Policies

The journal Ukrainian Political and Legal Discourse supports the idea of the free exchange of knowledge and adheres to an open access policy. All content published in the journal is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC BY 4.0). By submitting an article, the author automatically agrees to the transfer of non-exclusive rights to its publication. The journal acquires the right to publish and make the article openly available on its website. The author retains all copyright without restriction and does not receive a fee. Each article is available as a separate full-text publication in PDF format with a unique URL and DOI.

Ownership and Governance. Editorial Board

The journal was founded by the International Classical University named after Pylyp Orlyk (Ukraine). The founder does not manage the journal but may submit proposals regarding its development. The editorial board of the journal consists of scholars in the fields of law and political science who have voluntarily supported the mission of the publication. New board members are elected by a majority vote. Board members adhere to the journal's ethical policy. Violations of ethical requirements result in removal from the board without the possibility of reinstatement.

The Editor-in-Chief is appointed and replaced by a decision of the editorial board taken by a majority vote. Administrative work is carried out by the technical editor, appointed by the Editor-in-Chief. The technical editor acts within the bounds of the journal's ethical policy.

Editorial Process and Quality Control System

The editorial board ensures a proper editorial process and quality control. All articles undergo the same editorial process, which includes receipt of the manuscript, quality control, and a decision on publication or rejection.

The quality control process includes an initial review of the article by the technical editor for compliance with the journal's requirements and a check for textual borrowings using the StrikePlagiarism system. If no remarks are identified, the article is forwarded to reviewers for double-blind peer review. Depending on the outcome of the review, the technical editor makes a decision on publication, return for revision, or rejection. The author is informed of the decision along with any remarks. A rejection decision is final. In the event of a violation of ethical standards by an editor or reviewer, the author may appeal to the Editor-in-Chief.

Ethical Requirements

Responsibilities of the Editorial Board

  • General oversight of the journal, quality control of its content, and ensuring alignment with the journal's mission.
  • Identifying shortcomings in the editorial process and reporting them to the Editor-in-Chief.

Responsibilities of the Editor-in-Chief

  • Quality control of each issue prior to publication.
  • Consideration of complaints regarding possible violations of ethical standards.
  • Ensuring that a manuscript goes through the editorial process in cases where the technical editor is an author or co-author of the manuscript in question.

Responsibilities of the Technical Editor

  • Neutral treatment of all authors regardless of their personal characteristics.
  • Declining attempts by authors to influence decisions regarding the editorial process.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

  • Ensuring a high academic standard in the review provided.
  • Refraining from using the manuscript for any purpose other than peer review.
  • Neither demanding nor exchanging remuneration for the work performed.
  • Notifying the Editor-in-Chief of an inability to participate in the editorial process due to a conflict of interest or for other reasons.

Responsibilities of Authors

  • Providing accurate and complete information regarding the manuscript, authorship, and institutional affiliation.
  • Guaranteeing the originality of the manuscript and confirming that it has not been published elsewhere.
  • Adhering to ethical standards in the conduct of research, including requirements regarding the protection of personal data of participants and the obtaining of ethics approval where required.
  • Disclosing any conflict of interest that may affect the objectivity of the research.
  • Disclosing the use of artificial intelligence tools in the preparation of the manuscript in accordance with the journal's AI Policy.

Responsibilities of the Publisher

  • General oversight of the quality of the journal in accordance with publishing standards, without interference in the editorial process.

Response to Unethical Behaviour

Unethical behaviour may be identified by any participant in the editorial process, by readers, or by other persons. Upon identifying such behaviour, the relevant party should immediately notify the Editor-in-Chief, providing full and accurate information, at editor@ppdnz.com.ua.

Following consideration of the complaint, the Editor-in-Chief takes appropriate measures, which may include:

  • informing the participant in the editorial process of the identified violation;
  • an official letter to the offending party;
  • publication of a notice on the journal's website;
  • an editorial article;
  • notification of the offending party's employer or funding organisation;
  • retraction of the publication in accordance with the journal's Retraction Policy;
  • referral of materials to the relevant state authorities.