The relationship between the publisher, authors, members of the editorial board and reviewers is based on the principles of academic integrity, objectivity in reviewing and the priority of scientific quality. The Editorial Board is guided by the principles of the Code of Conduct and Best Practices for Journal Editors developed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

The implementation of publishing ethics by a publishing house includes the following aspects:

- compliance with the requirements of copyright and related rights legislation;

- control over the correct references to information sources when using ideas, developments, statements and information of other authors;

- control over the use of artificial intelligence exclusively in the manner permitted by applicable law;

- providing reliable information on the methodology and results of research, as well as on the sources of data used;

- objective assessment of the scientific results of the research;

- the authors of publications are responsible for the accuracy of the publication's content (facts, quotations, names and other data).

If violations of academic integrity are detected in the submitted manuscripts, they are not considered further, and the authors are informed about this. Authors should also report possible conflicts of interest that may affect the evaluation of research results, their interpretation and review.

Editorial responsibilities:

- applying all possible measures to ensure compliance with ethical standards in scientific publications;

- making decisions on the publication of articles based on their value, originality, interest for readers and relevance to the subject matter of the publication, regardless of the personal characteristics of the authors;

- preventing possible conflicts of interest that may affect the judgements and conclusions of reviewers;

- ensuring the independence and confidentiality of reviewers in the process of reviewing submitted materials;

- prompt response to claims regarding published materials and application of all necessary measures to restore infringed copyrights.

Information about possible conflicts of interest is not disclosed or published without prior permission from the authors and the editor-in-chief.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY

A conflict of interest is defined as anything that interferes or may interfere with the full, proper and objective review and decision-making process for publishing research articles or other materials.

A conflict of interest is deemed to exist if the persons involved in the editorial process are in a relationship with each other, personal or otherwise, that could potentially compromise their objectivity or influence the resolution of issues related to the publication.

When submitting an article, the author must disclose all possible conflicts of interest with the journal editors. After the manuscripts are assigned for review, reviewers are asked to inform the editor of any conflicts that may arise.

Any statements of conflicts of interest made by authors, reviewers or editors are reviewed by the responsible editor and/or the editor-in-chief. In the case of substantiated statements of a conflict of interest with the editor-in-chief, such statements are reviewed with the participation of two editorial board members.

COMPLAINTS AND APPEALS

The editorial board follows the relevant COPE rules when reviewing complaints and appeals.

AUTHORSHIP AND CO-AUTHORSHIP

The journal's authorship policy complies with the rules and recommendations of COPE, Elsevier and EASE.

All persons mentioned in the original article as authors are expected to have significantly contributed to the research.

All persons listed as authors must meet the criteria for authorship (ISMJE 2022); in particular, they must:

• make a significant contribution to the research concept and methodology, data collection, analysis and interpretation;
• participate in writing or revising the article in terms of its intellectual content;
• be responsible for all aspects of the work related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the article;
• approve the final version of the article.

The editorial board does not limit the number of authors of a particular publication; it is the responsibility of the co-authors, who should be guided by the requirements for determining authorship and co-authorship set out in this part.

It is not allowed to change the authors of an article at the stage of its consideration by the editorial board. In the event of a dispute between the authors regarding their contribution after the article is submitted to the editorial board, the editorial board suspends work on the article until the authors notify the editorial board of the final resolution of all problems.

The order of authors' placement in the publication should be based on a joint decision of the co-authors by the significance of each author's contribution.

Individuals who participate in the research but do not meet the journal's criteria for authorship should be listed as "Participants" or "Consultants". For example, people who helped in the research by giving advice, providing research space, supporting financially, etc.