The journal “Written Monuments of the Orient” is a peer reviewed international periodical committed to maintaining the highest standards of ethics at all stages of the publication process. The journal adopts a neutral position on issues treated in its publications irrespective of their nature (any political, ethical, gender-related, religious or other potentially controversial topics). We follow the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Best Practice Guidelines and take all measures against any ethical misconduct. We require all parties involved in the process (from submission of materials to their publication) to meet expected ethical standards. In order to provide our readers with a high quality academic journal, we are guided by the following principles.
The editors are responsible for everything published in the journal and have the right to decide which materials are rejected or accepted for publication. They should carry out their duties in a balanced, unbiased and timely manner and should handle all submissions without discrimination on grounds of ethnicity, race, gender, citizenship, sexual orientation, religious or political beliefs of the authors. They should treat all submitted materials as confidential and can distribute them for purposes of peer-review only. They should assess submitted materials objectively based on the academic quality of the work in question, its importance to researchers and readers, and opinion of the reviewers. In evaluating all submitted works, the editors should limit themselves only to the intellectual content (importance, originality, study’s validity, clarity) and its suitability for the journal. No commercial considerations should influence editorial decisions. The editors follow the rule of a double-blinded review of all submitted manuscripts by at least two reviewers who are experts in the field. The editors should strive to prevent any potential conflict of interests between the author and editorial and review personnel. The editors also ensure that all the information related to submitted manuscripts is kept confidential before publishing. The editors must not use unpublished research materials in their own research without the author’s consent.
The reviewers contribute to evaluation of submitted materials and provide advice for improving their quality by reviewing all materials carefully, objectively, in a timely manner. They evaluate manuscripts based on content without regard to ethnic origin, race, gender, citizenship, religious belief or political philosophy of the authors. The reviewers remain anonymous to the authors. The reviewers do not have a right to keep or make copies of submitted materials and they must not use any information obtained through peer review for personal advantage. The reviewers ensure that any information from the editors and authors is kept confidential. They should formulate their opinion of the works in the review form clearly and with convincing arguments. They should suggest relevant published works to be cited by authors. They have to inform the editors of any substantial similarity between the reviewed materials and other published content, and must alert the editors in case of suspected plagiarism. The reviewers should decline to review manuscripts if they notice any potential conflicts of interest with any of the authors or institutions related to submitted materials. A reviewer, who is unable to carry out a prompt review or feels insufficiently qualified to review submitted materials, should notify the Editor-in-Chief and withdraw from the review process.
The authors should warrant that the submitted manuscript is their own, original work, which has been neither published previously, nor is currently considered for publication elsewhere. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behaviour and is unacceptable. When authors use other materials, all sources (including the Internet) should be appropriately cited and referenced. Any attempt of plagiarism will result in the rejection of the submitted manuscript. Authors are also responsible for language editing before submitting their articles. All authors should disclose financial or other conflicts of interest that might influence the results or interpretation of their manuscripts (financial support for the project should be disclosed). The corresponding author should ensure that there is a full consensus of all co-authors in approving the final version of the paper and its submission for publication. When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author’s responsibility to promptly notify the journal editor and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper.
