1. Policy on authorship and contributorship
Authors may be named in alphaetical order of surname, or in (decreasing) order of importance of contribution. Authorship implies a significant contribution to the essence of the paper, be that its core idea, the clear enunciation of any considered propositions, the formulation of theory, the design, execution and interpretation of experiments and so forth. Routine laboratory assistance and data analysis, following instructions given by the author(s), would not normally warrant inclusion in authorship, but exceptional help that was vital to the success of the work could warrant it; similarly, drawing the figures, typing the manuscript, checking the references and the like would not normally warrant inclusion, but it is appropriate to mention such assistance in the acknowledgments. Heads of the laboratory, department or institute in which the work was carried out would not normally be entitled to authorship \i ex officio\i0 , but if the work reported required significant external funding, in the procurement of which the head was instrumental, that would in itself justify authorship, as would, of course, significant input into the contents of the paper.

2. Policy on conflicts of interest / competing interests
Authors are assumed, individually and collectively, to uphold the highest standards of integrity in connexion with any work submitted for publication. Authors may find it useful to read the papers in the special issue devoted to 'Scientific integrity' (vol. 17 no 4, December 2017) in order to better understand the full implications of this assumption. Any conflicts of interest or competing interests that would impair the scientific objectivity of a paper preclude submission for publication to this journal, and authors are themselves responsible for upholding this standard. Editors and reviewers must disqualify themselves if they become aware of a conflict of interest.

3. Policy on data sharing and reproducibility
Original data on which a published paper is based may be requested from the corresponding author of the paper, who is expected to accede to any reasonable request. Authors may require any significant costs associated with fulfilling such a request to be defrayed.
Other workers finding that they cannot reproduce a paper's results may initially wish to correspond with the paper's authors—perhaps some essential detail was inadvertently omitted from the paper—but they are also free to submit a new paper describing their inability to reproduce the results. If this finding is accompanied by a theoretical analysis showing that the originally reported result could not in principle be obtained, so much the better—knowledge will have been advanced. Normally such a paper will be classified as 'Matters arising' and the authors of the first paper will be sent the new MS. and invited to comment, in a form that may also be published.

4. Intellectual property
Prepublication of material submitted as a paper precludes consideration. Prepublication includes press reports, broadcast interviews and other forms of verbal communication, and posting on the Internet. The editor should be consulted in case of doubt. If the submission is accepted, permission to disseminate the work as a preprint in advance of publication may be sought.
Quotations must be fully acknowledged. Inclusion of material copied from other authors, without acknowledgement, will lead to a paper being rejected without further consideration.\par It may sometimes happen that a paper uses the same experimental methods as described in a previous paper. The description should not be copied from the earlier work, but referenced to that earlier work, with due mention of any differences. Exceptions may be made if the earlier work is difficult to access.

5. Regenerative artificial intelligence (AI)
So-called AI or large language models (LLMs) have become widely available. The assistance they afford to authors is considered to be little different from using Internet search engines, e.g. to find references to other work. The editors of the journal are cognizant of the help in writing (i.e., text composition) that LLMs can provide to authors whose first language is not English. Insofar as prompt engineering is the work of the authors the editors consider that the possible use of LLMs is not a matter of primary concern. They are confident that any improper use of AI tools in preparing an article for submission will be detected by the reviewers.

6. Post-publication discussion and corrections
Typographical errata of significance may be corrected by an Erratum published in a subsequent issue.
Substantive data errors may be corrected by an Erratum published in a subsequent issue.
Discussion in the form of 'Matters arising' is encouraged. Strongly critical work refuting the findings of a paper will be sent to its author(s), who will be invited to comment in a form that may also be published.
Discussion and criticism that signficantly advances knowledge may warrant submission as a new paper that references the original one.

7. Policy on ethical oversight
Ethical oversight includes matters such as consent to publication, publication on vulnerable populations, ethical conduct of research using animals, ethical conduct of research using human subjects, handling confidential data and ethical business/marketing practices. The journal follows COPE's guidelines.

8. Process for dealing with allegations of research misconduct
Allegations should be made to the editorial office, preferably by e-mail to jbpc@colbas.org, with the subject 'submit JBPC [first author surname] misconduct' if the paper is known to have been submitted but not yet accepted, or with the subject 'misconduct [MS. code or doi or first author surname & volume & issue number & first page]', with as many details as are known. The accuser must declare any possible conflict of interest. Anonymous allegations are disregarded.
Allegations will normally be handled by the editor-in-chief and the editor who is or was responsible for the paper, who will jointly investigate as appropriate. The process and outcomes of the investigation will be fully documented and kept on file. If the allegations are upheld, the paper may be retracted by means of a retraction notice printed in the journal and published on the website, and the table of contents and abstract will be annotated accordingly.
Retractions are, fortunately, very rare (none in the history of this journal) and are problematical, not least because dissemination tends to be imperfect and papers continue to be cited after retraction. Only the author(s) or the editor(s) may request a retraction. Note that if the findings of a paper are rendered invalid by facts discovered after publication, that does not constitute grounds for retraction.

9. Handling complaints and appeals
Any complaints about the handling of a paper following initial submission should be made by the corresponding author to the editorial office (not to the editor handling the paper), preferably by e-mail to jbpc@colbas.org, with the subject 'submit JBPC [first author surname] complaint', clearly stating the complaint, with a chronology and any supporting evidence, and what redress is desired if the complaint is upheld. Receipt of complaints will be acknowledged and the complainant informed of the outcome, and kept updated at intervals if the outcome takes longer than one month to determine.
Appeals against editorial decisions and the outcomes of complaints and allegations should similarly be made by the corresponding author (or accuser) to the editorial office, preferably by e-mail to jbpc@colbas.org, with the subject 'submit JBPC [first author surname] appeal', giving full, objective, grounds for the appeal.
The journal is a member of the international Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), which maintains comprehensive guidelines on ethical practices, to which reference may be made if the above policies do not cover the matter on which guidance is sought.
The ultimate arbiter of all appeals and requests for retraction is the Doyen of Ethics of the Collegium Basilea, who is ex officio the current President.

Updated 31 March 2024