A complaint regarding alleged violations of ethical standards may be submitted by an author, reviewer, reader, or any other member of the academic community. The complaint should be submitted in writing to the Editorial Board of the Scientific Herald of Sivershchyna. Series: Law academic journal to the following email address: journalnvs1@ukr.net.

The complaint must include:

• a clear description of the alleged violation of academic integrity;
• evidence supporting the claim (references to sources, copies of documents, excerpts from texts, etc.);
• the contact details of the complainant.

The Executive Secretary of the Editorial Board of Scientific Herald of Sivershchyna. Series: Law academic journal registers the received complaint. The Editor-in-Chief or their deputies conduct a preliminary assessment to determine whether the complaint falls within the scope of academic integrity and publication ethic. If the information provided is insufficient, the complainant may be requested to provide additional information.

The complaint is then referred to the Editorial Board of the Scientific Herald of Sivershchyna. Series: Law academic journal, which evaluates:
– the nature of the violation (plagiarism, data fabrication, duplicate publication, false authorship, breach of the peer review procedure, etc.);
– the scope and consequences of the violation;
– the available evidence.

If necessary, independent experts may be engaged.

The Editorial Board of the Scientific Herald of Sivershchyna. Series: Law academic journal may take one of the following decisions:

• dismiss the complaint (if it is ill-founded or unsupported by evidence);
• issue a warning to the author(s) and require correction of identified deficiencies;
• reject the article (if the violation is identified during the review process);
• retract the published article and issue an official retraction notice;
• inform the author’s employing institution or employer of the confirmed violations;
• to decline future submissions from the author(s) to Scientific Herald of Sivershchyna. Series: Law academic journal for a specified period.

The author(s) and complainant(s) will receive written notification of the reviewers’ decision. In the event of retraction, a notice specifying the reasons shall be published on the journal’s website.

The author(s) and complainant(s) may file an appeal within 30 days from the date of receipt of the decision. The appeal shall be examined by the Editor-in-Chief and, where deemed necessary, by members of the Editorial Board of Scientific Herald of Sivershchyna. Series: Law academic journal or independent experts and shall be carried out in accordance with the following principles:
– transparency — the procedure is clearly regulated and publicly accessible on the official website of the journal;
– confidentiality — complainants and reviewers remain anonymous upon request;
– impartiality — decisions are made collectively and with due regard to all relevant facts and evidence;
– compliance with international standards — the procedure adheres to the principles of COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics).