The policies relating to ethics of publication applied by Problemy Prawa Prywatnego Międzynarodowego

The principles of publication ethics applied by the editors of the Journal are based on the best practice recommendations developed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) - see COPE Core Practices and their detailed elaboration available on the COPE website. In addition, the editors draw on the best practice diagrams developed by COPE.

The Editorial Board of Problemy Prawa Prywantego Midzynarodowego employs the following principles relating to academic and publishing ethics:

Academic integrity and impartiality

Both the editors of Problemy Prawa Prywantego Midzynarodowego and the reviewers base their work on the principles of objectivity, impartiality and academic integrity. The Editorial Board strives to ensure that the studies published in the Journal meet the highest academic standards and are of significant importance to the development in the field of private international law. The decision to accept a paper for publication rests with the Editorial Board and depends on the academic quality of the paper, its significance for science and legal practice, as well as the originality of the paper and its relevance to the issues covered in the Journal.

All authors are expected to observe the principles of objectivity, impartiality and academic integrity.

Academic integrity – sources relied upon

Academic integrity and honesty require that the scholarly papers are based on authentic, conscientiously processed and faithfully reported data obtained in the course of scientific research. Fabrication, falsification and manipulation of information constitute gross violations of academic integrity. In case of suspicion that an author has engaged in such malpractice, the editors shall take steps in accordance with the procedure set out in the COPE diagrams.

Scientific integrity also requires that all borrowings and references cite the relevant source exhaustively and adequately. Works that do not respect the above rules constitute an infringement of the copyright of the respective authors (see below on the originality of papers).

At the editorial office's request, authors should provide sources of data and give full explanations concerning the research methods used that gave rise to the paper submitted for publication. In case of detection of mistakes in the already accepted for publication paper, or in the data relied on in the paper, the authors are obliged to provide retractions or corrections of the relevant mistakes. If errors are detected in a paper already published, the editors make it possible for the authors to publish a correction or clarification in the next volume of the Journal.

Non-discrimination

Materials submitted for publication in Problemy Prawa Prywatnego Midzynarodowego are evaluated on the basis of their academic quality, importance to the discipline and practice, as well as relevance to the themes covered by the Journal. They are valued irrespective of the author's origin, national or ethnicity, political views, gender, race, religion or sexual orientation.

Confidentiality

The editors of Problemy Prawa Prywantego Midzynarodowego and Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego shall protect data, documents and information obtained at every stage of the publishing process, which - due to their nature - should remain confidential (e.g. reviews, correspondence between the editors and authors). Reviewers and authors are also obliged to maintain confidentiality in this respect.

The editors shall disclose to the public information necessary for the proper publication of the papers, as well as their indexing by scientific internet search engines, which is customarily published or made available by authors and increases the recognizability and citation of papers published in the Journal.

The originality of papers

Problemy Prawa Prywatnego Międzynarodowego accepts for publication original, previously unpublished academic papers. Authors submit appropriate statements in this respect. In exceptional cases justified by the significance of the results of the research, their social importance, or the nature of the subject, it is possible - with the consent of the copyright owner - to publish a study, which has already been published elsewhere, either in full or in part.

Anti-plagiarism policy

When the author of a paper submitted for publication in in the Journal makes use of the work of third parties - in the form of borrowings, citations, and cross-references – he or she is obliged to cite their source in a comprehensive and adequate manner. This implies an obligation to correctly cite all sources relied upon by the author in preparing the paper. In the case of verbatim citation of parts of other persons' works (sentences, paragraphs), the relevant part should be placed in inverted commas and provided with an appropriate citation. Works that do not respect the above rules constitute an infringement of the copyright of the relevant authors (plagiarism) and are the most blatant type of violation of the principles of academic integrity (see the “originality of papers”). In the event of suspicion that an author has engaged in such misconduct, the editors will take steps in accordance with the procedure set out in the COPE diagrams. Any cases identified by the editors will be brought to light, including notification of the relevant authorities (authors' employing institutions, academic associations, associations of scientific editors, etc.), as well as law enforcement agencies.

The editors use anti-plagiarism software to verify the originality of the submitted work and the extent of any borrowings from third-party publications. The originality of papers is also monitored by reviewers.

Anti-duplication policy

A manifestation of academic dishonesty are cases of submitting for publication works that duplicate previous publications, i.e. containing a substantial repetition of research results, analysis, text, and theses already formulated in earlier publications by the same author (self-plagiarism).

In the event of suspicion that an author has engaged in such malpractice, the editors will take steps in accordance with the procedure set out in the COPE diagrams. Any cases identified by the editors will be disclosed, including notification of the relevant bodies (institutions employing the authors, scientific societies, associations of scientific editors, etc.).

The editors of the Journal use anti-plagiarism software in order to determine the originality of papers in terms of compliance with the prohibition on self-plagiarism. The originality of papers is also monitored by reviewers.

Ghost authorship, guest-writing, and gift authorship

Authorship and co-authorship of a paper submitted for publication in Problemy Prawa Prywatnego Międzynarodowego should be restricted to persons who have significantly contributed to its creation. The Journal does not publish texts whose real author/co-author is someone other than the person indicated as its author/co-author, i.e. texts prepared under the so-called ghost authorship (someone has made a significant contribution to the publication without disclosing his or her participation as one of the authors or without mentioning his or her role in the acknowledgements included in the publication). Moreover, the Editorial Board does not accept for publication papers in which the contribution of the person indicated as author or co-author is negligible or did not take place at all (guest authorship – guest-writing and courtesy authorship - gift authorship).

