Procedure for retracting published articles

The procedure for retracting a published article is implemented in accordance with COPE Retraction Guidelines.

The journal’s editorial board may retract a published article if it is established that its results are unreliable due to a significant error, falsification or fabrication of data, if plagiarism is detected, duplicate publication, unauthorised use of materials, copyright infringement, ethical or legal violations, manipulation of the peer review process, or a significant undisclosed conflict of interest.

A retraction notice is published separately, contains a precise link to the article, clearly states the reason for and the initiator of the retraction, is written in a neutral and factual style, and is accessible to all readers. In databases and on the journal’s website, the article is marked as retracted, with metadata retained and a link to the relevant notice.

In exceptional cases, the full text may be removed from online access, for example following a court order or where publication poses a serious threat to rights, privacy or security. If the validity of the results cannot yet be definitively confirmed, the editorial board may publish a notice of concern rather than a retraction.