The Editorial Board of the scholarly journal “Private and Public Law” is guided in its activities by the principles of academic integrity, transparency, objectivity, and responsibility, and adheres to the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), provisions of international declarations, and best practices in the field of scholarly publishing.

The journal’s editorial office ensures:

complince with high ethical standards during the preparation, peer review, and publication of scholarly materials;

impartial and objective evaluation of manuscripts regardless of the authors’ gender, age, nationality, citizenship, political, religious, or other beliefs;

transparency of editorial review procedures and decision-making;

prevention of any forms of unethical publication practices.

Authors are required to:

submit original scholarly works that have not been previously published and are not under consideration by other journals;

ensurethe accuracy and reliability of the facts, data, and research results presented;

properly cite all sources used and avoid any forms of plagiarism, self-plagiarism, fabrication, or falsification of data;

inform the editorial office of any potential conflicts of interest, if such exist.

The Editorial Board:

makes decisions on publication exclusively on the basis of scholarly merit, relevance, and compliance with the journal’s scope;

ensures the confidentiality of information regarding submitted manuscripts, authors, and reviewers;

acts in accordance with COPE recommendations in cases of publication ethics violations;

takes appropriate measures in cases of suspected or proven plagiarism, data falsification, or other ethical breaches, including rejection of the manuscript or retraction of a published article.

Reviewers are required to:

conduct expert evaluation of manuscripts objectively, substantively, and within the established timeframes;

observe confidentiality and not use manuscript materials for personal benefit;

inform the editorial office of any potential conflicts of interest or lack of expertise in the manuscript’s subject area;

notify the editorial office of any detected signs of plagiarism or other violations of academic integrity.

 

Peer Review Procedure

All scholarly articles submitted to the editorial board of the journal are subject to mandatory peer review.

Type of Peer Review

The journal applies double-blind peer review, in which the identities of authors and reviewers are mutually concealed. This approach aims to ensure objectivity, impartiality, and academic integrity in the evaluation of scholarly materials.

Submission of a manuscript for review implies that authors entrust the editorial board with the results of their scholarly work, upon which their professional reputation and career may depend. Therefore, all peer review materials are confidential.

Breach of confidentiality is permitted only in cases of substantiated allegations of plagiarism, falsification, or unreliability of research results. In all other cases, confidentiality must be strictly maintained.

Stages of Peer Review

The peer review procedure is carried out in accordance with ethical principles, reasoned decision-making, and transparency, and includes the following stages:

receipt of the manuscript and accompanying documents by the responsible secretary;

initial screening of the submitted materials for compliance with the journal’s formal requirements, completeness of documentation, and adherence to editorial policy;

in the event of a positive initial assessment, forwarding the manuscript to reviewers for scholarly evaluation.

Criteria for Selecting Reviewers

Reviewers are selected from among specialists who have:

an academic degree or substantial experience in research activities;

publications in the relevant subject area;

no conflicts of interest regarding the authors or the content of the manuscript.

Reviewers must adhere to the principles of objectivity, impartiality, and confidentiality.

Criteria for Manuscript Evaluation

During peer review, the following aspects are assessed:

theoretical and methodological level of the research;

scientific novelty and relevance of the topic;

practical significance of the results obtained;

logical structure and soundness of conclusions;

compliance with the principles of academic integrity.

The journal adheres to the principles of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) and does not use citation metrics, journal impact factors, or other quantitative indicators as the primary criteria for evaluating manuscripts. Assessment is based exclusively on scholarly quality, originality, rigor, and significance of the research.

Review Timeframe

The standard peer review period is up to 4 weeks from the date the manuscript is sent to the reviewer. If revisions are required, the review period may be extended.

Review Reports and Documentation

Peer review results are documented in a written review report containing one of the following recommendations:

accept for publication;

accept after revision;

resubmit for further peer review;

reject.

If comments are provided, the manuscript is returned to the author for revision.

Decision on Publication

After revision, the manuscript is submitted for repeated peer review.

The final decision on publication is made by the Editor-in-Chief based on the reviewers’ reports and the journal’s editorial policy.

 

Procedure for Handling Complaints Related to Academic Integrity and Publication Ethics

The editorial office of the scholarly journal “Private and Public Law” adheres to the principles of academic integrity, objectivity, impartiality, and transparency in its publishing activities. All complaints regarding potential violations of academic integrity and publication ethics are handled in accordance with this Procedure.

1. Grounds for Submitting a Complaint

Complaints may be submitted in cases of suspected:

plagiarism, self-plagiarism, fabrication, or falsification of data;

copyright infringement;

violation of responsible authorship principles (ghost authorship, guest authorship, etc.);

undisclosed conflicts of interest involving authors, reviewers, or editors;

unethical behavior during peer review or editorial handling;

other violations of academic integrity and publication ethics standards.

2. Submission of a Complaint

Complaints must be submitted to the editorial office in written form (via email or official communication channels specified on the journal’s website) and must include:

a clear description of the alleged violation;

references to the relevant publication or materials;

substantiation of the complaint with evidence (if available);

contact details of the complainant.

