Yearbook of Agricultural and Food Law
en

PUBLICATION ETHICS

GENERAL PROVISIONS

  • The ethical standards of the journal 'Yearbook of Agricultural and Food Law' comply with the COPE Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors and apply equally to the Editorial Board, the Scientific Council, Authors, Reviewers and the Publisher.
  • All articles submitted for publication in the journal “Yearbook of Agricultural and Food Law” are assessed for compliance with the principles of publishing ethics, integrity and scientific merit (see Review Process).

 

COUNTERING UNETHICAL PRACTICES 

The editorial team and the publisher of the journal make every effort to prevent unethical behaviour (e.g. plagiarism, self-plagiarism, data fabrication, conflicts of interest, ghost-writing, guest authorship and courtesy authorship) during the peer review and editorial process. To this end, all articles published in the journal undergo a multi-stage peer-review process (see: Peer-Review Process) and are analysed using the anti-plagiarism software: Crossref Similarity Check (powered by iThenticate). The Open Journal System used by the Editorial Board also provides solutions that support a secure and fully professional publication process, including discussions between authors, editors and reviewers whilst maintaining complete anonymity, tracking the successive stages of the editorial process, and making amendments to articles (including after publication).

 

Response to unethical practices

Should unethical behaviour be identified, the Editorial Board will immediately contact the author to request an explanation, and will then take action to safeguard the copyright of those affected and protect the journal from the consequences of such misconduct, in accordance with COPE standards. This may involve: discontinuing further peer review of the article, refusing to publish the article, terminating collaboration with the author, making changes to the electronic version of the article or publishing a correction in the print edition of the issue, retracting the published article, or even notifying the authorities of the institution with which the author is affiliated, or initiating legal proceedings. All such actions will be carried out in consultation with the author and the publisher, and in the event of complex cases, the Editorial Board will ensure appropriate mediation or legal support.

 

DETAILED ETHICAL PRINCIPLES

The Publisher’s obligations

  • signs a contract setting out its relationship with the journal’s owner, which complies with all the ethical principles set out above;
  • makes every effort to support and promote the journal (particularly through the use of citation databases and digital library resources);
  • ensures that those involved in the process of publishing and editing issues of the journal do not disclose any confidential information;
  • undertakes to report any ethically questionable conduct by members of the editorial team to the Editorial Board on each occasion;
  • provides software that supports the maintenance of the journal’s substantive quality and ethical standards, including the Open Journal System and the anti-plagiarism programme: Crossref Similarity Check (powered by iThenticate);
  • archives articles and indexes them in external databases;
  • makes amendments to articles, removes articles or publishes corrections to articles in which content has been found to be inconsistent with the journal’s substantive criteria or ethical principles (particularly in cases of concealed authorship or data theft);
  • receives complaints and appeals against the Editorial Board’s decisions and resolves contentious or difficult cases;
  • offers legal assistance or support in situations where unethical conduct is identified during the editorial process.

 

Responsibilities of the Editorial Board

  • makes every effort to continuously improve the journal’s publication process, drawing on feedback from authors, readers and reviewers, and , whilst bringing the journal into line with standards prevailing in the academic market and the expertise of legal professionals and specialists in publication ethics;
  • selects the best authors and the best articles, and recruits the best researchers to publish in the journal;
  • assesses submitted articles solely on the basis of their content. No non-substantive considerations influence its decision;
  • ensures that all materials submitted and considered for publication are reviewed by at least two external reviewers (experts in the relevant discipline or specialists in the subject area);
  • is responsible for deciding which of the texts submitted to the journal will be published (based on their significance for the advancement of research and their appeal to readers, the reviewers’ comments and legal requirements);
  • the Editorial Board’s decision is not influenced by any external, non-academic factors or institutions;
  • ensures that those involved in the editorial and peer-review process (including the Editorial Board) are properly trained and adhere to the latest guidelines on peer review and journal management;
  • ensures that, during the review, editorial and editing processes, no information concerning the submitted article or its authors is disclosed;
  • does not use unpublished content from a submitted manuscript for its own research purposes without the author’s express written consent, and protects authors from the theft of their research findings;
  • is open to complaints or appeals against decisions made during the editorial process;
  • in the event of unethical conduct being overlooked, the Editorial Board, in consultation with the Publisher, will immediately take all necessary measures to safeguard copyright or withdraw the article until the matter has been clarified, and will subsequently allow for amendments, corrections and apologies to be made even after the text has been published.

 

Duties of the Scientific Council

  • to support and promote the journal, and to have a genuine influence on its profile and objectives;
  • following the publication of an issue, shares its views on the management of the journal, its academic and ethical standards, and identifies future challenges facing the journal;
  • proposes suitably qualified individuals as members of the Editorial Board who can actively contribute to the journal’s development and sound management;
  • formulates precise guidelines regarding the roles and responsibilities of Editorial Board members;
  • helps to draft and approve the journal’s code of ethics.

 

Authors’ Responsibilities

  • certify that the submitted text is an entirely original work, and acknowledge in the footnotes all those who have contributed to the article, , but only those who have actually participated in its creation (to prevent ghostwriting and  guest authorship);
  • accept all the conditions required for submitting an article (as set out in the Guidelines for Authors);
  • disclose any conflicts of interest that could be interpreted as influencing the research results;
  • indicate all sources of funding for the publication, the contribution of academic and research institutions, associations and any other entities (financial disclosure);
  • anonymise their work to enable a ‘double-blind’ peer review process;
  • respond to reviewers’ comments, make corrections and resubmit the text to the journal by the specified deadline;
  • undertake to inform the journal’s Editorial Board if they discover errors or inaccuracies in their work, and cooperate to rectify the error (in the form of an erratum or, ultimately, by withdrawing the work);
  • grant a non-exclusive licence to publish their article under the relevant terms and conditions (see Guidelines for Authors).

 

Responsibilities of Reviewers

  • they shall conduct an objective assessment of the article, applying solely academic criteria. Each of their decisions should be stated and explained clearly and precisely;
  • decline to review a manuscript if they feel unprepared to assess it or identify any conflict of interest (in relation to the Authors or the institutions they represent);
  • assist the Editorial Board in deciding whether to accept manuscripts for publication;
  • they support the authors in refining their work. To this end, they provide clear comments and observations and suggest the inclusion of works that have not been cited by the authors or have not been sufficiently utilised;
  • notify the Editorial Board of any unethical or incorrect behaviour, arguments or statements observed in the article (including in the rhetorical structure of the argument);
  • treat the submitted text as a confidential document;
  • like the entire Editorial Board, they undertake not to use unpublished material from the submitted work for their own research purposes without the express written consent of the Authors. They also protect the Authors from the theft of the results of their academic work;
  • they anonymise their notes and comments to facilitate the ‘double-blind’ peer-review process.