PUBLISHING ETHICS CODE

Article 1. The present Publishing Ethics Code determines the rules and norms of submission and publishing articles/ manuscripts in the JOURNAL OF LEGAL STUDIES, issued by the Faculty of Legal Studies at Burgas Free University. It is designed to handle publishing ethics issues, as well as to guide the relationships between authors and editors in order to guarantee the legitimacy and quality of publications and to be of interest to the users, the scientific community, the development of legal science and the distribution of knowledge.
    Article 2. (1) The Code is based on the principles and values which determine what is acceptable in scientific research. It is a key element of the general ethics rules valid for the scientific and professional fields and complements the laws and procedures in force.
    (2) The rules and regulations in the present Code comply with the internationally recognised ethical codes and standards applicable in the field of legal research. The leading rule is that the ethics in science disallows the deliberate distortion of truth and requires constant innovative activity by  scientists.
    Article 3. The scientific publications are the final product of research and a way of recognition of the results achieved by the scientific community. Thus scientific research is given publicity and all the achievements may be used by those interested.
    Article 4. Respecting the freedom of scientific thought, we do not accept texts affirming ideas contradicting to the generally accepted ethical and humanitarian values.
    Article 5. As a manifestation of professionalism we observe the compliance with  the rules of scientific discourse and the genre requirements, implying that the texts of publications should contain the following:  the aim of research, an  analytical part and a conclusion, as well as the author’s(authors’) own contribution.
   Article 6. It is considered unacceptable for the authors of publications to hide the truth, as well as to present unverified and unsupported statements. The researchers publishing scientific results bear the full responsibility for the validity, authenticity and originality of these results.
   Article 7. Plagiarism in all its forms (misuse of name, copying or rephrasing) is unacceptable. Authors have to quote the publications used in the article/manuscript and conform to the citation rules and styles.
   Article 8. We accept the three main ways of scientific acknowledgement –  the preparation of a conscientious list of the authors quoted, reliable citation according to the rules, expression of gratitude  to other authors for their help, ideas or other contribution.
   Article 9. (1) It is necessary to comply with the requirements and responsibilities in co-authoring, respecting the academic seniority and rank, as well as the respective authors’ merits.
    (2) Conflict of interests amongst the authors of the publication is considered unacceptable.
   Article 10. (1) It is essential to point out the sources and methods used by the authors in acquiring and analysis of data. If the methods for data analysis are not widespread, they have to be described and the sources should be cited.
    (2) Data counterfeiting is not allowed, as well as the use of inadequate methods for analysis.
   Article 11. (1) All submitted articles/manuscripts undergo a procedure for review, which has been published in advance and is in compliance with the scientific and publishing standards of the journal.
    (2) Articles published elsewhere are not accepted.
    (3) The republishing of an article in a different language is allowed only if the first publication is reported to the editors of the other journal.
   Article 12. The editors appoint independent experts in the area of law and public administration for the purposes of reviewing and evaluation of the submitted articles/manuscripts. The reviewers are obliged to present their accurate and justified reviews in formal writing and without embarrassing qualifications within two months.
   Article 13. Should any doubt arise concerning the integrity of the author, the reviewer should report this to the editor confidentially and in writing.
   Article 14. (1) The Editorial Committee takes decisions for acceptance or denial of publications on the basis of their significance, originality, clear statements and compliance of the research topics with the main directions of the journal and authors are duly informed in writing.
    (2) The author has the right to submit claims.
   Article 15. If there are any mistakes in the article published, the editor publishes them in the next edition with the necessary clarifications.
 Article 16. We refer to the principle of fair practices of the scientific publications. Therefore, we conduct research for each separate case and take the necessary measures in case dishonest practice is proven.
The Publishing Ethics Code was approved at a meeting of the Editorial Committee of the Journal of Legal Studies.