Complaints and Appeals
Complaints and Appeals
In the event of complaints and/or appeals against the journal's decisions, the following review procedure is applied.
1. Any complaint or appeal is first considered by the editor-in-chief and/or responsible editor who directly participated in the editorial process.
2. The editor-in-chief of the publication may involve in the review two members of the editorial board who have relevant experience in participating in the editorial boards of other publications, whose experience and knowledge can help in resolving the dispute and clarifying the circumstances described in the appeal, as well as in the proper application of the journal's editorial policy and rules of publication ethics.
When considering complaints and/or appeals, the following rules should be observed:
- mutual respect for all participants in the editorial process, presumption of their proper and conscientious behavior until proven otherwise;
- giving all interested parties the right to present their arguments in support or denial of the stated claims;
- due notification of participants in the editorial process regarding the receipt and consideration of an appeal that may affect their rights and/or interests;
- directing the process of resolving any dispute through the search for compromise and mutual understanding.
Complaint regarding the scientific quality of the article, in particular, appealing against the refusal to publish.
In the appeal, the author must provide detailed justification with responses to the reviewers' comments by points. The editor-in-chief considers the arguments of the authors and reviewers and makes one of the following decisions:
- to refuse the applicant due to the groundlessness of the requirements set out in the appeal;
- to satisfy the requirements set out in the appeal.
The person who filed the appeal is notified of the decision with an explanation. The decision on appeals is final, and new submissions have priority over appeals.
Complaint regarding the procedure for reviewing the article (reviewing time, etc.).
The editor-in-chief, together with the responsible editor, investigates the case. The person who filed the complaint will be provided with appropriate feedback. The results of the case review will be taken into account by the relevant stakeholders to improve the editorial and publishing processes.
A complaint about publication ethics, in particular, about the behavior of the author or reviewer.
The editor-in-chief or responsible editor must adhere to the recommendations of COPE, EASE and publication ethics. The final decision to reject a complaint/appeal cannot be canceled or appealed. The editorial board does not correspond with the authors of a manuscript that has been rejected after such a decision.
