Code of Ethics of the Academic Journal Minority Protection

Minority Protection (HU ISSN 2676 - 8992) is the academic Journal of the Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary, which publishes studies on the contemporary issues of traditional national minorities of Europe. The Journal focuses primarily on legal analyses of the topic but aims to facilitate interdisciplinary discourse. Consequently, we encourage researchers, especially from the fields of political science, sociology, history and other humanities disciplines, to submit their papers to the Editorial Board which is open to authors throughout the year. We strive to promote scientific thinking regarding traditional European national communities and foster the exchange of ideas between researchers on the topic.

The Journal uses a double-blind peer-review process and publishes at least two issues per year in Hungarian and English in print and online (www.kre.hu). All parties involved in the publication (author, journal editors, reviewers, publisher) shall agree to the standards of ethical conduct expected. The present Code of Ethics is based on the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics, http://publicationethics.org/about) Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors.[1]

The Editorial Board notifies the author of the result of the review process via e-mail. The reviewers evaluate the submitted paper according to the following criteria:

• authenticity,
• spelling,
• clarity,
• compliance with the basic structural elements of scientific papers (abstract / introduction / methodology / results and discussion / conclusions / references),
• methodology,
• the logical coherence of the author’s ideas,
• the adequacy of the data and arguments presented in the paper,
• the author presents the results of the analysis in sufficient detail,
• compliance with formal

Based on the respective reviewer’s opinion, the paper may be published without further changes by the author, after minor changes or after substantial revision. In the case of substantial revision, the revised text shall be sent to the Editorial Board as soon as possible.

1§ Purpose and Scope of the Code. Responsibilities of the Editorial Board 

1. The purpose of the Code is to define the system of ethical rules for publishing in the Minority Protection Journal (hereinafter: the Journal), in line with the principles of international academic
2. The personal scope of the Code includes authors, editors, contributors in publication, the Editorial Team and the Editorial Board.
3. The provisions laid down in the authors’ template for the Journal shall be applied jointly with the provisions of this Code.
4. The ethical rules set out in the Journal shall be accepted by all parties concerned, who agreed to the publication and shall act under the rules set out in the
5. By submitting his/her manuscript to the Editorial Board, the author acknowledges that the Code’s provisions bind him/her.
6. The publisher shall deem the start of the publishing process as the act that constitutes acceptance of the Code.
7. The Editorial Board is entitled to use a plagiarism checker to exclude certain content suspected of The Editorial Board shall not be held responsible for any shortcomings in the plagiarism detection system.
8. The Editorial Board is entitled to reject a submitted paper before the review process for formal or substantive deficiencies or for not fitting the Journal’s profile.
9. Decisions on Publication
   The Editorial Board decides which manuscripts to publish in the Journal based on the opinions of the blind reviewers. The reviewers may also be selected from the members of the Editorial Board. If the views of the two invited reviewers differ substantially, the Editorial Board may ask a third reviewer to evaluate the paper. The Editorial Board may, if necessary, collectively ask the Editorial  Board to decide on the publication of a particular paper. The Editorial Board may be guided by its previously adopted guidelines and may be restricted by the laws on defamation, copyright infringement and plagiarism currently in force.
10. Equal Opportunities
    The Editorial Board evaluates the intellectual content of manuscripts without regard to the race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnic origin, nationality, political opinions, or other circumstances of the authors.
11. Openness
    Authors are entitled to contact the Editorial Board to discuss their publication ideas and any relevant question prior to the review process. If the Editorial Board cannot publish the accepted paper in its upcoming issue for any reason, it is obliged to publish it in a later issue.
12. Confidentiality
    The Editorial Board will not pass on any information about the manuscript submitted for publication. Exceptions to this rule are the author, the reviewers, potential reviewers, members of the Editorial Board and the publisher.
13. Disclosure and Conflict of Interest
    The members of the Editorial Board and the Editorial Board are not entitled to use unpublished materials of the submitted manuscript for their own research without the author’s written consent.
14. Complaints
    All parties contributing to the publication process do their utmost to uphold and protect scientific standards and professionalism. The Editorial Board accepts complaints and comments concerning the publisher’s conduct and the Journal’s functioning in written, electronic, or postal forms. The Editorial Board investigates all complaints received, takes actions, if necessary, and responds to the complaint in written form.

