Corrections, Expressions of Concern and Retractions Policy

The Ukrainian Journal of Constitutional Law is committed to preserving the integrity, reliability and accuracy of the published scholarly record. This Policy establishes the procedures for corrections, Expressions of Concern and retractions of published materials.

The Policy applies primarily to published Research Articles and, where appropriate, to other published content when significant errors, academic misconduct or other circumstances require formal editorial action.

Contents:

1. General Principles

A published article forms part of the scholarly record. After publication, the Journal does not alter the published content without appropriately documenting the nature and basis of the change.

When a problem is identified, the Journal determines the most appropriate response according to the nature, scale and consequences of the problem for the reliability of the publication.

A retraction is not a punishment imposed on authors. Its primary purpose is to alert readers that a publication, or a substantial part of it, should no longer be relied upon and to maintain the integrity of the scholarly record.

2. Types of Post-Publication Action

Depending on the circumstances, the Journal may use one of the following principal forms of post-publication action:

2.1. Correction / Erratum / Corrigendum

A correction is appropriate when an error is identified in a published work but the principal results, argumentation and conclusions remain reliable.

Depending on the nature of the error, the following terms may be used:

  • Erratum – an error introduced during editorial or production processing;
  • Corrigendum – an error introduced by the author(s).

The general term Correction may be used where distinguishing between Erratum and Corrigendum is not necessary for understanding the nature of the correction.

2.2. Expression of Concern

An Expression of Concern may be published where there are well-founded concerns about the reliability, ethics or integrity of a publication, but the available information is not yet sufficient to make a final decision concerning correction or retraction.

An Expression of Concern may be appropriate, for example, where:

  • an investigation into possible misconduct is ongoing;
  • substantial evidence exists but does not yet permit a final conclusion;
  • additional information is required from the authors, their institution or another competent party;
  • the investigation is expected to take substantial time.

An Expression of Concern does not itself establish that misconduct has occurred and should not be regarded as a milder form of retraction.

2.3. Retraction

A retraction is appropriate where there are sufficient grounds to conclude that a published work, or a substantial part of it, is unreliable, invalid, unethical or otherwise should no longer be relied upon as part of the scholarly record without a clear warning to readers.

3. Grounds for Correction, Expression of Concern or Retraction

Grounds for post-publication action may include:

  • substantial factual, bibliographic, editorial or technical errors;
  • plagiarism or other improper use of third-party material without appropriate attribution;
  • duplicate or substantially redundant publication;
  • fabrication or falsification of data, sources, documents or findings;
  • use of materials or data without the necessary permission;
  • serious infringement of copyright, confidentiality or other third-party rights;
  • a major undisclosed conflict of interest that may have materially affected the results or their interpretation;
  • substantial methodological or other errors that make the conclusions unreliable;
  • publication based on a substantially compromised or manipulated peer review process;
  • other circumstances that mean that the publication can no longer be regarded as a reliable part of the scholarly record.

The existence of an error does not automatically require retraction. The Journal determines the appropriate response based on the nature and impact of the identified problem.

4. Who May Report a Problem

A possible error, research integrity concern or other problem in a published article may be reported by:

  • authors or co-authors;
  • reviewers;
  • other researchers and readers;
  • representatives of institutions;
  • other persons who have substantiated information concerning the publication.

Reports should be sent to the Journal’s official email address: editor@constjournal.com.

Where possible, a report should include:

  • the title of the article and its DOI;
  • a description of the concern;
  • links to relevant sources or documentary evidence;
  • contact details of the person making the report.

Anonymous reports may also be considered where they contain specific and verifiable information sufficient for an independent assessment.

5. Investigation and Decision-Making

  1. Registration of the report. The Journal records receipt of the report and conducts an initial assessment.

    2. “`

  2. Assessment of the information. Where necessary, the Journal examines the publication, relevant sources and evidence, requests additional materials, or seeks explanations from the author(s), an institution or another competent party.
  3. Opportunity to respond. Where the concern relates to possible misconduct by an author, the author should, where appropriate and practicable, be given an opportunity to provide an explanation and relevant evidence.
  4. Impartial consideration. An editor or editorial board member who has a conflict of interest in relation to the publication should not make the decision alone.
  5. Editorial decision. Following the assessment, the Journal may decide to issue a correction, publish an Expression of Concern, retract the publication, or take no further editorial action.

