Editorial Governance and Editorial Independence Policy

1. Purpose

This policy defines the governance structure, allocation of authority, decision-making responsibilities, and safeguards for the editorial independence of Geliotekhnika.

It regulates the relationship between the Founder, the scientific institution responsible for the journal, the Publisher, the Editor-in-Chief, the Editorial Office, and the Editorial Board. Its purpose is to ensure that scientific and editorial decisions are made fairly, transparently, and independently in accordance with the journal’s aims, scope, peer review requirements, and publication ethics policies.

2. Scope

This policy applies to:

  • the Founder;

  • the scientific institution responsible for the journal;

  • the Publisher;

  • the Editor-in-Chief;

  • the Deputy Editor-in-Chief;

  • Section Editors and Associate Editors, where appointed;

  • the Coordinating Editor;

  • Editorial Board members;

  • Guest Editors;

  • editorial, technical, and administrative staff;

  • all persons participating in editorial decision-making.

The policy applies to regular issues, special issues, thematic collections, guest-edited content, corrections, retractions, Editorial Expressions of Concern, appeals, complaints, and all other editorial activities.

3. Governance Principles

The journal’s editorial governance is based on:

  1. editorial independence;

  2. scientific impartiality;

  3. academic freedom;

  4. accountability and clearly assigned responsibility;

  5. confidentiality;

  6. transparency;

  7. identification and management of competing interests;

  8. fair and consistent application of journal policies;

  9. protection of the integrity of the scholarly record;

  10. separation of scientific decisions from financial, institutional, administrative, political, and commercial interests.

4. Founder and Responsible Scientific Institution

The Founder of the journal is the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The journal’s scientific and organizational activities are supported by the S.A. Azimov Institute of Physics and Technology of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The Founder and the responsible scientific institution may:

  • support the institutional and scientific development of the journal;

  • provide necessary organizational and academic support;

  • participate in the journal’s strategic development;

  • nominate candidates or approve editorial appointments in accordance with applicable institutional procedures;

  • support the continuity and scientific reputation of the journal.

The Founder and the responsible scientific institution must not:

  • require the acceptance or rejection of an individual manuscript;

  • select reviewers for the purpose of influencing an editorial decision;

  • interfere with confidential peer review materials;

  • prevent the publication of scientifically valid findings for non-academic reasons;

  • influence editorial decisions because of institutional, political, financial, or personal interests.

5. Publisher

I-EDU GROUP LLC provides publishing infrastructure, organizational assistance, and technical support to the journal.

The Publisher is responsible for:

  • maintaining the journal’s electronic publishing platform and website;

  • preparing materials for publication, digital publishing, and dissemination;

  • DOI registration and metadata management;

  • technical communication and platform support;

  • technical implementation of approved open access, copyright, licensing, and digital archiving policies;

  • ensuring that journal information is accurate and accessible;

  • providing technical support to the Editorial Office when recording ethical and post-publication actions;

  • administering fees, advertising, sponsorship, and marketing separately from scientific decision-making.

The Publisher must not accept, reject, substantively alter, or require the publication of an individual manuscript for non-scientific reasons.

Payment or non-payment of an article processing charge, waiver decisions, sponsorship, advertising, and other commercial interests must not influence peer review or editorial decisions.

6. Editor-in-Chief

The Editor-in-Chief has overall responsibility for the scientific and editorial integrity of the journal.

The Editor-in-Chief:

  • leads the journal’s scientific and editorial activities;

  • determines its scientific direction and development priorities;

  • safeguards editorial independence;

  • oversees compliance with the journal’s aims and scope;

  • supervises peer review and editorial decision-making;

  • assigns manuscripts to qualified editors;

  • approves or appoints independent reviewers and editors where necessary;

  • evaluates conflicting reviewer reports and may request additional expert review;

  • decides complex scientific, ethical, procedural, and post-publication matters;

  • oversees corrections, retractions, Editorial Expressions of Concern, and other updates;

  • retains final editorial authority over the acceptance or rejection of manuscripts;

  • remains accountable for the final editorial decision.

Reviewer and editor recommendations are advisory. The Editor-in-Chief considers them impartially but may reach a decision different from the majority recommendation where justified by scientific, methodological, ethical, or procedural grounds.

7. Delegation and Temporary Absence

The Editor-in-Chief may delegate the management of a manuscript to the Deputy Editor-in-Chief, a Section Editor, an Associate Editor, or another qualified and independent editor.

Delegation does not remove the Editor-in-Chief’s overall responsibility for the integrity of the journal.

During the temporary absence of the Editor-in-Chief, designated duties may be performed by an authorized Deputy Editor-in-Chief. The person acting in this capacity must comply with the same requirements concerning independence, confidentiality, and competing interests.

8. Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Section Editors, and Associate Editors

The Deputy Editor-in-Chief assists the Editor-in-Chief in coordinating editorial activities and may manage manuscripts assigned to them.

Section Editors and Associate Editors, where appointed:

  • manage manuscripts within their areas of expertise;

  • conduct or supervise the initial scientific assessment;

  • identify and select qualified independent reviewers;

  • manage the peer review process;

  • evaluate reviewer reports and authors’ responses;

  • make a reasoned recommendation to the Editor-in-Chief;

  • identify ethical, methodological, and competing-interest concerns.

Unless formally authorized for a specific matter, these editors do not replace the Editor-in-Chief’s final responsibility.

9. Coordinating Editor and Administrative Staff

The Coordinating Editor and administrative staff:

  • receive and register submissions;

  • check technical completeness;

  • maintain administrative communication with authors, reviewers, and editors;

  • monitor editorial timelines;

  • maintain records and correspondence;

  • provide organizational support for issue preparation and publication.

The Coordinating Editor and administrative or technical staff must not independently make scientific decisions concerning the acceptance or rejection of manuscripts unless they have been formally granted the relevant editorial authority.

10. Editorial Board

The Editorial Board provides scientific, strategic, advisory, and ethical support to the journal.

Its responsibilities may include:

  • advising on the journal’s aims, scope, and scientific priorities;

  • evaluating the relevance and development of subject areas;

  • recommending qualified reviewers;

  • participating in manuscript assessment where appropriate;

  • advising on complex scientific or ethical matters;

  • reviewing journal policies;

  • supporting international and institutional cooperation;

  • contributing to periodic evaluation of the journal’s performance.

Editorial Board membership does not provide a right to influence the outcome of a manuscript for personal, institutional, or non-scientific reasons.

11. Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions concerning manuscripts are based solely on:

  • scientific quality;

  • originality;

  • methodological reliability;

  • relevance to the journal’s aims and scope;

  • validity and reliability of the findings;

  • ethical compliance;

  • clarity and significance of the scholarly contribution.

Decisions must not be influenced by:

  • the author’s academic title, position, country, citizenship, nationality, gender, religion, political views, or institutional affiliation;

  • pressure from the Founder, the responsible scientific institution, the Publisher, government bodies, funding organizations, sponsors, advertisers, or commercial partners;

  • payment or waiver of publication fees;

  • personal relationships or institutional interests;

  • citation, revenue, marketing, or publication-volume targets.

The Founder, the responsible scientific institution, and the Publisher must protect the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Office from inappropriate interference in decisions concerning individual manuscripts.

12. Appointment, Evaluation, and Removal of Editors

Editors and Editorial Board members are appointed on the basis of:

  • scientific competence relevant to the journal’s scope;

  • publication and peer review experience;

  • professional standing;

  • commitment to research integrity;

  • ability to perform editorial duties;

  • absence of competing interests that would prevent impartial service.

Their performance may be evaluated periodically.

An editor may be removed for:

  • prolonged inactivity;

  • repeated failure to perform assigned duties;

  • breach of confidentiality;

  • failure to disclose a competing interest;

  • serious violation of publication ethics;

  • manipulation of peer review or editorial decisions;

  • submission of false professional information;

  • conduct that seriously damages the journal’s academic integrity.

No editor may be removed solely because they made an independent, evidence-based editorial decision consistent with journal policy.

Any removal decision must be reasoned, documented, and made through a process free from relevant competing interests.

13. Competing Interests and Recusal

Editors must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived competing interest concerning a manuscript.

An editor must not handle a manuscript where the editor:

  • is an author or co-author;

  • participated in the research;

  • recently collaborated or published with an author;

  • works at the same institution and their impartiality may reasonably be questioned;

  • has a supervisory, mentoring, family, personal, financial, or commercial relationship with an author;

  • has a direct academic dispute or competitive interest;

  • has any other relationship that may compromise impartiality.

The conflicted editor must not:

  • select reviewers;

  • access confidential materials beyond what is necessary to identify the conflict;

  • participate in internal discussions;

  • influence or make the editorial decision.

The manuscript is reassigned to an independent editor. Detailed procedures are governed by the journal’s Conflicts of Interest Policy.

14. Manuscripts Submitted by Editors and Editorial Board Members

Manuscripts submitted by the Editor-in-Chief, other editors, Editorial Board members, Publisher employees, or persons closely associated with the journal must receive no preferential treatment.

