Publication Ethics

The publication of the collection of scientific articles "Actual Problems of Improving the Current Legislation of Ukraine" is carried out on the basis of adherence to the principles of integrity, transparency, and high ethical standards at all stages of the editorial and publishing process.

General Ethical Obligations and Conflict of Interest

Editors, authors, and reviewers are obliged to disclose any circumstances that may affect their objectivity - intellectual, financial, personal, political, or religious interests that constitute a conflict of interest. The prevention of unlawful publications is the shared responsibility of every participant in the publishing process - the author, the editor, the reviewer, the publisher, and the institution.

A conflict of interest is understood by the collection as any financial, professional, institutional, or personal relationship that may influence the objectivity of the peer review, the editorial decision, or the content of the publication, or create the appearance of such influence. The transparent identification and resolution of such situations is a necessary condition for the integrity of the publishing process.

The duty to declare a conflict of interest applies to all participants in the editorial process. Authors are required to disclose any financial and non-financial relationships that may affect the perception of the research findings. Reviewers are required to declare any potential interest that would make their impartial evaluation of the manuscript impossible. Editors, in turn, must disclose a conflict of interest when handling manuscripts authored by representatives of their own institution, colleagues, or subordinates.

Where a potential conflict of interest is identified, the editorial board applies a clear procedure for its resolution. The relevant editor or reviewer is recused from working with the manuscript, an independent handling editor is appointed in their place, and independent reviewers are engaged for the peer review. All circumstances giving rise to the recusal decision, as well as the decisions themselves, are duly documented and retained in the editorial file.

Submissions by Editors and Members of the Editorial Board

Particular attention is paid to manuscripts submitted by the Editor-in-Chief, editors, or members of the editorial board, since it is precisely in such cases that the risk of a conflict of interest is highest. Such manuscripts are handled exclusively by an independent handling editor and undergo the standard double-blind peer review procedure on a general basis. The author of such a manuscript takes no part in editorial decisions concerning their own work at any stage. Each such case is accompanied by a public declaration of the measures taken to manage the conflict of interest.

The editorial board guarantees that the systematic publication of materials by members of the editorial board is not permitted without strict compliance with the established procedures.

Ethical Obligations of the Editorial Board

The editorial board bears full responsibility for the scientific publication and for the quality of the materials published on its pages. All articles received by the editorial office undergo careful selection and peer review; the editorial board reserves the right to reject a manuscript that does not meet the requirements of the publication, or to return it to the author for revision, in which case the author is obliged to take into account the comments of the reviewers and the editorial board. If a manuscript does not correspond to the scope and subject matter of the collection, it may be rejected without peer review.

In its work, the editorial board is guided by the principles of impartiality and equal treatment of all authors. Each manuscript is evaluated solely on the basis of its scholarly merits, regardless of the racial, religious, or national affiliation of the author, their status, or place of work. The editorial board takes fair and well-grounded decisions, ensuring the integrity of the peer review process at all its stages.

The collection categorically rejects any forms of research misconduct - falsification of results, plagiarism, simultaneous submission of the same work to several publications, reuse of the content of an article in different publications, as well as attempts to mislead the scholarly community as to the actual contribution of the author. Where a violation of the rights of third parties or of generally accepted norms of research ethics is identified, the editorial board has the right to retract an article even after its publication, notifying the author and the institution where the research was carried out.

Confidentiality is an essential component of the editorial work. The editor and the members of the editorial board do not disclose information regarding the content of manuscripts under review to anyone other than persons directly involved in their professional evaluation. Only after a positive decision by the editor is the article published in the collection and posted on the relevant electronic resources. In accordance with international copyright standards, the materials of the website, the electronic version of the collection, or individual projects may not be reproduced in whole or in part in any form without the prior written consent of the editorial board; when published materials are used in the context of other documents, a reference to the original source is mandatory.

Ethical Obligations of Authors

The principal duty of an author is to provide an accurate and objective account of the research conducted, as well as to present its significance clearly and unambiguously. Authors bear full responsibility for the content of their articles and for the very fact of their publication, and must therefore approach the preparation of the manuscript with all due diligence.

