Complaints appeals policy

This policy covers two distinct situations: complaints about the journal's conduct, staff, or processes, and appeals of a specific editorial decision on a manuscript.

Complaints

A complaint may relate to editorial staff conduct, editorial board conduct, publisher conduct, website issues, billing/APC issues, or any other aspect of how the journal is run.

1. Submit the complaint in writing to [email protected], describing the issue and any relevant manuscript ID or correspondence.
2. The complaint is acknowledged within 5 business days.
3. The Chief Editor reviews and responds to the complaint. Where the complaint concerns the Chief Editor directly, it is escalated to the publisher for independent handling.
4. Complaints are handled confidentially and do not affect the handling of any unrelated manuscript the complainant may have under review.

Appeals of Editorial Decisions

An author who believes a rejection or other editorial decision was based on a factual error, a misunderstanding of the manuscript's content, or a procedural failure (rather than a difference of scholarly opinion) may appeal.

1. Submit a written appeal to the editorial office within 4 weeks of the decision, explaining specifically why reconsideration is warranted, referencing the reviewer comments where relevant.
2. The appeal is assigned, where practicable, to an editor who was not involved in the original decision.
3. The reviewing editor may consult the original reviewers, seek an additional independent reviewer, or make a determination directly, depending on the nature of the appeal.
4. A final decision on the appeal is communicated to the author, typically within 4–6 weeks.

Appeal decisions are final; a manuscript may not be appealed more than once on the same grounds.

What This Policy Does Not Cover

Disagreement with a reviewer's scholarly assessment or subjective judgment of a manuscript's significance is not, by itself, grounds for appeal — appeals are intended for factual or procedural errors.