Acta Universalis Medicinae upholds the highest standards of publication ethics and strives to ensure that all parties involved in the publication process—authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher—adhere to ethical principles. Our ethical guidelines are based on the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and follow internationally recognized best practices.

1. Author Responsibilities:

• Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must ensure that their work is original and free of plagiarism. Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must be given.
• Data Accuracy: Authors must present accurate data and ensure that their findings are reported honestly without fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate data manipulation.
• Acknowledgment of Sources: Proper acknowledgment of others’ contributions is required. All cited works should be included in the reference list.
• Conflicts of Interest: Authors must disclose any financial or personal relationships that may influence the research or the interpretation of findings.
• Multiple Submissions: Authors should not submit the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently.
• Authorship: Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made significant contributions to the study. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all co-authors approve the final manuscript.

2. Reviewer Responsibilities:

• Confidentiality: Reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of the manuscript and refrain from sharing it with others, except as permitted by the editor.
• Objectivity: Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate, and comments should be constructive.
• Conflict of Interest: Reviewers must disclose any conflicts of interest that could affect their ability to provide an unbiased review.
• Timeliness: Reviewers are expected to respond promptly and complete their reviews within the agreed timeline.

3. Editor Responsibilities:

• Decision-Making: Editors are responsible for making publication decisions based on the manuscript's quality, importance, and relevance to the journal’s scope. Decisions should not be influenced by personal biases or commercial interests.
• Fair Play: Editors should evaluate manuscripts for intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.
• Confidentiality: Editors and editorial staff must protect the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts.
• Corrections and Retractions: Editors must be willing to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions, and apologies when needed.

4. Publisher Responsibilities:

• Integrity of the Record: The publisher ensures that all published material is archived and preserved to maintain the integrity of the scientific record.
• Ethical Oversight: The publisher will work closely with journal editors to detect and prevent publication misconduct, ensuring that appropriate actions are taken in cases of ethical violations.

5. Conflicts of Interest:

• Authors: Authors must disclose any financial or personal relationships that could influence their work. This includes funding sources, financial interests, and other potential conflicts that could affect the research outcomes or interpretation.
• Reviewers: Reviewers must declare any conflicts of interest that might affect their impartiality in evaluating the manuscript.
• Editors: Editors should recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where they have a conflict of interest.

6. Ethical Approval Requirements:

• Human and Animal Research: Research involving human participants or animals must have received ethical approval from an appropriate ethics committee or institutional review board. Authors must provide a statement of ethical approval or exemption in their manuscript.
• Informed Consent: For research involving human participants, informed consent must be obtained, and details should be included in the manuscript.

7. Reproducing Published Material from Other Publishers:

• Permission: Authors must obtain permission from the original publisher before reproducing material (e.g., figures, tables) from previously published works. This includes content from books, journals, and other sources.
• Proper Citation: Even with permission, all reproduced material must be accurately cited with proper credit to the original source.

8. Obtaining Permission:

• Third-Party Material: Authors must obtain permission to use any third-party material in their manuscript and ensure that such material is not under copyright restrictions that would prohibit its use.
• License Agreements: Authors should adhere to any licensing agreements related to the use of copyrighted material.

9. Publication Misconducts:

• Plagiarism: Submissions must be free from plagiarism, including direct, mosaic, and self-plagiarism. Suspected cases will be thoroughly investigated.
• Fabrication and Falsification: Authors must not fabricate or falsify data or results. All findings should be reported honestly and accurately.
• Duplicate Publication: Manuscripts should not be submitted or published simultaneously in multiple journals.

10. Consequences for Violations of Publication Ethics:

• Investigation: Allegations of ethical violations will be investigated promptly. The journal reserves the right to take necessary actions, which may include:
• Requesting corrections or retractions from authors
• Rejection of the manuscript or retraction of the published article
• Banning authors from future submissions if violations are severe
• Transparency: The journal will make any actions taken public to maintain transparency and uphold academic integrity.

By adhering to these ethical guidelines, Acta Universalis Medicinae aims to foster trust and uphold the integrity of the academic publishing process.