I. Commitment and Scope

Passerelle adheres strictly to the core practices and flowcharts established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). This statement outlines the formal procedure for investigating and addressing all allegations of ethical misconduct.

The publisher and the Editorial Board share full responsibility for safeguarding the integrity of the scholarly record. The policy applies to all participants in the publication process, including authors, reviewers, and editors.

II. Definition of Misconduct

Misconduct is defined as any deviation from the ethical standards expected in the academic publishing process. This includes, but is not limited to, actions covered by the following dedicated policies:

• Plagiarism: Including self-plagiarism, duplicate submission, and all forms of uncredited text or idea recycling, as defined in our Plagiarism Policy.
• Research Misconduct: Including the fabrication (making up data) or falsification (manipulating data or results) of research findings, and non-compliance with data sharing requirements, as detailed in our Data Sharing and Availability Policy.
• Non-Disclosure: The failure to declare all relevant financial, personal, or professional relationships, as required by our Conflict of Interest Policy.
• Authorship Issues: Including the inappropriate inclusion or exclusion of contributing authors.

III. The Investigation Procedure

All allegations of misconduct, whether raised pre-publication or post-publication, are handled via the following formal, impartial, and confidential process:

1. Initial Assessment: The Editor-in-Chief (EIC) or a designated Ethics Committee member performs an initial, confidential assessment of the allegation to determine its credibility and jurisdiction.
2. Author Notification: If the assessment finds evidence of potential misconduct, the accused author(s) are formally notified via official email or any verifiable communication channel. The author is given all available evidence and a maximum of 30 days to provide a detailed and comprehensive written response or rebuttal, unless exceptional circumstances are demonstrated.
3. Review and Determination: The full Editorial Board, or a specialized investigative committee (excluding anyone with a conflict of interest), evaluates the evidence, the original manuscript, and the author's response. The committee determines, based on a preponderance of evidence, whether misconduct has occurred.
4. Institutional Notification: In cases of confirmed severe misconduct (e.g., confirmed data fabrication, plagiarism), the EIC reserves the right to formally notify the accused author's affiliated institution(s) and/or funding body before taking corrective action.

IV. Corrective Actions and Sanctions

All corrective actions are governed by the procedures outlined in our Withdrawal / Retraction Policy and are strictly tiered.

A. Minor Errors and Misstatements

For simple factual errors, typographical mistakes, or minor misstatements of data, the journal will publish a separate Erratum or Corrigendum and link it to the original article.

B. Serious Issues and Confirmed Misconduct

When plagiarism, data fabrication, or other severe misconduct is confirmed by the Editorial Board, Passerelle will take the following authoritative actions:

1. Post-Publication Concern: The journal may publish an Expression of Concern when serious doubts regarding the integrity of the published work are raised during an ongoing investigation. An Expression of Concern is a notice of investigation and does not constitute a final finding or confirmation of misconduct.
2. Retraction: If misconduct is confirmed, the journal will issue a public Retraction of the article. This Retraction notice will be permanently linked to the original article, which will be clearly marked as "Retracted" in all online versions and in all abstracting and indexing services where the journal is listed to ensure the integrity of the scholarly record.
3. Sanctions: The author(s) may be subject to a ban on future submissions to Passerelle for a period determined by the Editorial Board.
4. Formal Notification: The author's home institution, university, or funding body will be formally notified of the confirmed misconduct via a detailed letter from the EIC.

V. Appeals and Dispute Resolution

The author reserves the right to appeal any finding of misconduct or resulting sanction by the Editorial Board. All appeals must be submitted in writing to the Publisher within 30 days of the formal notification of the outcome. Filing an appeal does not suspend ongoing corrective actions (such as Expression of Concern or Retraction) unless expressly decided by the Publisher. The Publisher will convene an independent ombudsman or committee, whose decision will be final.