Withdrawal Policy

Overview

The Journal of Addiction Therapy and Research (JATR) allows withdrawal of manuscripts under specific and justified circumstances. This policy defines when and how an article can be withdrawn, ensuring ethical compliance with COPE Retraction Guidelines (2019) and ICMJE Recommendations.

Withdrawal Before Publication

Authors may request withdrawal of a submitted manuscript prior to publication under the following conditions:

• The manuscript has not been formally accepted for publication.
• Authors must provide a written request stating valid reasons (e.g., duplicate submission, major errors, author disagreement).
• All co-authors must consent to the withdrawal request in writing.

The Editorial Office reviews and confirms the withdrawal. A withdrawal confirmation email is issued to the corresponding author within 5–7 business days.

Withdrawal After Acceptance but Before Publication

Requests made after acceptance are considered only under exceptional conditions, such as:

• Discovery of critical data errors affecting conclusions.
• Ethical or authorship disputes under investigation.
• Violation of ethical standards identified by the editorial team.

Once production or DOI assignment begins, withdrawal is discouraged. If approved, a processing fee may apply to cover editorial and administrative costs.

Post-Publication Withdrawal (Retraction)

After publication, articles cannot be “withdrawn” but may be retracted following COPE and Crossref guidelines. Retraction applies when:

• Significant data fabrication, plagiarism, or unethical research is confirmed.
• Duplicate publication or undisclosed conflict of interest is identified.
• Authors or editors recognize fundamental methodological errors invalidating findings.

Retracted articles remain accessible online with visible watermarks and explanatory notes to maintain the scholarly record.

Unauthorized Withdrawal

Unethical withdrawal attempts—such as ceasing communication after acceptance or refusing APC payment without valid reason—are considered a form of academic misconduct. Such cases are reported to the authors’ institutions, and the manuscript may be blacklisted from future consideration.

Financial and Refund Considerations

If the manuscript is withdrawn before peer review, no charges apply. For withdrawals after acceptance or typesetting, a partial fee may be retained to cover incurred costs (as per the Refund Policy). No refunds are granted once an article is published and assigned a DOI.

Editorial Rights

Editors reserve the right to withdraw or retract manuscripts on behalf of the journal for ethical violations, plagiarism, or authorship disputes. All such actions are documented, dated, and permanently visible on the article landing page.

Authorship and Consent

All listed authors must sign a withdrawal request before it is processed. Requests without unanimous consent are suspended until the conflict is resolved. The corresponding author is responsible for coordinating all author communications with the Editorial Office.

Withdrawal Procedure

1. Author submits a withdrawal request via email to [email protected].
2. Editorial Office verifies authorship consent and reasons for withdrawal.
3. Editor-in-Chief reviews and approves or declines the request.
4. Official confirmation is issued to all authors, and the manuscript status is updated in the system.

Approved withdrawals are logged internally for future reference.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)