing, editing, translation, data analysis, preparation of images, tables, software code or any other elements of the manuscript.

The manuscript must identify the tool used, state the purpose of its use and describe the actions performed. Authors are fully responsible for verifying the accuracy, integrity, legality and absence of copyright infringements in materials prepared with the assistance of AI.

The editorial office may request additional explanations regarding the use of AI tools or reject a manuscript if the use of AI has resulted in data fabrication, unreliable statements, copyright infringement, concealed borrowing or other violations of publication ethics.

Complaints and Appeals Procedure

The editorial office considers complaints, requests and appeals related to editorial decisions, peer review, violations of academic integrity, conflicts of interest, copyright infringement, ethical matters or other aspects of the publication process.

A complaint or appeal must be submitted in writing to the editorial office by email and must include:
the applicant’s full name and contact details;
the substance of the complaint or appeal;
the title of the article or other material concerned;
the reasoning supporting the applicant’s position;
documents or evidence supporting the complaint or appeal, if available.

The editorial office registers the complaint or appeal, carries out a preliminary review and, where necessary, involves members of the Editorial Board or independent experts who have no conflict of interest in relation to the matter under consideration.

Following review, the editorial office may:
uphold the previous decision;
revise the editorial decision;
arrange additional peer review;
request explanations or corrections from the authors;
publish a correction, clarification or notice;
initiate retraction of the article;
take other editorial measures in accordance with COPE principles.

The applicant is informed in writing of the decision reached after consideration of the complaint or appeal.

Corrections, Withdrawals and Retractions

If errors, inaccuracies or violations are identified in published content, the editorial office considers publishing a correction, clarification, editorial notice or retraction.

Corrections may be issued when errors do not substantially affect the scholarly results and conclusions of the article but require clarification for the proper use of the material.

A retraction is the official withdrawal of an already published scholarly article by decision of the Editorial Board where serious violations of publication ethics or deficiencies are identified that make the reliable use of the article’s results impossible.

Grounds for retraction may include:
plagiarism, self-plagiarism, or improper borrowing;
fabrication or falsification of data;
duplicate publication of the same article in another journal without proper justification;
substantial errors affecting the reliability of the results;
copyright infringement;
inclusion as authors of persons who did not make a substantial contribution, or exclusion of persons who did make such a contribution;
compromised or unethical peer review;
an undisclosed conflict of interest that could have influenced, or did influence, the research results;
other serious violations of publication ethics.

After retraction, the article remains in the journal archive with a clear notice stating the fact of retraction, the reasons for retraction and the date of the relevant decision.