The above practices constitute manifestation of academic dishonesty. In the event of suspicion that the author/authors has engaged in such misconduct, the editors of the Journal take steps in accordance with the procedure specified in the COPE diagrams. Any cases identified by the editors will be brought to light, including notification of the appropriate authorities (authors' employing institutions, academic associations, or associations of academic editors, etc.).

Authors of publications who have used a contribution, participation or assistance of other persons in the preparation of the paper are required to provide the editors with information in this respect, i.e. to indicate these persons, their affiliation, and a role in the creation of the manuscript (e.g. information on who authored the concept, assumptions, methods, substantive comments, translations of certain passages, literature studies or case law used in the preparation of the publication).

Conflicts of interest avoidance

A scientific study or research is reliable and credible only if it is based on impartially and objectively applied methods of research. An academic publication is only reliable and credible if it faithfully and adequately presents the results of the performed research.

Given that the sources of funding may sometimes cast doubt on the credibility and reliability of the research, they must be disclosed. Authors are required to indicate the sources of funding of the research that resulted in a paper submitted for publication in the Journal (from public or private funds, e.g. government funds, grants from academic and research institutions, associations or commercial entities). Authors should also disclose any other circumstances concerning them (e.g. involvement in specific disputes and other matters, the legislative process, political or social activities) if these circumstances could be construed by a reasonable third person as raising justifiable doubts as to the author's impartiality or independence in formulating or interpreting the results of the research, or as having a potentially significant impact on the author's views expressed in a paper submitted for publication.

The conflict of interest is considered to exist if a paper submitted for publication, constitutes a work which is predominantly or substantially based on a study made previously on a commercial basis (legal opinion, pleading, etc.) or serves other (non-scientific) purposes in the area of social and public life (study for public authorities, judgment, etc.). The author's previous activities in these areas may inspire scientific research and the study submitted for publication, but cannot be presented as the result of academic research per se. A paper that is predominantly a previously prepared study, which serves purposes other than legal science (e.g. an opinion on foreign law prepared for a court), may be published only after this circumstance is disclosed (such publication does not constitute an academic article, but may appear in the "Materials" section).

There is also a conflict of interests in the case where the author of a study, commenting on disputes settled by judicial or other bodies, as well as other cases that came to an end, advised one of the parties to the dispute (e.g. was its legal representative). Such work may be published, but the fact of the advice should be disclosed.

Another case of conflict of interest is submitting for publication a study, where a real - but undisclosed – purpose of the author interested in the outcome of dispute, is to influence the ongoing decision-making process of a judicial body or another authority, under the guise of academic quality of the author's published theses. A particularly blatant case of this kind is an attempt to influence the decision of an authority (e.g. court), where the author has an economic interest in an outcome of the given dispute. This type of work will not be published.

The above does not limit the possibility of submitting for publication papers that aim to influence the development of legal practice or jurisprudence in a particular direction, to criticize or evaluate the case law (particular judgments or a jurisprudence lines), the legislation, or acts of other public authorities, or to evaluate market or business practices.

Reviewers shall inform the Editorial Board of any cases of conflict of interest, which they identify.

The journal Problemy Prawa Prywatnego Międzynarodowego also publishes papers submitted by authors affiliated with the University of Silesia in Katowice (i.e. the institution affiliating the journal) or directly connected with Problemy Prawa Prywatnego Międzynarodowego (the editors of the Journal, or members of the Advisory Board), but not more than 50% of the content of a given volume. All texts submitted by these persons are subject to two reviews by anonymous reviewers from outside the affiliating institution of the author (in the double-blind review system).

Retraction of the already published study

In case of manifest violations of the publishing ethics employed by the Journal (as set out above) are detected, the editors may decide to retract an already published paper. The paper will then be removed from the Journal’s webpage at the OJS, and if the print copies of a given volume were made - the explanation and/or apologies will be published in the upcoming volume of the Journal. The manifest violations of the publishing ethics occur in particular in cases of plagiarism, unjustified and undisclosed duplications, as well as in instances of significant breaches of principles relating to conflicts of interests avoidance and to ghost authorship, guest-writing, or gift authorship. Before a decision as to retraction is made, the authors are requested to provide a comment and/or defense.

Avoidance of the conflicts of interests concerning reviewers

Reviewers provide a fair and impartial assessment of papers submitted for publication. A conflict of interest is deemed to be a personal or professional relationship between a reviewer and an author (co-author). In the area of personal relations, a reviewer and an author must not be related by blood, marriage, affinity or other close personal ties (e.g. cohabitation). Moreover, the reviewer and the author must not be in a relationship of professional subordination, nor must they have had a close academic or professional relationship over the last three years.

Moreover, a conflict of interest occurs if a reviewer has an interest in the publication or non-publication of a study for specific reasons on his/her side. For example, a conflict arises if a study presents a position on an interpretation of law that differs from a position that is beneficial or adverse to the reviewer for non-scientific reasons (e.g. due to the reviewer's involvement in litigation, e.g. as an attorney, in which an interpretative decision is to be made). In such cases, the reviewer should not undertake to prepare the review.

The burden of preventing conflicts of interest concerning reviewers rests with the editors of the Journal, but the reviewers shall inform the editors of any potential conflicts of interest they perceive despite the double-blind review rule.