RETRACTION POLICY

The editorial board of the journal adheres to high standards of academic integrity and ethical publishing practices. In cases where, after publication, significant violations, errors, or data affecting the reliability of the scientific content are discovered, the editorial board applies a retraction procedure (withdrawal of the article) in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
1. Grounds for retraction
An article may be retracted in the following cases:
•    detection of plagiarism, self-plagiarism, or duplicate publication;
•    establishment of falsification, fabrication, or manipulation of data;
•    serious methodological errors that cast doubt on the results of the study;
•    violation of ethical standards for conducting research (human participants, animals, protection of personal data, etc.);
• unauthorized use of materials, copyrights, or confidential data;
• undeclared conflict of interest that significantly affected the results;
• other violations that undermine confidence in the scientific validity of the article.
2. Initiating the retraction procedure
The procedure may be initiated by:
•    the journal's editorial board;
•    reviewers;
•    the authors of the article;
•    readers, institutions, or third parties who have provided evidence of a violation.
Reports of possible violations are reviewed by the editorial board, which conducts an investigation and, if necessary, contacts the authors, reviewers, or relevant institutions for clarification.
3. Decision-making
The decision to retract is made by the editor-in-chief after:
•    analyzing the evidence provided;
•    consulting with the editorial board;
•    receiving explanations from the authors (if possible).
If the violation is confirmed, the editorial board approves an official decision to retract the article.
4. Publication of a retraction notice
In the event of a retraction, a corresponding notice is published, which:
•    must be freely accessible;
•    contains the title of the article, the names of the authors, the publication details, and the reasons for the retraction;
•    clearly marked “Retracted” in all electronic and bibliographic records;
•    linked to the original article via DOI.
The original article is not deleted but marked as retracted to maintain scientific transparency.
5. Indexing and informing databases
The journal informs all databases in which the publication is indexed (Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, etc.) about the retraction of the article and submits an official notification in accordance with indexing standards.
6. Voluntary retraction by authors
Authors may independently request retraction if they discover a significant error or ethical violation after publication. In this case, the editorial board publishes a notice indicating the initiator of the retraction.
7. Correction instead of retraction
If the shortcomings of the article do not affect the overall reliability of the scientific results, the editorial board may apply a correction (corrigendum) or explanation (expression of concern) instead of retraction.
8. Principles of transparency
The retraction procedure is not intended to punish authors, but to:
•    preserve the quality of scientific knowledge;
•    prevent readers from being misled;
•    maintain trust in the journal and the scientific community.
The journal guarantees transparency at all stages of the process and strict adherence to ethical standards.