Complaints and Appeals Policy

Complaints
Authors, reviewers, readers, editors, or institutions may submit a complaint regarding editorial processes, publication ethics, conflicts of interest, errors, delays, accessibility, or journal conduct. Complaints should be sent to [complaints email] together with the manuscript ID, article title, supporting evidence, and requested action where applicable.
Appeals
Authors may appeal a rejection decision if they believe a factual error, conflict of interest, procedural concern, or misunderstanding materially affected the editorial decision. Appeals must provide a clear, evidence-based explanation and should not simply repeat the original submission arguments.
Process
  1. Acknowledge receipt within [number] working days.
  2. Assign the complaint or appeal to an editor or publisher representative without direct conflict of interest.
  3. Review the editorial records, peer review comments, decision letters, and submitted evidence.
  4. Seek additional expert, legal, or ethics advice when necessary.
  5. Provide a written outcome with a clear explanation of the decision.
Limits
The journal will not consider abusive, repetitive, anonymous, or unsupported complaints unless they raise credible ethical, legal, or safety concerns. Editorial disagreement alone does not constitute misconduct.
Sources Reviewed for Policy Alignment
  • COPE, DOAJ, OASPA, WAME. Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing, Version 4.
    https://publicationethics.org/guidance/guideline/principles-transparency-and-best-practice-scholarly-publishing
  • COPE. Core Practices and Publication Ethics Guidance.
    https://publicationethics.org/core-practices
  • COPE. Authorship and AI Tools Position Statement.
    https://publicationethics.org/guidance/cope-position/authorship-and-ai-tools
  • COPE. Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers.
    https://publicationethics.org/guidance/guideline/ethical-guidelines-peer-reviewers
  • ICMJE. Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals.
    https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/
  • EQUATOR Network. Reporting Guidelines for Health Research.
    https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/
  • Creative Commons. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
    https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
  • Crossref. Content Registration and DOI Metadata.
    https://www.crossref.org/services/content-registration/