Withdrawal Policy

The Software Engineering and Artificial Intelligence Systems journal has established a clear and transparent withdrawal policy to ensure that authors, reviewers, and the editorial team can effectively manage the withdrawal of articles. The following guidelines outline the circumstances under which a paper may be withdrawn from the publication process and the procedure for doing so:

  1. Author-Initiated Withdrawal:

    • Authors may request the withdrawal of their submitted manuscript at any point before the final acceptance decision is made. To initiate a withdrawal, authors must contact the journal’s editorial office in writing (via email or official communication platform).

    • If the manuscript has already been accepted for publication but not yet published, authors may request withdrawal. However, this may be subject to a handling fee depending on the stage of the publication process.

    • Once the paper has been published online or in print, it will not be withdrawn. Instead, a retraction notice may be issued if necessary (e.g., due to ethical violations or errors).

  2. Editorial-Initiated Withdrawal:

    • The editorial team may also initiate the withdrawal of a manuscript if the paper violates the journal’s ethical guidelines, including issues such as plagiarism, multiple submissions, or conflicts of interest.

    • If a paper is deemed unsuitable for the journal’s scope or quality standards after submission, the editorial team reserves the right to withdraw the paper from the review process or before final acceptance.

  3. Procedure for Withdrawal:

    • Before Review: If a manuscript has not yet entered the peer review process, the author may request a withdrawal, and it will be promptly removed from the system with no further action required.

    • During Review: If a manuscript is under peer review, the author must provide a formal request to withdraw the paper. The journal will notify the reviewers and discontinue the review process. In this case, no review comments will be provided.

    • After Acceptance but Before Publication: If a manuscript is accepted but not yet published, a formal request to withdraw the paper must be made. The author may need to explain the reasons for withdrawal, and depending on the stage of the publication, a handling fee may be charged.

    • After Publication: Once a manuscript has been published (either online or in print), it cannot be withdrawn. If the article contains significant errors or ethical concerns, a retraction notice will be issued, and the article will be clearly marked as retracted.

  4. Handling Fees:

    • If an article is withdrawn after acceptance, the journal may charge a handling fee to cover administrative costs and reviewer compensation. The fee is typically calculated based on the stage at which the paper is withdrawn.

  5. Retraction After Publication:

    • If a paper is published and later withdrawn due to ethical issues, errors, or disputes, a formal retraction notice will be published alongside the original article. The retraction notice will provide a brief explanation and will be indexed as such to ensure transparency.

    • The article will remain available in the archives with the retraction notice to maintain the integrity of the academic record.

  6. Ethical Guidelines for Withdrawal:

    • Authors requesting withdrawal must ensure that no ethical violations (such as duplicate submissions or falsification of data) are present in the manuscript. If any such issues are identified during the withdrawal process, the journal reserves the right to take further action, including reporting the issue to the appropriate academic or research authorities.

  7. Communication:

    • All withdrawal requests must be made in writing by the corresponding author, and the journal will confirm receipt of the withdrawal request. Clear communication throughout the process will ensure that both the author and the editorial team are aligned on the status of the manuscript.