    6. “`

In complex or disputed cases, the Journal may seek an independent expert assessment or contact the relevant institution or another competent organisation. The Journal may take editorial action before an external investigation has been completed where the available evidence is already sufficient to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

The timeframe for consideration depends on the complexity of the case. Where the process is substantially delayed, the Journal will, where possible, inform the relevant parties of the status of the matter.

6. Corrections

Where an identified problem does not make the publication as a whole unreliable, the Journal may publish a separate correction notice.

A correction notice should:

  • clearly identify the article to which it relates;
  • describe the error and provide the corrected information;
  • link to the original article and its DOI;
  • be freely accessible;
  • where technically appropriate, have its own DOI and corresponding metadata.

Minor typographical or formatting corrections that do not affect the content, conclusions or identifying information of the publication may be made without a separate notice where the scholarly record is not materially changed.

7. Expression of Concern

Where serious and well-founded concerns exist but the outcome of the investigation cannot yet be determined, the Journal may publish an Expression of Concern.

An Expression of Concern should:

  • clearly identify the relevant article;
  • describe the nature of the concern or the reason for issuing the notice;
  • state that an investigation or assessment is ongoing where applicable;
  • be neutral, factual and freely accessible;
  • be linked to the original article.

After the matter has been resolved, the Expression of Concern may remain part of the scholarly record or may be supplemented or superseded by an appropriate correction, retraction or other editorial notice.

8. Retraction

A retraction may be issued where the Journal has sufficient grounds to conclude that the results or substantial conclusions of a publication are unreliable, or where other serious circumstances require an official warning that the publication should no longer be relied upon.

Retraction may be appropriate, among other circumstances, in cases of:

  • confirmed plagiarism;
  • fabrication or falsification;
  • serious duplicate publication;
  • serious copyright infringement or improper use of protected materials;
  • a major undisclosed conflict of interest that materially affects interpretation of the work;
  • unethical research;
  • a major error that makes the results or principal conclusions unreliable;
  • a substantially compromised peer review process.

A retraction notice should:

  • be clearly identified as a Retraction Notice;
  • identify the original article, its authors and DOI;
  • state the reason or reasons for retraction;
  • state who initiated or issued the retraction;
  • be freely accessible;
  • be neutral, factual and free from unsupported allegations;
  • be permanently linked to the original article.

9. Technical Handling and Preservation of the Scholarly Record

The original published article and its DOI are not deleted solely because the article has been retracted.

Instead of deleting or silently replacing the original publication, the Journal publishes a separate retraction notice and ensures that readers are clearly informed of the status of the publication.

When a publication is retracted, the Journal will:

  • retain the original publication in the archive;
  • display a prominent retraction notice on the article landing page;
  • link the retraction notice to the original article;
  • update relevant DOI metadata and the publication status, as supported by Crossref and the Journal’s technical infrastructure;
  • where appropriate, use the status RETRACTED and the relevant update type in the metadata.

For editorially significant corrections or retractions, a separate notice document with its own DOI may be created and linked to the DOI of the original article through the appropriate metadata relationships.

This approach preserves the historical scholarly record while clearly communicating the current status of the publication.

10. Notification of Authors and Other Parties

After a decision concerning a correction, Expression of Concern or retraction has been made, the Journal will, where practicable, notify the authors of the relevant publication.

Where appropriate, the Journal will also update the DOI record and other relevant bibliographic or indexing services with which the Journal works.

Where the matter may concern the professional or academic conduct of an author, the Journal may contact the author’s institution, employer, research funder or another competent party, taking into account the evidence available and applicable legal requirements.

11. Related Journal Policies

This Policy operates together with the Journal’s other policies, including:

When considering corrections or retractions, the Journal takes into account relevant guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and technical recommendations from Crossref concerning post-publication updates.