Publication Integrity & Ethics (PIE) was developed over a decade ago to address several areas of concern and promote real editorial freedom.Read more.
PIE Council
| PIE Highlights | |
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You are invited to join the Publication Integrity and Ethics as one of its founding members. PIE offers free membership to all interested individuals. Read more. |
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As an Editor-in-Chief Member you will play a central role in shaping the organisation; you will benefit from the many and varied facilities the P.I.E. Read more. |
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The Publication Integrity and Ethics intends to publish a special peer-reviewed periodical that will publish short debate articles in science. Read more. |
The PIE Council is the Publication Integrity and Ethics’ governing body. Members of the Council are the trustees of the ethical environment and ethical conduct in the editorial and publishing sector.
The main responsibilities of the PIE Council are to manage the affairs of PIE, to keep track of all the national and global issues that are directly or indirectly affecting the organisation and the publishing sector. It provides the PIE direction by reviewing the strategic plans and allocating resources necessary in order for the organisation to function properly.
In addition, the Council oversees the entire PIE activity, ensures that both the organisation and its members meet their statutory obligations and promotes ethical editorial conduct among all its members and associates.
While complaints related to breaches in the code of ethical editorial conduct must first be addressed directly to the journal, the editorial staff or the author, such issues may be raised, discussed and solved with the help of the Council Sub-Committee. It offers mediation, access to information and a simple and effective procedure of analysing and closing disputes.
Any individual, whether he or she is part of an editorial team or not, may formulate a complaint about published material and address it directly to the Council as long as this person is a PIE member or adherent. While the issue may be raised even if the complainant is not directly affected by the article in question, the final resolution depends on whether the person who is directly affected decides to proceed further with the complaint or not. The Council Sub-Committee will mediate complaints about: author mistakes, authorship of the article, copyrights infringements, publishing without consent, data fabrication/manipulation/falsification, editorial independence and decisions and many other issues of importance in the publishing sector.
The Council is the PIE supreme governing body. Whilst there is neither chairman nor a president of the Council, it includes 30 members co-equal in rank and position who vote democratically and anonymously on any issue related to the publishing sector. As the governing body of PIE, the Council is responsible for its overall organisational structure and for directing the activity of the organisation, updating the guidelines and the code of conduct, investigating and resolving the issues related to the breaches in the code and the official complaints of members and adherents of PIE.
As managing trustees of the ethical editorial conduct, members of the Council have the duty to follow the guidelines and to ensure that all other members of the organisation are up to date with the code of conduct and in compliance with it. As trustees, members of the Council must at all times act in the best interest of the Publication Integrity and Ethics and its members. Provided that they do so, as individuals, members of the Council will be indemnified by the organisation against the results of their actions or decisions.
General duties of the Council members
The PIE Council is the managing board of ‘Publication Integrity and Ethics’ as an organisation and as all members are equal, each Council member is a director. All members of the PIE Council are responsible for the management of the organisation in the interests of its members. The Council members act collectively unless otherwise agreed while investigating or mediating issues and breaches signalled by members of PIE.
While there is no restriction on the place of residence or nationality, Council members must be registered members of PIE. They must also disclose their current location and announce to the other members any permanent change in their address. Their specific duties as members of the Council are as follows:
- To approve any complaints formulated against editors and publishers related to breaches in the code of conduct and guidelines.
- To investigate the complaints and mediate the conflict.
- To call general meetings.
- To notify all members about changes in the code of conduct or in the organisation’s structure or management.
- To ensure that every complaint is dealt with in a fair and objective way.
Roles of the members of the Council
The PIE Council has neither chairman nor a president. As the governing body of ‘Publication Integrity and Ethics’, the Council includes 30 members co-equal in rank and position who vote democratically and anonymously on any issue related to the publishing sector. Their main roles are as follows:
- To maintain a critical overview on the activity of the organisation, communicate with each other and with the other members if necessary.
- To take strategic action if necessary in order to increase individual membership of PIE and to improve new member retention.
- To promote alternative solutions and resolutions on complaints which couldn’t be resolved in due time.
- To maintain a critical overview of the activities of the PIE organisation and its members.
- To act as liaison between members of the organisation or between publishers and editors and complainants.
- To promote the guidelines and the code of conduct to all members of PIE and to facilitate access to all the resources available online.
- To give guidance to all members of the organisation in matters related to the ethical editorial conduct and publication ethics.
- To act in accordance with the PIE guidelines and to comply with the code of conduct.
- To represent the organisation and its views in the relationships with third party individuals and organisations.
Conduct of the Council members
All Council members are expected to serve in the best interests of the PIE organisation and its members during their term of office. They should maintain regular communication by e-mail with the rest of the Council, give reports of their activity if asked to do so and attend to regular meetings of the Council if necessary.
Outcomes of the complaints addressed to the PIE’s Council:
• Adjudication: when the Council issues an official adjudication on the complaint
• Issue resolved: When the publisher or the editor took action before the investigation was over and therefore the complainant chose not to proceed any further and ask for Council adjudication
• Other outcomes: When the adjudication or the resolution does not fall within the duty of the Council, when there is no clear breach in the code of conduct or when the complainant did not follow the proper procedures in order to submit the complaint to the Council.
