Vivat Academia establishes this Code of Ethics to promote research integrity, transparency, and the responsible handling of ethical issues relating to the evaluation and publication of scholarly content.

The journal draws on the guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and international principles of transparency and best practice in scholarly publishing, taking into account the nature of each case and its editorial procedures.

This Code governs the main aspects of ethical oversight and the management of potential issues. It is complemented by the Code of Good Practice, which establishes the general responsibilities of authors, reviewers, and the editorial team, as well as by the journal's other policies.

Authorship and Contributions

Authorship must be attributed to individuals who have made substantial intellectual contributions to the research and preparation of the manuscript, in accordance with the criteria established by the journal.

All authors must have reviewed and approved the final version of the work, accept responsibility for their respective contributions, and agree on the authorship list and the order in which authors are listed.

The journal may request clarification or additional documentation where questions arise regarding authorship attribution, declared contributions, or changes requested during the editorial process.

The requirements for identifying contributions, the corresponding declarations, and the procedure for requesting authorship changes are detailed in the Author Guidelines.

Conflicts of Interest

Authors, reviewers, and individuals involved in editorial decisions must disclose any personal, professional, academic, institutional, or financial circumstances that may influence, or be perceived to influence, their conduct or assessment of submitted work.

The existence of a conflict of interest does not necessarily imply inappropriate conduct, but it must be assessed and managed to preserve the independence and impartiality of the editorial process. Depending on the circumstances, the journal may request additional information, establish preventive measures or recusal arrangements, reassign responsibilities, or take other actions deemed appropriate.

Conflict of interest declarations relating to submitted articles will be managed in accordance with the requirements established in the Author Guidelines and the principles of editorial transparency.

Ethical Oversight and Handling of Potential Irregularities

Vivat Academia promotes compliance with the ethical and legal principles applicable to research and scholarly communication, including, where appropriate, those concerning informed consent, personal data protection, confidentiality, and the rights of research participants.

Authors must provide information on the relevant ethical approvals and safeguards, according to the nature of their research. The editorial team may request clarification or supporting documentation when necessary to assess compliance with these requirements.

Potential irregularities involving manuscripts under evaluation or published content will be examined by the editorial team, which may seek information from the parties involved and request specialist advice when circumstances warrant. The assessment will take into account the nature and seriousness of the issues, the available evidence, and the potential implications for research and editorial integrity.

Where appropriate, measures may include requesting clarification, temporarily suspending manuscript processing, conducting an additional review of the case, rejecting the manuscript, or taking relevant post-publication action.

The handling of potential cases of plagiarism, improper reuse of content, and redundant publication will be governed by the Anti-Plagiarism Policy.

Data Availability and Reproducibility

Vivat Academia promotes transparency in research procedures and the availability of the data and materials underpinning published findings, where their nature and applicable ethical, legal, or contractual conditions permit.

The journal recommends depositing research data and materials in institutional, subject-specific, or general-purpose open-access repositories, where appropriate and compatible with applicable ethical, legal, contractual, and confidentiality restrictions.

Where necessary for scholarly assessment or the clarification of potential issues, the editorial team may request additional information concerning the data, materials, or procedures used, while respecting justified restrictions on access and confidentiality.

Data availability does not necessarily entail unrestricted public access and must be consistent with the specific conditions of each research project.

Complaints and Appeals

Vivat Academia accepts substantiated complaints and appeals concerning editorial procedures, decisions made, or potential breaches of its policies. Communications should be addressed to the editorial office at editor@vivatacademia.net, clearly identifying the matter and providing the arguments or information relevant to its assessment.

The editorial team will examine complaints according to their nature and the circumstances of each case. Where necessary, it may request clarification, review the procedural history, or seek an additional assessment. Appeals against editorial decisions must be duly substantiated. Mere disagreement with a scholarly assessment will not necessarily result in the reopening of the process or a new evaluation of the manuscript.

The journal will endeavor to provide a reasoned response within a timeframe appropriate to the nature and complexity of each case, while respecting the confidentiality of the review process and the rights of the parties involved.

Where a complaint directly concerns an individual responsible for the decision being challenged, efforts will be made to ensure that the complaint is assessed with appropriate safeguards for impartiality.

Discussions, Corrections, and Post-Publication Actions

Vivat Academia may consider substantiated observations, comments, replies, or rebuttals concerning published content, provided they are scientifically relevant and consistent with the journal's editorial criteria.

The editorial team will determine the appropriate assessment procedure, which may include consulting specialists or conducting an additional scholarly review where relevant. Where significant errors or potential irregularities are identified in a publication, the journal will examine the available information and may request clarification from the authors or other parties involved.

Depending on the nature and seriousness of the circumstances, measures such as publishing corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions may be adopted in accordance with international recommendations on publication ethics.

Corrections will be used where necessary to address significant errors that do not substantially invalidate the findings or conclusions of the work. Expressions of concern may be issued where significant doubts about the reliability or integrity of a publication remain unresolved. Retraction may be considered where there are sufficient grounds to conclude that the content contains serious deficiencies that compromise its reliability or integrity.

Post-publication actions will be documented in a manner that preserves, as far as possible, the transparency, identification, and traceability of the scholarly record. Retracted articles will remain identifiable and linked to their corresponding retraction notices, unless exceptional circumstances justify restricting access or removing content.

Intellectual Property and Application of Editorial Policies

Authors must respect the intellectual property rights of third parties and ensure that they have obtained the necessary permissions to use legally protected materials.

Ownership of rights, publication permissions, and the conditions governing the use and reuse of content are established in the Copyright Notice and the Open Access Policy.

The use of artificial intelligence tools must comply with the principles of transparency, accountability, and research integrity, in accordance with the provisions set out in the Author Guidelines.

The application of this Code of Ethics will take into account the circumstances of each case and the principles of proportionality, impartiality, and respect for appropriate procedural safeguards, drawing on international recommendations on publication ethics where relevant.