ETHICS RULES APPLICABLE TO THE SEMIANNUAL MAGAZINE

(based on COPE guidelines)

1. The materials of each issue of "Studia Theologica Varsaviensia" (hereinafter STV), are approved by the Editorial Board. The selection of texts is determined by a preliminary preselection made by the editorial board. The purpose is to determine whether the article contains all formal elements and whether it fits into the character and theme of the semiannual journal.
2. Both at the level of the Program Council and the Editorial Board, every effort is made to ensure that the process of obtaining, evaluating and preparing material for publication is carried out according to the principles of ethics and taking into account the standards that normalize the reviewing and editorial process.
3. In the publishing process, conflicts of interest are avoided, primarily in relations between:
   - authors and reviewers;
   - authors and members of the Editorial Board;
   - authors and sponsors of research whose results are published in STV.
4. Those wishing to place the Editorial College their article, related to the topic of the issue, may submit a proposal for the preparation of relevant material to the editorial office via the UKSW journals platform in advance. An important element is a statement by the author that the text is an original work and does not violate the rights of third parties. In a situation where it is an article prepared by several authors, it is required to clearly indicate the authorship of individual parts of the text in order to avoid copyright infringement.
5. Authors shall sign statements and agreements necessary to confirm the originality of the text, as well as the fact that the text is not encumbered by third-party rights.
6. If plagiarism (ghostwritingor guest authorship) is found, the Editorial Board rejects the proposed text, while notifying the Authority of the institution where the author is affiliated, as well as the Authority of UKSW of the violation.
7. In the case of other errors discovered before the printing of the text, the author is obliged to immediately report this fact to the STV Secretary.
8. Personal data are stored in accordance with the guidelines of RODO. Only information necessary for the publishing process is acquired.
9. Materials published in STV are available in printed form and in electronic form. The UKSW Academic Publishing House sells the journal in the printed version. The editors, in consultation with the UKSW Scientific Publishing House, make all published texts available on the journal's website immediately after they appear in print. Articles made available on its website by the Editorial Board have open access status and are made available under the terms of the Creative Commons license (CC BY-ND 4.0 International) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/deed.pl).
10. In a situation where an article in whole or in part has already been published, additional permission from the first publisher is required for publication and this fact is clearly indicated by an appropriate footnote. Any concealment by the author of the text of its previous publication will be treated as a serious violation of copyright, resulting in the withdrawal of the text from the publishing process.
11. In addition to articles related to the theme of the issue, the Editorial Board allows other articles on theological issues, in accordance with the current assignment of the journal to specific disciplines.
12. Authors are obliged to disclose other editorials in which the same text has been submitted. In such a situation, the STV Editorial Board decides whether the text will proceed to the further editorial and review process or will be withdrawn. In a situation where an article uses licensing or copyright rights with respect to the material used by the author, all fees for this shall be borne by the author of the text.
13. The use of a text published in STV in another editorial office requires each time the consent of the editor-in-chief of STV after consultation with the Editorial Board.
14. Members of the editorial board are obliged to maintain confidentiality regarding the authorship and subject matter of the submitted texts. The applicable law on sensitive data applies in this regard. The principle of confidentiality applies to both the Editorial Board and the Advisory Board of STV.
15. Texts submitted to the editorial board, and not published, may not be used in any other way by the STV editorial board (own research, other forms inconsistent with the intention of the author of the text). The author should be notified of the rejection of the text within 6 months.
16. The Advisory Board consists of experts of the disciplines to which the journal is assigned.
17. An article accepted for publication is referred to external reviewers. The requirement is that the reviewer must be a person with at least a doctoral degree and be affiliated with a unit other than UKSW. The reviewer is provided with the review template in effect at STV, which includes the options and conditions for accepting the text for publication.
18. The secretary of STV is responsible for the timeliness of sending texts for review, as well as sending urgings in the situation of the reviewer's failure to meet the deadline.
19. Reviews are performed anonymously - with the obligation not to disclose the identity of both the author and the reviewer (double blind peer-review).
20. The reviewer is obliged to inform the STV Editorial Board about the detection of any violation of third-party rights and any manifestation of plagiarism and self-plagiarism. The reviewer is informed of the need to declare a conflict of interest in a situation where the identity of the author of the reviewed text would be recognized in any way.
21. If allegations are made about the materials published in STV, the Editorial College considers them by voting and responds to those concerned by e-mail to the address provided by the author when submitting the article. If the allegations concern the Editorial College of STV, then the Editor-in-Chief, after responding to them, shall forward them to the Dean of the Faculty of Theology of UKSW for consideration.
22. The Editorial Board does not pay royalties to either authors or reviewers, unless the material would be a commissioned item within the framework of the entry of individual issues of the journal in grants, which include royalties.
23. In all other cases, the STV Editorial Board shall comply with the Constitution and applicable laws of the Republic of Poland, including laws regarding discrimination on the basis of nationality, gender, race, sexual preference.

As far as possible, members of the Editorial Board and persons involved in the publishing process shall participate in training courses to improve their skills necessary to maintain a high level of organizational and substantive activities of the Editorial Board.