Peer Review Procedure and Responsibility of Peer Reviewers
- Scientific articles submitted to journals shall be peer reviewed by at least two anonymous peer reviewers selected by the Editorial Board from among experts in the field researched by the author. If conclusions of peer reviewers on suitability of an article for publication are opposite, the Editorial Board shall appoint a third peer reviewer and, having received his/her conclusions, shall decide on suitability of the article for publication.
- Peer reviewers shall be appointed in a confidential manner, i.e. peer reviewers shall not be provided with information about the identity of authors, and the authors – about the identity of peer reviewers.
- Peer reviewers shall notify the journal producer or the Editorial Board in advance of any potential conflict of interest they may have with respect to the articles offered to them for peer review, including financial circumstances or a personal attitude towards the material intended for publication.
- Peer reviewers shall draw the Editorial Board’s attention to works of a similar nature that have already been published if they are not cited in the article they are peer reviewing.
- Peer reviewers shall ensure the confidentiality of the articles they peer review. They are prohibited to publicly discuss, distribute the articles they are peer reviewing.
Responsibility of Editors and Producers
- The final decision on publication or rejection of a submitted article shall be made by the Editor or the Editorial Board. Its decision on rejection of an article may be appealed by the author to the LIH Academic Ethics Commission (if ethical violations related to the decision-making are suspected).
- The Editorial Board / Producer shall have the duty to ascertain potential conflicts of interest related to the articles submitted for publication, as may exist between the author and peer reviewers of the submitted article (including positive or negative information about the authors or relations with them or institutions represented by them, as well as funding issues), and ensure that they do not affect acceptance or rejection of the publication.
- The Editorial Board shall ensure a proper level and procedure of peer review, and shall make objective decisions without taking account of prejudices and knowledge which peer reviewers might have about the author, including the author’s gender, sexual orientation, religion, political beliefs, or ethnic/geographical origin.
- Acceptance of an article for publication shall imply the highest confidence and trust in its value.
- If erroneous information was presented in an article due to the fault of the Editor, the Editorial Board or a publishing house, the Editorial Board shall ensure that a corrigendum and/or an apology is published.