Journal Ethics Policy

The editorial board of "Economics and Law" is guided in its work by the international ethical rules of scientific publications, including the rules of decency, confidentiality, oversight of publications, consideration of possible conflict of interest, etc.

In its activities, the editorial board follows the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics and, in particular, Publishing Ethics Resource Kit by Elsevier.

The editorial board of the journal adheres to the following rules for supporting publication ethics:

DECIDING ON PUBLICATIONS

The editor decides on the publication of the submitted articles. They are guided by a journal policy based solely on academic value and the conclusions of the reviewers. The editor adheres to modern rules regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism.

The editor should not use the published information in their research without the written consent of the author. Editors should make appropriate decisions to address ethical complaints regarding submitted manuscripts or published articles.

The journal editor evaluates the intellectual content of the manuscripts regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, origin, citizenship, or political preferences of the authors.

CONFIDENTIALITY

The editor and editorial board do not disclose information about the submitted manuscripts (authors, topics, texts, etc.). Any manuscript received for review is considered a confidential document. The editor and the editorial board undertake not to disclose information about the accepted manuscripts unnecessarily, with the exception of authors, reviewers, other scientific consultants and the publisher.

RESOLUTION OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Unpublished materials should not be used in any research by the editor, reviewers, or others without the written consent of the authors.

Editors, reviewers, and scientific consultants undertake to recuse themselves from consideration of manuscripts in the presence of conflict of interest as a result of competitive, joint, and other interactions and relations with authors, companies, other organisations associated with the manuscript.

The editorial board undertakes to take corrective measures in case of conflict situations and claims regarding the manuscripts or published materials.

The editorial board may address claims or concerns about research or publication misconduct raised by readers, reviewers, or others. Furthermore, the journal reserves the right to inform readers about the resolution of conflict situations.

RESEARCH ETHICS

Research Involving Human Subjects

Manuscripts containing the results of surveys and other research involving human subjects should include a statement that the work has been approved by the appropriate ethics committees associated with the institution(s) in which it was performed. The respondents' participation must be voluntary and accompanied by signed consent that includes agreement to publication of the results. A requirement is to maintain confidentiality and avoid any kind of discrimination or pressure. The ethics of conducted research should always be substantiated and supported by references to relevant standards, including professional ethical codes. Among the main international recommendations on the ethics of scientific research, which the journal editors follow and also recommend to authors, are the following: American Sociological Association’s Code of Ethic (1997), ICC/ESOMAR International Code on Market, Opinion and Social Research and Data Analytics (2016), guidance note of the European Commission on ethics and data protection (2021).

For non-interventional studies (surveys, questionnaires, social media research), all participants must be fully informed if the anonymity is assured, why the research is being conducted, how their data will be used and if there are any risks associated. Ethical approval from an appropriate ethics committee must be obtained prior to conducting the study. If ethical approval is not required, authors must either provide an exemption from the ethics committee or are encouraged to cite the local or national legislation that indicates ethics approval is not required for this type of study.

RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF EDITORS

Rights:

• Define the editorial policy and directions for the journal’s development.
• Make final decisions regarding the publication of materials.
• Require authors to comply with ethical standards and formatting rules.
• Protect the independence of editorial decisions from commercial or political influence.

Responsibilities:

• Maintain respectful and correct treatment of the author and their scientific orientation, preserve editorial confidentiality, and avoid dishonesty in handling materials.
• Not independently alter the author’s text; agree with authors on the final version after editorial revisions.
• Prevent publication of materials that lack scientific value, do not correspond to the journal’s scope, contradict its editorial policy, contain plagiarism, or have been previously published elsewhere.
• Ensure the involvement of objective and competent reviewers and apply the practice of double-blind peer review.
• Identify and prevent conflicts of interest.

RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF REVIEWERS

Rights:

• Decline to review in case of a conflict of interest.
• Expect confidentiality regarding their participation in the process.
• Receive clear instructions and deadlines from the editorial office.