2§ Obligations of the Reviewers 

1. Contribution to the editorial decisions
   The reviewer assists the Editorial Board in decision-making and supports the author in raising the paper’s scientific quality through the double-blind peer-review process. The Editorial Board defines the main criteria of the review process by a form sent to the reviewers.
2. Efficiency
   Suppose the reviewer considers that he/she is not professionally qualified to evaluate the research presented in the manuscript or knows that he/she will not effectively complete the review process within the deadline. In that case, he/she shall inform the Editorial Board and cancel his/her participation in the review process.
3. Confidentiality
   All manuscripts submitted for evaluation shall be considered confidential documents. They may be disclosed or discussed with others only with the permission of the Editorial Board.
4. Objectivity
   The evaluation shall be carried out objectively. Criticism of the author is unacceptable. Reviewers shall be explicit in their opinions and provide arguments to support them. If the reviewers criticise the author personally, the Editorial Board is entitled to revise the opinions without amending the professional content thereof.
5. Referencing
   Reviewers shall identify relevant sources that the authors did not reference. Any statement that includes observations, thoughts or arguments from a previously published paper must be cited appropriately. In addition, reviewers shall report any other type of detected publication misuse, e.g. falsification of data or republication.

3§ Obligations of the authors

1. Guidelines for Publication
   Conclusions of papers shall be based only on facts and on unbiased and logical evidence. The background information of the paper shall be presented accurately. Making false or knowingly inaccurate statements are considered unethical and unacceptable conduct.
2. Access to Data
   Authors shall provide basic data of their paper to ensure the appropriate review process and public availability.
3. Authenticity and Plagiarism
   Authors shall guarantee that the respective paper is their own original intellectual work, and if they used the papers or expressions of others, they shall cite them appropriately and refer to them professionally. The author submitting a manuscript shall ensure that in the case of co-authorship, he/she has the written consent of all co-authors and represents all co-authors exclusively and entirely.
4. Multiple, redundant or simultaneous publications
   Including a manuscript presenting the same research in different individual publications or journals is not good practice. Simultaneously submitting the same manuscript to several journals is considered unethical and unacceptable.
5. Authorship
   All persons who contributed substantially to the paper’s idea, design, drafting or interpretation shall be indicated as authors.
   All persons who contributed significantly to the paper shall be indicated as co-authors.
   Furthermore, all those who participated in the research process of the respective paper shall be mentioned as contributors. The author shall ensure that all relevant co-authors are indicated in the article and unauthorised persons are not indicated as co-authors. Moreover, the author shall ensure that all co-authors saw, approved and agreed to the final version of the paper and its publication.
6. Disclosure and Conflict of Interest
   All authors shall disclose any financial or other substantial conflicts of interest that may affect the results or conclusions in their manuscript. If the research related to the paper received funding, all sources of financial support should be disclosed.
7. Author’s Declaration
   The author shall send the scanned or original copy of the “Declaration of Manuscript” form to the Editorial Board (1091. Budapest, Kálvin tér 9.), filled and signed.
8. Fundamental Errors in Published Papers
   If the author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in a previously published paper, he/she shall immediately notify the Editorial Board and cooperate in withdrawing or correcting the paper.
9. Appeal
   Authors are entitled to object to decisions made by the Editorial Board. Appeals shall be sent in written form directly to the Editor-in-Chief. The Editor-in-Chief is obliged to bring such matters before the Editorial Board and make his final decision as per the rules laid down by the Journal. Authors receive a written response to their appeal.

4§ Archiving Policy of the Journal

1. Authors of the Journal shall not, as a general rule, pay or receive any honorarium for publishing their papers. However, if the Károli Gáspár University considers it professionally justified, it may pay the authors for their work. In the latter case, the parties shall conclude an agency contract clarifying the details of payment and performance.
2. The Journal is open- Authors are free to download and print the electronic version of the published paper or make it available on other electronic platforms without modification. Identifying data related to the Journal shall be indicated when making it public.
3. Readers may download or print electronic versions of the papers published in the Journal from the Journal’s website.
4. All users shall apply the appropriate citation system related to the respective field of science in the case of full or partial use of papers.

[1] Source: https://publicationethics.org/core-practices