Code of Ethics

367a7d49fdec6c850018934a1369ea7bec76e740

ISSN: 2975-0911

CODE OF ETHICS

The Journal's Code of Ethics complies with the current guidelines adopted by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

1) REVIEW PROCEDURES AND DECISION TO PUBLISH

In order to ensure that the published papers are of a high scientific quality, while complying with the principles of integrity of scientific research, the Journal adopts a double-blind peer review model for papers proposed for publication.

Each paper sent to the Journal is reviewed by two examiners selected from a regularly updated list of full professors, associate Professors, and researchers in legal matters. The Management Board assigns referees in consultation with the Editor in Chief, considering each referee’s area of expertise and ensuring that there are no conflicts of interest with the Author.

The Editorial Board sends the anonymous manuscript to the referees, along with an evaluation form.

Following the review, the Editorial Board notifies the anonymous feedback to the Author electronically. If both referees recommend publication without changes, the manuscript proceeds to publication. If even one referee requests changes, the comments are forwarded to the Author (in anonymous form). Should the Author agree to the revisions, he/she submits the revised paper to the Editorial Board, which may either send it back to the referee or proceed directly to publication, depending on the guidance of the Management Board. If the final review is positive, the manuscript is published; otherwise, the Management Board decides whether to reject the manuscript or initiate another round of revisions.

In cases where the referees disagree, the Management Board takes responsibility for the decision, seeking advice from a member of the Scientific Committee with expertise in the relevant field.

If both referees reject the submission, the manuscript is rejected unless the Editor in Chief authorizes its publication, deeming it to meet the Journal’s scientific standards.

The Scientific Commitee, the Managing Director and Management Board may waive the peer review model for papers from distinguished authors or for other types of submissions that advance scientific inquiry or the critical discussion of topics of relevance to the Journal. In such cases, the body of the journal that made the proposal assumes direct responsibility for publication, providing a rationale. This process and the underlying rationale are noted within the published contribution.

The Journal's governing bodies must not disclose any information about the manuscripts received to anyone other than the authors, referees, and potential referees. Unpublished material contained in the submitted manuscripts cannot be used by members of the Journal's governing bodies for their own research without the author's consent.

All members of the Journal's governing bodies are also bound by the current legal provisions concerning defamation, copyright infringement, and plagiarism.

If the Management Board identifies or receives reports of errors, inaccuracies, conflicts of interest, or plagiarism in a published article, they must promptly inform the Author, Publisher, and Editor in Chief. Additionally, the Board may retract the article and issue a formal retraction.

2) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

A conflict of interest arises when conditions exist that may affect the impartiality and autonomy of individuals involved in various capacities in the Journal's decision-making processes, particularly during the evaluation and publication of submitted manuscripts.

Before publication, all authors and referees - along with any members of the Journal's governing bodies who may be involved -must declare any potential conflicts of interest that might compromise the integrity of their contributions or evaluations.

When a conflict of interest is identified, the Management Board and the Editor in Chief take appropriate measures, which may include retracting the article, appointing new referees, or implementing other actions to ensure the integrity and objectivity of the publishing process.

Furthermore, after publication, continuous monitoring is in place to identify and address any conflicts of interest that may arise subsequently.

3) DUTIES OF REFEREES

A referee who does not feel sufficiently qualified to review a manuscript or believes they cannot complete the review within the specified timeframe must promptly inform the Editorial Board and withdraw from the review process.

The review must be conducted with objectivity and thorough analysis. Referees are encouraged to provide comments and suggestions—using the specific review form prepared by the Editorial Board—that help authors improve the quality of their research and contributions. Any judgment aimed at criticizing or personally offending an author is forbidden. Observations must be technically well-formulated and should not take the form of ideological criticisms or contain personal scientific or cultural assumptions. Referees must express their opinions clearly, and whenever possible, comments on the review form should be accompanied by corresponding quotations. Furthermore, each referee is asked to indicate bibliographic references for essential works that the author has overlooked in the article. Referees must also report any similarities or overlaps between the submitted text and other works known to them.

Any information obtained during the peer review process must be considered privileged and confidential. Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. Referees commit not to use the contents, data, and information in any contribution submitted for review for personal purposes. Referees must refrain from evaluating manuscripts in cases where a conflict of interest exists.

4) DUTIES OF AUTHORS

The Author guarantees, through a specific statement made at the time of manuscript submission to the Journal, that the work submitted for evaluation adheres to the principles of research integrity, is original, scientifically sound, and has not been simultaneously submitted to other journals or magazines, unless explicitly agreed upon by the Editorial Board. If the article is subsequently published in other journals or volumes, the Editorial Board must be informed.

Authors are required to quote the texts and sources that influenced their proposed work according to the specified publishing guidelines, ensuring that the work and/or words of other Authors are adequately paraphrased or directly quoted, with proper acknowledgment of sources.

Manuscripts must contain sufficient details and references to allow others to reproduce the research conducted. Fraudulent or wilfully inaccurate statements represent unethical behaviour and are unacceptable.

Proposed manuscripts must not have been published as copyrighted material in other journals. The literary authorship of the manuscript is recognized for those who made significant contributions to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the study. All significant contributors must be listed as co-authors, and the contribution of each Author must be clearly indicated.