Responsibilities:

• Review all manuscripts without bias.
• Adhere to the review deadlines established by the editorial office.
• Treat manuscripts as confidential documents and not share them with third parties.
• Keep written reviews confidential.
• Not use data from manuscripts for personal research.
• Provide objective, reasoned, and respectful evaluations of the research results.
• Inform the editorial office of possible ethical violations, plagiarism, or duplication.

RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF AUTHORS

Rights:
• Retain copyright to their works.
• Receive proper recognition and citation.
• Expect fair and unbiased peer review.
• Withdraw an article prior to publication.

Responsibilities:

• Ensure novelty, reliability, and originality of research results.
• Provide accurate references to all sources used.
• Avoid excessive borrowing and plagiarism in any form.
• Avoid self-plagiarism.
• Not present fabricated results intended to mislead society.
• Avoid ideological or political bias, tendentious judgments, and evaluations.
• Guarantee that the article contains original material and has not been previously published or submitted to another journal.
By submitting materials for publication in the journal Economics and Law, authors agree that accepted articles may be included in electronic databases with mandatory attribution and full preservation of copyright.
The text of the work must include sources of external information in the form of reference lists (including the authors’ previously published works). Authors are obliged to properly format borrowings as quotations or references.
If authors discover significant errors or inaccuracies in their publication, they must notify the journal’s editor for prompt correction.
If the editor receives information from a third party that a publication contains substantial errors, the author is obliged to withdraw the work or correct the errors as quickly as possible.

AUTHORSHIP STATEMENT

The editorial board of the journal "Economics and Law" assumes that all authors agree with the content of the article, have given explicit consent for its publication, and have obtained permission from the responsible individuals in the institution/organization where the work was carried out before the article was submitted for consideration.

All authors, whose names are listed in the submission, declare that they:

• made substantial contributions to the conception or structure of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data;
• prepared the research material or revised it critically for important intellectual content;
• approved the version to be published;
• agree to be responsible for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

The editorial board of the journal "Economics and Law" encourages collaboration with colleagues in the locations where the research is conducted, and expect their inclusion as co-authors when they fulfill all authorship criteria described above. Contributors who do not meet all criteria for authorship should be listed in the Acknowledgements section.

SUBMISSION DECLARATION

Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously, that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, or in any other language.

DATA SHARING POLICY

The journal supports the principles of transparency and openness of scientific research, while protecting the rights of authors and adhering to ethical standards.

The journal stipulates that the data underlying the published results can be accessed only upon official request through the editorial office. Data is provided only with the consent of the author(s) of the study.

To gain access to the data, the interested person should send a request to the editorial office of the journal, indicating the purpose of using the data. The editorial board forwards this request to the author(s) for consideration. If the author agrees, the editorial board notifies the applicant of further actions, including the possibility of signing a confidentiality agreement and an obligation to adhere to the ethical principles of data use.

The editorial board does not oblige authors to provide access to data and takes into account restrictions related to confidentiality, legal or ethical aspects. In case of an author's refusal, the editorial board notifies the applicant.

All requests for access to data should be sent through the official e-mail of the journal. We are convinced that this approach guarantees a fair and regulated process, while protecting the rights of authors and ensuring the ethical use of scientific data.

POLICY AROUND POST-PUBLICATION DISCUSSIONS

Our journal values open and constructive discussions surrounding published research. To facilitate this, we encourage readers and authors to engage with our articles on PubPeer, a respected platform for post-publication commentary.

All articles published in our journal are automatically indexed with their DOI, enabling easy access and discussion on PubPeer. Discussions should remain professional, focused on the research content, and adhere to high ethical standards.

Any credible concerns raised about an article on PubPeer will be investigated in accordance with our journal’s ethics and retraction policies. For more information on engaging with PubPeer, visit their platform at PubPeer.com.

Our journal is committed to fostering a culture of open and respectful post-publication dialog.

ADVERTISING POLICY

This journal does not accept any form of advertising. Our financial model is designed to maintain full editorial independence and uphold the highest standards of academic integrity.