Complaints are submitted electronically to the Collection official email address. The complaint must clearly indicate сomplainant’s contact details, reference to the publication or material in question, and detailed description of the violation with evidence references. Anonymous complaints are not considered.
The complaint is registered, and a corresponding notification of registration is sent to the interested person.
The Editor-in-Chief appoints an authorized person for preliminary analysis of the complaint.
Within 7 working days, the authorized person verifies the relevance of the complaint to the collection scope and availability of sufficient grounds for consideration.
A commission of three independent experts is formed to consider the complaint. The commission has the right to request additional materials and explanations, engage independent experts, and conduct consultations with all interested parties. The consideration period is no more than 1 month.
After consideration, the commission may make the following decisions: rejection of the complaint as unfounded or, in case of serious violations, rejection of the material for publication, retraction of an already published article, a ban on submissions for a certain period, and notification to the author’s institution.
The complaints process is confidential.
The commission’s decision can be appealed to the Editor-in-Chief within 14 days. The Editor-in-Chief considers the appeal within 10 working days. The Editor-in-Chief’s decision is final.