Authors must disclose in the manuscript any type of conflict of interest that might affect the results or interpretation of the manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project must be disclosed.

If an Author identifies significant errors or inaccuracies in a published manuscript, they have a duty to promptly report this to the Editorial Board, which will inform the Editorial Board. In such circumstances, the Author must cooperate with the relevant Journal bodies to retract or correct the manuscript.

5) DEFINITION OF POLICIES FOR SUPERVISION OF THE ETHICAL ASPECTS OF RESEARCH PRACTICES

Contributions are evaluated based on their scientific content, without regard to the race, sex, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, scientific, academic, or political orientation of the authors.

All bodies of the Journal commit to monitoring compliance with the ethical principles of research integrity and ensuring the ethical aspects of research practices.

6) DEFINITION AND MANAGEMENT OF PRACTICES CONTRARY TO SCIENTIFIC INTEGRITY

The Journal is committed to maintaining high standards of scientific integrity and cooperating with the academic community to ensure the quality and reliability of published research.

According to the 2023 European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity (developed by All European Academies - ALLEA), practices contrary to scientific integrity include plagiarism and data falsification (i.e., reproducing previously published works without quotation marks and/or source acknowledgment). These represent serious violations of the fundamental ethical principles of research and are considered violations of the Journal’s Ethical Code.

Anyone who observes improper conduct in the research activities of a member of the Journal's bodies, an Author, or a Referee must report the circumstances, accompanied by appropriate evidence, to the Management Board via electronic communication to the specified email address. In cases of reported behaviors contrary to scientific integrity, the Journal follows these procedures:

If the reported individual is a member of the Management Board, they will be called to discuss the matter before the Editor in Chief and provide clarification regarding their conduct.

If the reported individual is a member of the Scientific Committee, they will be called to discuss the matter before the Management Board and the Editor in Chief and provide clarification regarding their conduct.

If the reported individual is an Author, they will be called to discuss the matter before the Management Board and the Editor in Chief and provide clarification regarding their conduct.

If the reported individual is a Referee, they will be called to discuss the matter before the Editorial Board and the Managing Editor and provide clarification regarding their conduct.

If the chares of conduct contrary to scientific integrity are found to be substantiated, the involved bodies may take appropriate actions, such as retracting the incriminated article, rejecting future contributions from the author(s) concerned, and reporting such conduct to their respective institutions for possible disciplinary actions.

7) USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE OR LARGE LANGUAGE MODELS

Authors who use artificial intelligence tools when writing a manuscript, producing images or graphical elements of the article, or in data collection and analysis must indicate in a specific section of the contribution the type of tool, the manner of use, and the contribution received in the creation of the manuscript. Authors bear full responsibility for the content of their publications, including the sections produced with the assistance of AI tools.

8) PUBLISHING POLICIES AND CONTENT ACCESSIBILITY; POLICIES ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY; POLICIES REGARDING CONSENT ACQUISITION AND RELEASES IN COMPLIANCE WITH PRIVACY RIGHTS; PROMOTION OF FOLLOW-UP DEBATE

All contributions to the Journal are published in compliance with current copyright laws (Law 633/1941 and subsequent amendments).

The Journal's bodies do not charge any processing and publication costs to Authors.

To ensure consultation and sharing of works within the scientific community and civil society, the Journal adheres to the principles of Open Access (OA), monitoring compliance with the Berlin Declaration and the Messina Declaration.

The Journal’s bodies ensure free and open access to articles for all users and the use of Creative Commons licenses.

Translations of articles already published in other languages may be published with the prior consent of the journals where they originally appeared.

Once published, Authors remain free to publish the article in PDF format on institutional archives and websites (e.g., IRIS), private sites, blogs, servers, social networks, and newsletters. In such cases, the article must retain its original graphical structure and formatting, and the Author must indicate the Journal's details.

The Journal's bodies comply with the current regulations regarding the protection of privacy and personal data. The data obtained by members of the Journal's bodies are processed in accordance with the applicable law (EU Regulation 2016/679 - General Data Protection Regulation - GDPR as subsequently amended and supplemented) and solely for purposes related to the management of the Journal.

Under EU Regulation 2016/679, consent to data processing is collected when submitting the paper, through a written statement. The persons concerned have the right to withdraw their consent at any time.
In relation to content involving images, interviews, or other sensitive data, authors are required to obtain the necessary release forms for the use and publication of such materials, and the Journal reserves the right to request documentation confirming that such consents have been obtained.

The Journal's bodies promote an open and transparent environment for academic debate following publication. To this end, the publication of response notes or letters to the Journal in response to published articles is permitted.

Before publication, these response notes are evaluated by the Editorial Board and the Director to ensure consistency and relevance to the ongoing discussion. Furthermore, the Journal's bodies adopt transparent procedures to allow for potential changes and corrections to already published articles. Authors must actively cooperate with the Journal to correct any errors identified or emerged after publication. Such corrections are notified to readers through the publication of correction notices or annotations in the issue following the one in which the article was originally published. If it becomes necessary to retract an article due to serious violations of scientific integrity or fundamental errors invalidating the presented results, the Editorial Board proceeds with the retraction transparently and promptly, providing a detailed explanation of the reasons for the retraction.

ISSN: 2975-0911