Requests Before Publication

Any request to change authorship after submission must be accompanied by:

• A written explanation of the proposed change and the circumstances that made it necessary.
• The original and proposed author lists, including author order and corresponding-author designation.
• Written agreement from all currently listed authors and any individual being added or removed.
• An updated author-contribution statement and any revised disclosures, where applicable.

The Editorial Office may contact authors individually to verify their agreement. Silence or failure to respond is not considered consent. Authorship changes requested after acceptance are subject to additional editorial scrutiny and may delay publication while the necessary documentation is reviewed. Acceptance does not automatically prevent a justified correction to the author list.

Changes are not permitted merely for administrative convenience, honorary recognition, institutional pressure, or other reasons inconsistent with accepted authorship criteria.

Changes After Publication

Requests to add, remove, or reorder authors after publication require a documented justification and appropriate written agreement or other authoritative evidence establishing the basis for the change.

When a change is approved, ACE will publish a formal correction notice linked to the original article, amend the author and contribution information as appropriate, and update relevant publication metadata and indexing records where technically feasible. Substantive changes to published authorship information will not be made silently.

In exceptional circumstances, consistent with ICMJE guidance, the journal may consider a request for removal of an author despite the absence of unanimous agreement. Such decisions require documented editorial justification, and all coauthors will be notified.

Reporting an Authorship Dispute

Any listed author, omitted contributor, or other directly affected individual may raise an authorship concern by contacting the Editorial Office at acejournal@treatascholars.com.

The complaint should identify the manuscript or published article, describe the disputed authorship issue, and provide relevant supporting documentation where available. Prior approval from the corresponding author is not required to submit a complaint.

Initial Editorial Assessment

Upon receiving a complaint, the Editorial Office will acknowledge receipt and assess the nature of the concern. Where appropriate, the journal may request explanations, authorship declarations, contribution statements, correspondence, or other relevant documentation from the individuals involved.

Affected parties will ordinarily be given an opportunity to respond. Complaints will be handled by an editor or other qualified individual without a relevant conflict of interest.

Information may be shared with the affected authors, relevant institutions, or competent authorities when reasonably necessary to investigate or resolve the concern, subject to applicable confidentiality and legal requirements.

Disputes Before Publication

When an unresolved authorship dispute arises during peer review or production, ACE may suspend editorial processing or publication until the matter has been adequately resolved. The journal does not determine the relative intellectual contributions of competing claimants or independently arbitrate unresolved disagreements over authorship eligibility or author order. Responsibility for reaching an appropriate authorship agreement rests primarily with the authors.

Where the parties cannot reach agreement, ACE may request that the institution or institutions where the research was conducted investigate the matter and provide a documented determination. Editorial processing may resume when satisfactory evidence of resolution has been received and the journal's authorship requirements have been met.

If the dispute remains unresolved and prevents responsible publication, ACE may decline to proceed with the manuscript or close its editorial consideration after appropriate communication with the parties involved.

Disputes After Publication

When an authorship dispute concerns a published article, ACE will assess the available documentation and may seek clarification from the authors or an appropriate institutional authority. Where an authorship correction is justified by documented agreement or a sufficiently supported institutional determination, the journal may issue a formal correction and update the published record.

A disagreement about authorship alone does not ordinarily justify retracting an article when the reliability of its findings is not in question. However, allegations involving fabricated contributions, unauthorized submission, research misconduct, or other concerns affecting the integrity or reliability of the publication will be examined under the journal's research-integrity and post-publication correction policies. Depending on the evidence, further editorial action may be warranted.

Institutional Referral and Editorial Responsibility

ACE follows the principle that unresolved disputes requiring investigation of institutional records, research contributions, employment relationships, or conflicting factual claims should be referred to the appropriate institution or research-integrity authority.

The journal retains responsibility for decisions concerning manuscript processing, publication, and correction of the scholarly record. Institutional findings are considered as relevant evidence but do not automatically determine every editorial action.

All substantive decisions and supporting documentation will be recorded by the Editorial Office. ACE will seek to communicate its decision to the affected parties while respecting confidentiality and applicable legal obligations.