Conflict of interest

The journal strives to ensure objectivity and transparency in the publication process, therefore all authors, reviewers and editors are required to declare potential conflicts of interest. This policy is aimed at preventing the influence of conflicts of interest on research results and the publication decision-making process.

Conflicts of interest on the part of the authors

Authors should disclose all potential conflicts of interest at the time of submission. This includes financial relationships, such as direct employment, fees, company ownership, or patent ownership, as well as non-financial relationships, such as personal relationships, academic rivalries, and ideological or religious beliefs. All conflicts should be clearly identified so that readers can judge whether the authors may be subject to a particular bias and how this may have affected the work.

Conflicts of Interest on the Part of Reviewers

Reviewers must declare any conflicts of interest that may affect their ability to objectively evaluate the manuscript. Reviewers must immediately notify the editorial office if:

  1. They have financial or personal ties to the author(s) or organizations involved in the research.
  2. There is direct competition between their own research and the manuscript they are reviewing..
  3. There is a personal interest or bias (friendship, rivalry, etc.) that may affect the objectivity of the assessment.

If a conflict is identified, reviewers must decline to review the manuscript.

Editors’ Conflicts of Interest

Editors are also required to declare potential conflicts of interest that may affect their ability to make impartial decisions about articles. Editors should recuse themselves from reviewing articles if:

  1. They have financial, personal, academic or other relationships with the author(s) or organization that may create a conflict of interest.
  2. They are co-authors of the article or work at the same institution as the author(s).
  3. Their participation in the process may be perceived as biased.

In such cases, the editor must transfer the article to another editor or involve an independent expert.

The journal guarantees transparency in the disclosure of conflicts of interest, which are published in the form of a note at the end of each article. All participants in the publication process (authors, reviewers, editors) are obliged to adhere to this policy in order to ensure the integrity and objectivity of scientific communication.

If the manuscript is submitted by the editor-in-chief, his deputy or a member of the editorial board, the person with a conflict of interest does not participate in the processing of his own manuscript and does not influence the decision regarding it.

In the case where the author is the editor-in-chief, the decision on the appointment of reviewers and the final decision on the acceptance of the manuscript rests with the deputy editor-in-chief. In the case where the editor-in-chief and his deputy are co-authors of the same manuscript, the journal delegates the processing of the manuscript to another member of the editorial board or an independent/external editor who:

has appropriate qualifications on the topic of the article;

does not have a conflict of interest regarding the authors;

independently appoints reviewers and prepares editorial recommendations.