Guidelines for editors

The Annual of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”—Faculty of History, represented by the Editorial Board, is committed to protecting scientific integrity, safeguarding the publishing process, defending the independence of researchers, and advocating the principles of good research practice. In  order to enable the Editor-in-Chief and the members of the Editorial Board to fulfil their responsibilities effectively, they must retain absolute editorial freedom, authority, and autonomy.

Role of the Editor-in-Chief

The Editor-in-Chief, as a representative of the Editorial Board, oversees the rigorous and transparent management of the publication process. This means that he/she must ensure the integrity of all steps necessary for publication and act as a guarantor of research autonomy and sovereignty. This can only be achieved with the diligent support and assistance of the editorial community.

The Editor-in-Chief must ensure that all editors are integrated into the editorial community and are actively involved in the publication process. This includes ensuring that they have received all the necessary guidelines, have the necessary qualifications for their role and field of research, and are actively and appropriately implementing them in their work process.

The Editor-in-Chief is the main contact person for the work of the Annual. He/she represents the GSU-IF to other institutions, organisations, and individuals interested in the work of the Journal.

The duties of the Editor-in-Chief encompass, but are not limited to:

• Reviewing manuscripts to ensure that they meet the aims and scope of the Journal. This should be done with the active assistance of the relevant Section Editor(s), who will also check the quality of the manuscript and whether it meets the requirements of GSU-IF (see: Submissions). Only after this step will a manuscript be sent for peer review;
• Appropriate assigning of papers for review based on reviewer expertise.
• Coordinating the entire publication process, setting and adhering to deadlines;
• Monitoring and implementation of the GSU-IF Code of Ethics, including e.g. punctuality, courtesy, objectivity, etc. This includes ensuring the transparency of communication necessary for the proper conduct of the review and publication process;
• Proposing modifications to the ethical and operational framework of the Journal, where necessary (e.g. conflicts of interest, timeframes, etc.). These must be discussed and agreed by a simple majority of the Editorial Board prior to implementation;
• Protecting the rights of all those involved in the publication process;
• Protecting the confidentiality necessary for the work process, i.e. all information pertaining to a submitted manuscript should be treated as confidential and should only be disclosed to those involved in the evaluation, review, and publication process (for more information on the publication ethics, please, refer to the relevant webpage);
• Monitoring the performance of reviewers and editors and analysing and responding to the needs of the Journal community for the proper conduct of the publication process.

Term

Every four years, the Faculty Council of the Faculty of History elects the Editor-in-Chief of GSU-IF. In the event of the editor-in-chief's early resignation, the editor-in-chief should give at least one month’s notice. He/she has the right to propose a potential successor for the position. The election procedure for the successor Editor-in-Chief will be the same.

Every four years the Editorial board is (re)affirmed.

Role of the Editors

An individual may join the Editorial Board of the Annual by being invited to do so by the Editor-in-Chief. At the beginning of his/her term of office, the Editor-in-Chief will nominate the scholars to be elected to the Editorial Board/Section Editors, who will then be approved by the Academic Council of the Faculty of History. The criteria for nominating a scholar as a member of the Editorial Board include the scholar’s academic achievements, social standing and professional prestige. The person should agree with and actively implement the Ethical Code of the Journal and meet the following criteria/requirements:

• When researchers are approached with a proposal to join the Editorial Board, they should disclose all their existing editorial board commitments and potential conflicts of interest. Editors recruiting them should take these other commitments into consideration. See the relevant section of the Publication Ethics for more information;
• The editor is allowed to participate in the editorial boards of other journals, as long as this does not actively interfere with their commitment to the Annual of Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" - Faculty of History;
• If necessary, the individual should invest time in familiarising him/herself with the publication procedures and the OJS system;
• Once on the Editorial Board, Editors are required to adhere to the Journal's publication procedures, policies, and timetables. This includes upholding the integrity of the academic community, curating the content of the Journal, and demonstrating good publishing practice;
• Editors should diligently take responsibility for the section or field in which they have expertise, including assisting the Editor-in-Chief. This includes monitoring the publication process and ensuring that authors and reviewers meet deadlines;
• The Editor is expected to handle a number of manuscripts. This number takes into account the need for sufficient time and academic autonomy to ensure that the work can be carried out to the highest academic standards;
• In the event of the need to extend any stage of the review or publication process, editors are obliged to consult the Editor-in-Chief;
• If any member of the Editorial Board disagrees with the Editor-in-Chief's view on the reviewing process of the manuscript, a third review should be carried out.
• Editors are responsible for handling and keeping track of all possible corrections, retractions, misconduct, concerns, etc. They should act as quickly as possible in the event of such an occurrence. This is necessary to maintain the prestige and integrity of the Journal;
• The Editors and the Publisher are responsible for informing all interested parties of papers that have been found to be the result of research misconduct;
• Editors are prohibited from peer reviewing a manuscript of which they are an author.
• In the event of an authorship dispute, editors must act as quickly and professionally as possible to resolve the case. For more information, see the relevant section in Publication Ethics.
• Editors have the right to return a manuscript for linguistic editing. This includes, but is not limited to, tone, language quality, grammar, and does not include changing the intellectual contribution and point of view of the reviewer. This should be done in a confidential manner in a personal communication (i.e. email or the OJS system) between the editor and the reviewer and should respect any deadlines set.

By joining the Editorial Board, editors are granted indefinite tenure. The Academic Council of the Faculty of History confirms tenures every four years. Foreign scholars are elected to the Editorial Board by a majority vote of its members. If necessary, the Editorial Board may engage doctoral and post-doctoral students for additional work in the administration of the Journal.

If an editor is unable to complete their term of office, they must give one month’s notice to the Editor-in-Chief. Medical and personal reasons are considered valid reasons for resignation.

---

In case of a conflict with the Editor-in-Chief, the party concerned may lodge a complaint with the Ethics Commission of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”.

The Editorial Board is committed to ensuring that all parties involved in the publication process comply with the procedures, standards, and ethical principles of the Journal. This means that the members of the Editorial Board are not collectively liable for the violation of these principles, but are obliged to take prompt action if necessary.