Particular attention is paid to the proper use of the scholarly literature. The author is obliged to cite those publications that have had a defining influence on the substance of the work, as well as those that will help the reader to become acquainted with earlier studies important for understanding the present research. Where principally important materials not obtained by the author themselves are used in the work, the sources of such materials must be duly acknowledged. All references to literary sources are formatted in accordance with the State Standard of Ukraine DSTU 8302:2015.

Plagiarism and the submission for publication of a previously published article are inadmissible. Should such facts be revealed, full responsibility rests with the authors of the submitted materials.

Authors must pay particular attention to issues of co-authorship. Only those persons who have made a significant scholarly contribution to the work and share responsibility for the results obtained are to be included in the list of co-authors. The author submitting the manuscript for publication is responsible for the correctness of the list of co-authors and for ensuring that all authors have consented to the publication of the article in the collection.

Authors are also obliged to inform the editor of any potential conflict of interest that could influence the publication of the results presented in the manuscript. Where the requirements of the editorial board are not complied with, the editorial board has the right to refuse to publish an article.

Ethical Obligations of Reviewers

Peer review is one of the key stages of the publishing process, on which the quality of the published materials largely depends. Every researcher to whom the editorial board addresses a request to review a manuscript is obliged to perform this work conscientiously, since participation in the peer review process is a professional duty of the scholarly community.

All articles submitted for publication must be reviewed by the author's research supervisor, by the scientific institution in which the work was carried out, and by the appointed reviewers. The editorial board reserves the right to engage an additional independent reviewer in order to ensure the objectivity of the evaluation. All members of the editorial board also act as reviewers.

The reviewer is obliged to provide an objective and well-grounded assessment of the quality of the manuscript and to determine whether it meets the high scholarly and linguistic standards of the publication, while respecting the intellectual independence of the authors. All conclusions must be set out convincingly and with proper reasoning. If the reviewer identifies a substantial similarity between the submitted manuscript and another published article or manuscript, they are obliged to bring this to the attention of the editor.

A manuscript submitted for review is a confidential document. The reviewer has no right to use or disclose any unpublished information contained in the manuscript without the consent of the author or authors. Equally important is the observance of deadlines: feedback on the manuscript must be provided in a timely manner, since delays at this stage affect the entire publishing process.

Ethical Requirements for Research Involving Humans, Animals, and the Use of Biomaterials and Personal Data

Certain submissions may contain an empirical component - sociological surveys, interviews with participants in legal relations, the analysis of materials from judicial practice or law-enforcement activity, studies of the behaviour of offenders or victims, as well as works at the intersection of law with criminology, legal psychology, forensic medicine, environmental law, and medical law. In such cases, increased requirements are placed on authors with respect to compliance with the ethical standards of conducting research.

The collection adheres to the requirements of the current legislation of Ukraine and to international ethical standards for scientific research that involve the participation of humans, the use of personal or confidential data, biological materials, or research involving animals. Where the research, the results of which are submitted for publication, falls within the scope of the legislation of Ukraine on bioethics, the protection of personal data, or other regulatory acts, the authors are obliged to provide confirmation of having obtained the relevant opinion or approval from an authorised body - in particular, a committee on ethics (bioethics) or another competent body of the institution in which the research was carried out.

Particular requirements are established for research involving humans. Authors must ensure compliance with the principles of voluntary informed consent of participants, confidentiality, anonymity, and the prevention of any harm to persons involved in the research. Where personal data are collected and processed - in particular, data obtained from materials of criminal, civil, or administrative proceedings, registers of convicted persons, or information concerning victims, witnesses, or participants in court proceedings - full compliance with the requirements of the legislation of Ukraine on the protection of personal data must be ensured. In publications containing information about specific cases, the identities of participants in legal relations are subject to appropriate anonymisation, unless otherwise expressly provided by law or evident from the public character of the court decision.

The editorial board reserves the right to require additional documents from authors confirming compliance with ethical norms and statutory requirements, and to refuse publication of materials in the event of their non-compliance with the said standards.

Authors may address questions concerning the obtaining of the relevant opinion to the Bioethics Committee of Vasyl Stefanyk Carpathian National University.