Such manuscripts must:

  • be handled by an independent editor;

  • undergo the journal’s standard double-anonymous peer review process;

  • be evaluated by at least two qualified independent external experts;

  • be processed without participation by the submitting editor or Editorial Board member;

  • contain an appropriate disclosure of the author’s editorial role in the journal.

Where the Editor-in-Chief is an author, the complete editorial process and final decision must be managed by an independent senior editor, Editorial Board member, or suitably qualified external editor who has no relevant competing interest.

15. Complaints and Appeals

Complaints and appeals must be handled fairly, confidentially, and independently.

A person who participated in the disputed decision or has a relevant competing interest must not investigate or decide the complaint or appeal.

A complaint directly concerning the Editor-in-Chief must be assigned to a senior Editorial Board member without a relevant competing interest, the Publisher with independent oversight, an authorized representative of the Founder, or an external adviser.

A complaint concerning the Publisher must be reviewed by a person or body independent of the disputed conduct.

Detailed procedures, timeframes, evidence requirements, and review mechanisms are governed by the journal’s Complaints and Appeals Policy.

16. Special Issues and Guest Editors

Special issues, thematic collections, and guest-edited content remain under the overall authority of the Editor-in-Chief.

They must:

  • fall within the journal’s aims and scope;

  • follow the same scientific, ethical, and peer review standards as regular issues;

  • appoint only Guest Editors whose identities, affiliations, academic qualifications, publication records, and relevant expertise have been verified and approved;

  • require the disclosure and appropriate management of competing interests;

  • maintain the independent selection of qualified reviewers;

  • prevent Guest Editors from handling or influencing the assessment of their own manuscripts;

  • ensure that manuscripts submitted by Guest Editors or their close collaborators are handled by an independent editor without the participation of the relevant Guest Editor;

  • clearly identify special-issue articles on the article landing page, in the table of contents, and in the published issue;

  • ensure that articles authored or co-authored by Guest Editors do not exceed 25% of the total number of articles in the special issue;

  • allow the Editor-in-Chief to review, restrict, suspend, or terminate the special-issue process where concerns arise regarding quality, ethics, peer review integrity, or competing interests.

A Guest Editor may coordinate the special-issue process but must not have unrestricted final authority over the acceptance or rejection of manuscripts. Final editorial responsibility remains with the Editor-in-Chief.

17. Confidentiality and Use of Artificial Intelligence

All persons participating in editorial processes must protect the confidentiality of manuscripts, reviewer reports, authors’ responses, internal discussions, and editorial correspondence.

Confidential manuscripts or editorial materials must not be uploaded to publicly available generative artificial intelligence tools or systems that do not guarantee confidentiality. Artificial intelligence cannot replace human professional judgment in scientific assessment, the evaluation of reviews, or editorial decision-making.

Secure tools approved in advance by the journal may be used only for administrative or language assistance, provided that data protection and human oversight are maintained. Final responsibility remains with the authorized editor.

18. Documentation and Accountability

Editorial decisions must be documented in the journal’s electronic editorial system.

The journal maintains appropriate records of:

  • manuscript assignments;

  • reviewer invitations and reports;

  • editorial recommendations;

  • competing-interest disclosures;

  • recusal and reassignment decisions;

  • acceptance and rejection decisions;

  • complaints and appeals;

  • corrections, retractions, and other post-publication actions.

Confidential records are protected and accessible only to authorized persons.

19. Relationship With Other Policies

This policy must be read together with the journal’s:

  • Editorial Board Policy;

  • Peer Review Policy;

  • Conflicts of Interest Policy;

  • Complaints and Appeals Policy;

  • Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement;

  • Allegations of Misconduct Policy;

  • Corrections, Retractions and Post-Publication Updates Policy;

  • Advertising and Direct Marketing Policy;

  • Article Processing Charge Policy;

  • Special Issues and Guest Editors Policy, where applicable.

Where a detailed subject-specific policy exists, that policy governs the relevant procedure, while this document establishes the general framework for governance, authority, and accountability.

20. External Standards

This policy is informed by:

  • COPE Core Practices and relevant COPE guidance;

  • Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing;

  • DOAJ Guide to Applying;

  • Scopus Content Policy and Selection;

  • Web of Science Journal Evaluation Process and Selection Criteria;

  • applicable national legislation and internationally recognized standards of research integrity.

21. Policy Administration

This policy takes effect on the date of its publication on the journal’s official website and is reviewed periodically to maintain alignment with applicable ethical standards and the journal’s editorial practices.

Questions and concerns regarding editorial governance, editorial independence, or inappropriate interference should be submitted to the Editorial Office at ftikans@uzsci.net.

ISSN 0130-0997 (Print)
ISSN 2181-9963 (Online)