Fair play
Submitted manuscripts are evaluated solely on the basis of their academic quality (originality, importance, validity of the study, lucidity) and their relevance to the journal scope, with no regard to race, citizenship, ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, or political viewpoint of the authors.

Confidentiality
Editor in chief, members of the editorial board and staff will not reveal any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the reviewers, potential reviewers, corresponding author and the publisher, as proper.

Disclosure and conflicts of interest
Unpublished materials / ideas revealed in a submitted manuscript will not be used in the research of editor / members of the editorial board.
Editor will withdraw (i.e. will ask a member of the editorial board to handle the manuscript) from handling manuscripts in which he has conflicts of interest resulting from collaborative, competitive, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors or legal persons, connected to the papers. Editor in chief does not publish in the journal other materials except of editorials. Papers with co-authorship by a member of Editorial board are generally avoided. In case of such papers are submitted, they are subjected to two double-blind peer reviews and the corresponding member of the Editorial board is withdrawn from the eventual discussion on the paper. 

Publication decisions
The Editor-in-Chief makes certain that all submitted manuscripts go through double-blind peer-review by at least two reviewers who are experts in the corresponding field. The Editor-in-Chief is in charge of determining which of the manuscripts submitted will be published, based on the reviewers’ comments, work importance to researchers and readers, and the legal requirements being in force regarding copyright breach, plagiarism and libel. Generative AI or AI-assisted technologies are not used to aid the decision-taking process related to a manuscript. The Editor-in-Chief may consult with members of the editorial board or reviewers in making this decision. 

For publication will be approved papers that:

– Correspond to the journal scope and fields;
– Are original and have scientific (fundamental) and scientific-applied (practical) contributions;
– Correctly reflect the scientific achievements of the authors cited therein;
– Are submitted for publication in accordance with the standards and instructions of the journal;
– Have not been published in other scientific publications.

The presented manuscripts will be rejected if:

• Are outside of the journal scope and fields;
• Contain unjustified attacks or disrespect for the work of other authors. Disputes should be based on scientific arguments and keeping with the highest standards for preserving the prestige of the authors of the criticized scientific issues;
• Deviate from the principle of scientific good faith; citation manipulation, and data falsification/fabrication is detected;
• A plagiarism and/or text recycling has been detected;
• The language can be а reason for rejection if below an acceptable level of clarity.

Responding to possible misconduct/inappropriate behaviour and dealing with complaints

The author has the right to object by using the contact form or by a letter to the Editor in Chief, or publisher. The Editor in Chief is obliged to acquaint the Editorial board with the authors’ appeal and after discussion the Editorial Board comes up with a final decision. In general, COPE’s Guidelines and Flowcharts (https://publicationethics.org/guidance) on handling complaints and responding to possible misconduct /inappropriate behaviour are followed. Legal disputes against the journal, its staff, editorial board or publisher are treated according to the laws of the Republic of Bulgaria.