Complaints and Appeals

Authors, reviewers, readers, and other stakeholders may submit complaints about the journal’s administration, conduct, communication, or application of its published policies. This page also explains how to request a review of a complaint outcome.

1. Choosing the Right Route

  • Manuscript decision: If you want the journal to reconsider an acceptance, a rejection, or another editorial decision, use the Appeals of Editorial Decisions procedure.
  • Suspected research or publication misconduct: Use the Allegation of Research Misconduct procedure.
  • Service, conduct, or policy administration: Use the complaint procedure described below.

If a single report raises several issues, the journal will coordinate the appropriate routes. You do not need to submit the same evidence more than once.

2. Submitting a Complaint
Send an email to [almuhafidzjurnal@gmail.com] with the subject line “Formal Complaint – [Brief Topic]”. Your complaint should describe:

  • the events, dates, and people or offices involved;
  • the policy or service issue, together with supporting correspondence;
  • the submission ID or webpage concerned, where relevant;
  • the clarification or remedy you are seeking, and any conflict you believe affects how the complaint should be handled.

Complaints are not subject to a processing fee. Keep your report factual and respectful. You do not need to prove misconduct in order to raise a legitimate concern.

3. Assessment and Response
The editorial office will acknowledge your complaint and assign it to a person who is not the subject of the complaint and has no relevant conflict of interest. Editorial matters are handled by someone with appropriate editorial expertise. Operational matters may be handled by an authorized representative of the publisher.

If the complaint concerns the Editor-in-Chief, it will be assigned to another qualified editor who has no conflict of interest. If suitable internal handling is not available, an independent external assessor will be engaged. The person named in the complaint must not control the outcome.

The assessment may include clarification from you and a response from the relevant parties. The journal will communicate a reasoned outcome and any appropriate remedy. Some details may be withheld where third-party confidentiality applies. If the process is delayed, the journal will explain why. No fixed completion period is guaranteed.

4. Review of a Complaint Outcome
If you believe the outcome is wrong, you may request reconsideration by identifying a material error, overlooked evidence, a conflict in handling, or a procedural failure. The request will be assessed by a suitably qualified person who was not responsible for the outcome being challenged.

Repeating the same grounds does not automatically reopen a concluded complaint. Material new evidence may justify further assessment. This process does not replace the appeal procedure for manuscript decisions, nor the procedures that govern integrity findings and published notices.