Ethics and Malpractice Policy

Ethics and Malpractice Policy

“Zbornik radova Pravnog fakulteta u Tuzli“ („Proceedings of the Faculty of Law in Tuzla”) believes that the editorial board, reviewers, authors and journal users have high ethical standards and will exhibit ethical behaviour at all times.

Obligations of the authors

Authors should ensure that their articles are original works. All material used from other sources/ authors should be referenced in the article adequately.

Authors are required to correctly cite sources that have substantially influenced the content of the research and manuscript. Authors should not cite archival and other sources they did not really use, nor cite publications that they did not really read. Information obtained in private conversation or in correspondence with third parties should not be used without the express written permission of the source.

Authors are required to cite only those persons who have significantly contributed to the content of the manuscript, ie they are obliged to list all persons who have significantly contributed to the content of the manuscript as authors. If other non-authors were involved in important aspects of the research project and the preparation of the manuscript, their contribution should be mentioned in a note or thank you note.

Plagiarizing, or taking on, someone else’s ideas, words, or other forms of creative expression and presenting them as one’s own is a gross violation of scientific and publishing ethics. Plagiarism may include copyright infringement, which is punishable by law.

Articles that are being reviewed or have been accepted or published in other journals cannot be submitted to Zbornik radova Pravnog fakulteta u Tuzli. Exceptionally, by the decision of the editorial board of the journal, already published scientific papers or translations of published scientific papers may be accepted for publication, with the obligation to state the name of the journal in which they were previously published and the editorial board's consent.

Obligations of the reviewers

Zbornik radova Pravnog fakulteta u Tuzli follows a blind peer review process. Reviewers are obliged to provide the editor with an expert evaluation of the scientific value of the manuscript in a professional, objective, argumentative, precise, impartial manner and as soon as possible. The review must be objective. Personal criticism is unacceptable. Reviewers must express their views clearly and reasonably.

All review comments should be generic, with no reference whatsoever to the reviewer or the author and his/her affiliations.

Manuscripts sent to the reviewer are considered confidential documents. Reviewers may not use unpublished material from submitted manuscripts for their research without the express written permission of the author, and the information and ideas presented in the submitted manuscripts must be kept confidential and must not be used for personal gain.

The reviewer must not be in conflict of interest with the authors or the financier of the research. If there is a conflict of interest, the reviewer is obliged to notify the editor.

A reviewer who has reasonable doubt or knowledge of a breach of ethical standards by the author is obliged to notify the editor.

Obligations of the editorial board

The editorial board is responsible to maintain confidentiality of the authors during the submission and review process; and to ensure a fair, professional and impartial review. The editorial board is also responsible for using fair practices in rejecting and choosing articles for publication.