"Cherkasy University Bulletin: Biological Sciences Series"

The Editorial Board of the scholarly journal guarantees the autonomy of editorial decision-making and is guided by the principles of transparency and academic integrity in the processing of manuscripts. This policy has been developed in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the approaches of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) regarding the disclosure of financial and non-financial relationships.

Authors are required to disclose any circumstances that may influence, or be perceived as influencing, the impartiality of the research or the interpretation of its findings. Information concerning the presence or absence of a conflict of interest constitutes a mandatory element of the article and is published together with it. The submission of incomplete or inaccurate information may serve as grounds for reconsideration of the editorial decision or for the initiation of appropriate post-publication procedures.
Prior to commencing the evaluation of a manuscript, reviewers must inform the Editorial Office of any potential conflict of interest and decline to review the manuscript if such a conflict exists. Where such circumstances are identified, the Editorial Board will appoint an alternative expert. Reviewers are strictly prohibited from using information contained in a manuscript for personal benefit prior to its official publication.

Editors shall not participate in the consideration of manuscripts where personal, professional, or institutional relationships with the authors are present. If a manuscript is submitted by the Editor-in-Chief, a member of the Editorial Board, or a representative of the founding institution, it shall be assigned to an independent handling editor, who will ensure that the peer review process is conducted with the involvement of independent reviewers.

An individual who is both the author of a manuscript and a member of the Editorial Board shall not participate in the decision-making process regarding their own publication and shall have no access to information about the reviewers. The application of this special procedure is documented in the internal records of the Editorial Office, and a corresponding declaration is published together with the article.

The Editorial Board ensures proper documentation of conflict-of-interest management by recording editorial decisions and consistently implementing this policy. Any form of administrative interference in the peer review process, systematic publication of editors’ manuscripts without independent expert evaluation, or concealment of potential relationships is strictly prohibited. The existence or absence of a conflict of interest does not affect the assessment of the scholarly quality of a manuscript; however, failure to disclose such a conflict is regarded as a breach of editorial ethics.