Anonymous complaints are considered only if they contain sufficient factual information and evidence.

3. Initial Assessment of the Complaint

The editorial office conducts a preliminary assessment to:

determine whether the complaint falls within the journal’s scope;

assess the completeness and credibility of the information provided.

Additional materials or clarifications may be requested if necessary.

4. Investigation and Expert Review

If sufficient grounds for review are established:

the editorial office initiates an internal investigation;

members of the editorial board, independent experts, or reviewers may be involved;

authors and/or other concerned parties are given the opportunity to provide written explanations.

The investigation is conducted with due regard for confidentiality and impartiality.

5. Decision-Making

Based on the results of the review, the editorial office adopts a reasoned decision, which may include:

confirmation that no violation has occurred;

a requirement for the author to correct the violations;

rejection of the manuscript;

retraction of the published article;

notification of the author’s affiliated institution in cases of serious misconduct.

6. Notification of the Parties

The complainant and relevant parties are informed of the outcome within the timeframe established by the editorial office. Details of the investigation may be limited for reasons of confidentiality.

7. Final Provisions

The editorial office reserves the right to update and improve this Procedure in accordance with international standards of publication ethics and recommendations of leading scholarly organizations. All participants in the publishing process are required to adhere to the principles of academic integrity and publication ethics.

 

Retraction Policy

The editorial office of the journal “Private and Public Law” adheres to ethical publishing principles and ensures an appropriate response to cases of academic misconduct. In the event of serious violations, the editorial office may retract a previously published article.

Grounds for Retraction

Grounds for retraction include confirmed cases of plagiarism, self-plagiarism, fabrication or falsification of data; submission of a manuscript without the consent of all co-authors or disputes over authorship; duplicate submission or redundant publication; significant errors affecting the reliability of conclusions; violations of research ethics (e.g., lack of ethical approval, use of unethical research methods); and infringement of third-party rights, including copyright or confidentiality.

Retraction Procedure

Initiation of a retraction review may be requested by the editorial office, authors, reviewers, readers, or any other interested party through official notification to the journal.

The editorial office conducts an internal investigation, involving experts, authors, and institutional representatives as necessary.

If violations are confirmed, the editorial board adopts a decision to retract the publication.

An official retraction notice is published in the journal, clearly stating the reasons and circumstances of the retraction, and is linked to the original article in the electronic archive.

All electronic versions of the article (PDF, HTML) remain accessible but are clearly marked “RETRACTED” on each page.

Retraction is not a punitive measure but a mechanism to uphold academic integrity.

Authors have the right to submit explanations or appeals, which are reviewed by the editorial board.

The editorial office follows COPE recommendations when handling retraction cases.

 

 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy

The journal “Private and Public Law” supports innovative technologies, including the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the preparation of scholarly publications. At the same time, it emphasizes strict adherence to the principles of academic integrity, transparency, and responsibility when using AI tools.

Authors must clearly disclose in the manuscript where and how AI tools were used (e.g., for text generation, data analysis, preparation of illustrations, etc.). Manuscripts fully generated by AI without substantial intellectual contribution by the authors are not accepted. Authors bear full responsibility for the accuracy, originality, and quality of the content, even if AI tools were used in part.

The editorial office may use AI tools to assist in plagiarism detection, text preparation, fact-checking, and other aspects of the editorial process. Final decisions on acceptance or rejection remain solely with editors and reviewers, regardless of AI-generated outputs.

The use of AI must not infringe copyright, confidentiality, or lead to data manipulation. Concealing the use of AI or misleading readers about the origin of content or research results is prohibited.

Authors, reviewers, and editors are responsible for compliance with this policy. Violations may result in corrections, rejection, or retraction in accordance with the journal’s editorial policy.

 

Copyright and Licensing Policy

The journal follows an open access policy and provides free and unrestricted access to all published materials.

Authors retain copyright to their scholarly works and grant the journal a non-exclusive license to publish, distribute, and archive the content.

All materials published in the journal are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits:

copying and redistribution of the material in any medium or format;

adaptation, transformation, and use of the material for any purpose, including commercial use;

provided that appropriate credit is given to the author(s), the title of the publication, the name of the journal, and a link to the original source.

The CC BY 4.0 license complies with international open access standards and is recommended by most scholarly indexing databases and academic organizations.

 

Archiving and Long-Term Preservation Policy

The scholarly journal “Private and Public Law” ensures the long-term preservation and permanent accessibility of all published materials in open access.

Journal content is archived through:

storage of electronic versions of articles on the journal’s official website;

deposition of publications in institutional and/or national open access repositories;

permission for authors to self-archive final versions of their articles in open scholarly repositories, provided that proper bibliographic reference to the original publication is maintained.

Technical Preservation Measures

To ensure long-term preservation and data security, the editorial office employs:

regular backup of the electronic archive;

storage of materials in standardized formats (PDF, HTML) suitable for long-term use;

assignment of persistent unique identifiers (DOI) to each publication.

Accessibility Guarantees

The editorial office takes measures to ensure continuous access to archived materials even in the event of changes to technical infrastructure or termination of the journal’s website, including preservation of content in external open access repositories.