Article Retraction, Withdrawal, Removal, and Replacement Policy

Systemia: Journal of Law, Technology and Governance is committed to maintaining the accuracy, reliability, transparency, and integrity of the scholarly record. Editorial decisions concerning the publication of manuscripts are made independently by the Editor-in-Chief and the editorial team in accordance with the journal's editorial policies, applicable publication-ethics standards, and relevant legal requirements, including those concerning defamation, copyright infringement, plagiarism, confidentiality, and research integrity.

Published articles constitute part of the permanent scholarly record and should remain accessible, accurate, and unaltered whenever possible. Nevertheless, exceptional circumstances may require an article to be retracted, withdrawn, removed, or replaced. Such actions are undertaken only after careful consideration and in accordance with established publication-ethics principles.

The journal will maintain an appropriate record of editorial actions affecting published or accepted articles. Where technically and legally appropriate, the original article, its metadata, and the relevant editorial history will remain traceable to preserve the transparency and integrity of the scholarly record.

1. Article Retraction

Retraction is an exceptional editorial action applied to an article that has already been formally published when its findings, content, authorship, or publication process are subsequently determined to contain serious problems that undermine the reliability or integrity of the scholarly record.

An article may be considered for retraction in circumstances including, but not limited to:

• substantial errors or unreliable findings that materially affect the validity of the article;
• fabrication, falsification, or fraudulent manipulation of research data;
• plagiarism or substantial unattributed use of another person's work;
• duplicate or redundant publication;
• serious violations of authorship or false authorship claims;
• undisclosed or material conflicts of interest that substantially affect the integrity of the publication;
• serious ethical violations in the conduct or reporting of research; or
• other circumstances that materially compromise the reliability or integrity of the published work.

Retraction does not ordinarily require the consent of all authors. The journal may initiate a retraction when sufficient evidence establishes that the integrity of the published record has been seriously compromised. Authors will normally be given an opportunity to respond to the concerns before a final editorial decision is made.

A formal Retraction Notice will be published and permanently linked to the original article. The notice will clearly identify the retracted article, state the reason(s) for retraction, and indicate who initiated the retraction where appropriate.

The original article will generally remain accessible in the journal's online archive, but it will be clearly identified as “Retracted” in the article itself, on the article landing page, and in relevant bibliographic records. The original text should not ordinarily be deleted because maintaining access to the historical scholarly record is important for transparency and accountability.

2. Article Withdrawal

Withdrawal applies primarily to an article that has been accepted for publication or made available online as an early version but has not yet entered the final version of record. Withdrawal is strongly discouraged and will be considered only in exceptional circumstances.

Grounds for withdrawal may include:

• serious errors identified before final publication;
• duplicate or inadvertent posting of the same article;
• multiple or simultaneous submission to another journal;
• serious authorship disputes or false authorship claims;
• plagiarism or other substantial breaches of publication ethics;
• unethical or improper use of research data; or
• legal or ethical concerns that make continued online availability inappropriate.

Where withdrawal is approved, the article will be clearly identified as “Withdrawn”. The journal will provide a withdrawal notice explaining the reason for the action. Where appropriate, the original files may be removed from public access, while sufficient metadata and an editorial record of the withdrawal will be retained.

3. Article Removal

Removal of a formally published article is an extremely exceptional measure and will be considered only where continued public availability of the article would create a serious legal, ethical, or public-interest concern that cannot reasonably be addressed through correction or retraction.

Possible circumstances may include:

• a legally binding court or competent authority order requiring removal;
• content that clearly violates another person's legal rights;
• serious and demonstrable defamatory or unlawful content;
• publication of information that creates a significant and immediate risk of serious harm; or
• other extraordinary circumstances in which continued public access would create a compelling and demonstrable legal or ethical risk.

Where removal is necessary, the article's bibliographic metadata, including its title, authorship, publication information, and DOI where applicable, will normally be retained. The full text may be replaced with a statement explaining that the article has been removed for legal or ethical reasons. The journal will preserve an appropriate record of the editorial action.

4. Article Replacement

Article replacement may be considered in exceptional circumstances where a published article contains a serious error that could result in significant harm if the original version continues to be used, particularly where the affected information has substantial public-health, safety, or other material consequences.

Where replacement is justified, the journal may publish a corrected version while preserving the original publication record. The replacement notice will clearly explain the reason for replacement and provide a link between the original and corrected versions.

The article history should remain transparent, and the correction or replacement should be clearly identified so that readers and indexing services can distinguish the corrected version from the original publication.

5. Corrections and Minor Errors

Not every error requires retraction, withdrawal, removal, or replacement. Where an error does not materially affect the validity, interpretation, or integrity of the article, the journal may publish a Correction or Erratum.

Corrections will normally be linked to the original article and will clearly identify the corrected information. The journal will seek to preserve the original publication record while ensuring that readers are made aware of substantive corrections.

6. Retraction and Withdrawal Initiated by Authors

Authors may contact the editorial office to request withdrawal or retraction of an article when they identify substantial problems affecting the integrity or reliability of their work. Such requests must provide a clear explanation of the reasons and supporting evidence where applicable.

However, authors' ownership or retention of copyright does not, by itself, confer an unrestricted right to withdraw a formally published article. Once an article has entered the permanent scholarly record, decisions concerning retraction, withdrawal, removal, or replacement must also take into account the integrity and reliability of the scholarly record.

The journal therefore reserves the right to determine the appropriate editorial action independently, based on the available evidence and applicable publication-ethics standards.

7. Editorial Decision and Due Process

Before taking significant corrective action, the journal will, where reasonably possible, assess the available evidence and provide the affected author(s) with an opportunity to respond. The editorial team may consult reviewers, members of the editorial board, institutional authorities, or other appropriate experts when necessary.

Editorial decisions will be based on the seriousness and nature of the identified issue, the reliability of the evidence, the potential impact on the scholarly record, and applicable ethical and legal considerations.

The journal will seek to ensure that retraction, withdrawal, removal, replacement, and correction decisions are proportionate, transparent, and consistent with accepted standards of publication ethics.

8. Permanent Scholarly Record

Systemia: Journal of Law, Technology and Governance recognizes that the integrity of the scholarly record is a fundamental principle of academic publishing. Accordingly, editorial actions affecting published articles will be documented as transparently as reasonably possible.

Retraction, withdrawal, removal, or replacement will not be used as a mechanism to conceal legitimate scholarly disagreement, unfavorable findings, criticism, or inconvenient research results. These mechanisms exist to address genuine concerns relating to the accuracy, legality, ethics, or integrity of the publication.

This policy may be periodically reviewed and updated to remain consistent with developments in international publishing ethics, scholarly communication, and applicable legal standards.

9. Article Processing Charges

Systemia: Journal of Law, Technology and Governance does not charge authors submission fees or Article Processing Charges (APCs). Therefore, no publication payment is required when an article is accepted for publication.

The absence of publication fees ensures that editorial and peer-review decisions are independent of an author's financial circumstances.