Withdrawal Policy

Transparent Procedures for Withdrawal, Retraction, and Replacement of Published Content

1. Pre-Publication Withdrawal

Authors may request withdrawal of a manuscript before it enters the peer review stage by emailing the editorial office. Withdrawal during peer review or post-acceptance is discouraged and must be justified in writing.

Manuscripts withdrawn after editorial or peer-review investment may incur a processing charge.

To ensure responsible use of editorial and reviewer resources, withdrawal charges may apply depending on the stage at which the manuscript is withdrawn. The following schedule will be used:

  • If the manuscript is withdrawn before plagiarism checking: no fee is charged.
  • If the manuscript is withdrawn after plagiarism checking but before peer review begins: a withdrawal fee of $549 is applicable.
  • If the manuscript is withdrawn after peer review has commenced: a withdrawal fee of $749 is applicable.
  • If the manuscript is withdrawn at the final proof stage (after acceptance and layout/production work): a withdrawal fee of $949 is applicable.

2. Post-Publication Retraction

Articles may be retracted post-publication in cases of ethical violations, such as plagiarism, data falsification, duplicate publication, or proven authorship disputes. Retraction notices will be published openly and linked to the original article.

  • Article PDF will be watermarked as "Retracted"
  • DOI remains active for citation tracking and transparency
  • Retraction decisions follow COPE Retraction Guidelines

3. Article Corrections

Minor errors that do not alter scientific conclusions may be corrected via a formal erratum or corrigendum. These are linked to the original article and clearly labeled for reader awareness.

4. Article Replacement

In exceptional cases, articles may be replaced if substantial updates or corrections are required. A replacement is allowed only with editorial board approval and author agreement. The original article will remain archived and clearly marked as replaced.

5. Legal and Ethical Grounds for Removal

AAC reserves the right to permanently remove an article in cases involving legal defamation, court orders, or violations of privacy rights. A public notice will explain the basis for removal while maintaining transparency.