1. Grounds

An article may be retracted when there is clear evidence of:

• fabricated or falsified data or findings;
• plagiarism or duplicate publication;
• serious errors that invalidate the conclusions;
• unethical research, including research without consent or permits; or
• manipulation of authorship or peer review.

2. Procedure

Retraction follows the COPE Retraction Guidelines. Authors are informed and given the opportunity to respond. The decision is taken by the Editor-in-Chief after consultation with the editorial team.

3. Retraction Notice

The retracted article remains online, clearly watermarked “RETRACTED”, with a linked notice explaining the reason and who requested the retraction. The notice is registered with Crossref. In rare legal cases, the content may be removed while its metadata and notice remain.