Ethical Responsibilities of Editors

The ZIJEc's editors are responsible for deciding as to which of the articles submitted should be reviewed and published. The validation of the work in question and its importance to researchers and readers must always drive such a decision. The editor-in-chief must seriously prevent libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. An editor should evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual contents without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the author(s).

Editors and any editorial staff must not disclose any information on a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author(s), reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisors, and the publisher, as appropriate. Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor's own research without the written consent of the author(s). Privileged information or ideas obtained through a peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantages.

Editors should recuse themselves from considering manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest. Editors should require all contributors to disclose relevant competing interests and publish corrections if competing interests are revealed after publication. An editor should take reasonably responsive measures when ethical complaints have been presented concerning a submitted manuscript or published paper, in conjunction with the publisher (or society). Every reported act of unethical publishing behavior must be looked into, even if it is discovered years after publication.

---

Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers

A peer review assists the editor-in-chief in making an editorial decision and editorial communications with the author(s). Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript, or knows that its prompt review will be impossible, should notify the editor-in-chief and excuse himself/herself from the review process. Any manuscript received for review must be treated as a confidential document.

Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author(s) is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments. Any statement that an observation, derivation, or argument had been previously reported should be accompanied by relevant citations. A reviewer should also call to the editor-in-chief's attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which he/she has personal knowledge. Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in a reviewer’s own research without the expressed written consent of the author(s). Privileged information or ideas obtained through a peer review must be kept confidential and not utilized for personal advantages. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest.

---

Ethical Responsibilities of Authors

Authors of a report of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion on its significance. Data and citations should be represented accurately in the paper. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable. Plagiarism takes many forms, from using another’s paper as the author’s own paper to copying or paraphrasing substantial parts of another’s paper (without attribution), or claiming results from research conducted by others. Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is intolerable.

An author should not, in general, publish a manuscript describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable. Information obtained privately, as in conversation, correspondence, or discussion with third parties, must not be used or reported without explicit, written permission from the source(s). Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study, and seen and approved the final version of the paper, and agreed to its submission for publication.

All authors should disclose in their manuscripts any financial or other substantive conflicts of interest. When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author’s obligation to promptly notify the ZIJEc editor-in-chief and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper.

---

Publisher’s Responsibilities (Zabags Qu Publish)

The publisher ensures:

• Journal stability and consistent availability
• Preservation of published content through archiving systems
• Support for editorial independence
• Prompt publication of corrections, retractions, and clarification statements

The publisher does not tolerate:

• Any form of publication malpractice
• Commercial influence over editorial decisions

---

Allegations of Misconduct

ZIJEc follows COPE flowcharts when handling:

• Plagiarism
• Duplicate submissions
• Authorship disputes
• Unethical research
• Data manipulation

Possible actions include:

• Manuscript rejection
• Retraction of published articles
• Notification of authors’ institutions
• Banning authors from future submissions for a defined period

---

Retraction, Correction, and Withdrawal Policy

Retractions
Articles may be retracted if:

• Serious ethical breaches are confirmed
• Data prove unreliable or fraudulent
• Authors fail to report major conflicts of interest

Corrections
Errata or corrigenda will be published for:

• Minor errors that do not affect the integrity of the findings

Article Withdrawal
Articles may be withdrawn pre-publication if:

• Errors are severe and discovered early
• Authors request withdrawal with proper justification

For more detailed information, visit http://publicationethics.org/