The journal fully adheres to international standards of academic integrity, open science, and publication ethics, following the guidelines and recommendations of:

• COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics)
• WAME (World Association of Medical Editors)
• DORA (San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment)

1. Compliance with Ethical Standards (COPE)

The journal applies COPE recommendations in all aspects of publication, including:

• ensuring objectivity and transparency in peer review;
• managing conflicts of interest;
• preventing plagiarism, data fabrication, and falsification;
• implementing procedures for retractions, corrections, and expressions of concern;
• maintaining confidentiality for all parties involved in the publication process.

2. Editorial Responsibility (WAME)

The journal guarantees that:

• editorial decisions are independent of financial or commercial influence;
• all authors have equal access to peer review and publication;
• journal policies, including APCs, open access, and ethical standards, are transparent;
• the peer review and editorial processes are managed responsibly and fairly.

3. Recognition and Assessment of Research (DORA)

The journal supports DORA principles by:

• not using journal impact factor as the sole criterion for evaluating research;
• encouraging assessment of research based on its intrinsic scientific value, quality, and contribution to the scholarly community;
• promoting transparency and open discussion of research results, regardless of the journal or ranking.

4. Integration of Principles into Journal Practices

The editorial board ensures compliance with these standards throughout the publication process:

• manuscript submission and acceptance;
• peer review and editing;
• publication and open access;
• handling complaints and addressing breaches of academic integrity.
  All authors, reviewers, and editors are expected to adhere to these principles.

5. Transparency and Accountability

The journal publishes clear policies and guidelines for authors and reviewers regarding publication ethics.

All parties have the right to transparent consideration of complaints and access to information about editorial decisions.

Adherence to these principles strengthens trust in the journal’s publications and enhances its reputation in the scientific community.

 

CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY (COI)

A conflict of interest arises when financial, professional, personal, or institutional relationships may influence, or appear to influence, the objectivity of research, peer review, or editorial decision-making.

Conflicts of interest may be financial (research grants or funding; paid consultations; participation in commercial projects; patents or licenses) or non-financial (academic competition; employment or administrative subordination; personal or professional relationships; joint research projects).

Disclosure of Conflict of Interest.

All participants in the publishing process must disclose potential conflicts of interest.

Authors are required to: disclose all financial and non-financial relationships; indicate sources of research funding; submit a statement declaring a conflict of interest or confirming its absence.

Reviewers are required to: inform the editorial office about any potential conflicts of interest; decline the review if such a conflict exists.

Editors are required to: avoid making decisions on manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest; transfer the handling of such manuscripts to an independent editor.

Publication of the Declaration.

Each published article (Version of Record) must include either: Conflict of Interest Statement or The authors declare no conflict of interest.

 

CONSIDERATION OF MANUSCRIPTS SUBMITTED BY EDITORS

 

If a manuscript is submitted by: the Editor-in-Chief; a member of the editorial board; a journal editor, a special procedure is applied to avoid conflicts of interest in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics.

In such cases: the Editor-in-Chief does not participate in the evaluation of the manuscript; an independent handling editor is appointed; the manuscript undergoes independent peer review;

the editor-author has no access to the peer review process.

The final decision on acceptance or rejection of the article is made by the independent editor based on the reviewers’ reports.

The article must include a Handling Editor Statement.