Article Retraction

RETRACTION POLICY FOR PUBLISHED ARTICLES

General Provisions
Retraction of a scientific article is an official procedure for declaring it invalid in the scientific record in cases where significant violations of academic integrity, publication ethics, or the reliability of research results are identified.

Grounds for Retraction
An article may be retracted in the event of:

  • plagiarism, self-plagiarism, or improper citation/borrowing;
  • data fabrication or falsification;
  • significant errors affecting the validity of the results;
  • duplicate publication without proper justification;
  • inappropriate authorship (inclusion/exclusion of authors);
  • unethical or compromised peer review process;
  • conflicts of interest that influenced the research results;
  • other violations of publication ethics.

Initiation of Retraction Procedure
The procedure may be initiated by:

  • the author(s) of the article;
  • the editorial board of the journal;
  • reviewers;
  • third parties (provided there is sufficient evidence).

Review Procedure
1. The editorial office conducts a preliminary assessment of the received information.
2. The author(s) are informed about the concerns and are given the opportunity to provide explanations.
3. Independent experts may be involved if necessary.
4. The decision is made by the editorial board based on the principles of objectivity, impartiality, and in accordance with COPE guidelines.

Decision-Making
Following the review, the editorial board may decide to:

  • retract the article;
  • issue corrections (corrigendum/erratum);
  • reject the request for retraction.

Retraction Notice and Publication
6.1. In case of retraction:

  • the article is not removed from the journal’s website but remains in the archive;
  • a clear label “RETRACTED” is placed on the article’s webpage;
  • a separate retraction notice is published indicating the reasons;
  • corresponding changes are made to the article’s DOI metadata.

 The retraction notice must be openly accessible to readers.

Principles of the Procedure
The retraction procedure is carried out in accordance with:

  • principles of academic integrity;
  • recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE);
  • transparency, objectivity, and timeliness.

Responsibilities of the Parties
The editorial board ensures an impartial review of each case, while authors are obliged to cooperate in establishing the truth and to provide accurate information.