Thanking the Croatian Medical Journal for Providing a Model of High Editorial Standards

Abstract

To the Editor: We write to extend the support of the Council of the association Mediterranean Editors and Translators to the Croatian Medical Journal (CMJ) at this difficult time in which the journal’s editorial independence is under attack (1). The situation takes us very much by surprise because the CMJ is held in high esteem in our region and around the world as an exemplary journal publishing research from the “scientific periphery.” Many of our editors are copyeditors or board editors for similar journals and we consider the CMJ’s innovation of a novel “author-helpful” policy (involving instructive interventions) to be the gold standard for small journals published in English from non-Anglophone settings. We are sorry to see that colleagues on the editors’ home turf do not seem to be aware of the positive impact the CMJ has had on the editorial world. The CMJ is synonymous with integrity and editorial quality, in spite of the grave difficulties faced by such journals. We particularly admire the CMJ’s handling of the case of duplicate publication. Many of our members report that their work (whether in journal copyediting, author’s editing, or university education) involves a persistent struggle with various types of plagiarism and we applaud when a clear stand is made. Unethical publication practices are a harmful reflection on all the individuals and institutions involved, and can only be controlled through responsible collaboration by authors and their supervisors, institutional authorities, translators and editors who aid with manuscript preparation, and the journals themselves. Each must take suitable action to curb inappropriate practices and encourage authors to achieve high editorial standards. We consider that the CMJ’s approach to the investigation and resolution of the Kurjak case is an example of responsible management that honors its reputation for editorial honesty. On behalf of the governing Council of Mediterranean Editors and Translators: