The Netherlands Journal of Critical Care (Neth. J. Crit. Care) is committed to maintaining high standards of editorial quality, scientific integrity, transparency, and responsible scholarly publishing. The journal's editorial policies are designed to ensure that manuscripts are handled fairly and efficiently and that published content meets appropriate academic, ethical, and professional standards.

The journal follows relevant principles and recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and seeks to maintain editorial and publishing practices consistent with internationally recognized standards for scholarly journals.

1. Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions are based on the scientific quality, originality, relevance, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, and contribution of a manuscript.

Editors maintain editorial independence and must not allow commercial interests, advertising, sponsorship, personal relationships, institutional pressure, or other external influences to determine editorial decisions. The editor retains responsibility for the selection and timing of journal content.

2. Managing the Peer-Review Process

All manuscripts considered suitable for external evaluation are handled through the journal's stated single-blind peer-review process.

Editors are responsible for:

• Conducting an initial editorial assessment.
• Selecting appropriate and independent reviewers.
• Considering reviewers' expertise and potential conflicts of interest.
• Maintaining reviewer and manuscript confidentiality.
• Assessing reviewer reports objectively.
• Communicating editorial decisions clearly to authors.
• Ensuring that peer review is conducted in a fair, timely, and professional manner.

The editor has ultimate responsibility for the editorial decision and is not required to follow a reviewer's recommendation when there are legitimate academic or editorial reasons for an alternative decision.

3. Initial Editorial Screening

Each submitted manuscript undergoes an initial editorial assessment before external peer review.

The editorial team may evaluate:

• Relevance to the journal's aims and scope
• Scientific quality and originality
• Completeness of submission
• Ethical and regulatory requirements
• Plagiarism or similarity concerns
• Conflicts of interest
• Authorship information
• Appropriate reporting and documentation
• Overall suitability for peer review

Manuscripts that fall outside the journal's scope or fail to meet essential requirements may be rejected or returned to authors before peer review.

4. Assistance with Manuscript Submissions

The editorial office may assist authors with administrative and technical aspects of submission, including:

• Submission requirements
• Manuscript formatting
• Required declarations
• Author information
• ORCID information
• Ethical documentation
• Cover letters
• Conflict of interest statements
• Similarity or plagiarism reports
• Reference formatting
• Submission-system queries

Editorial assistance does not guarantee acceptance or influence the scientific evaluation of a manuscript.

5. Editorial Assessment and Decision-Making

Editors evaluate manuscripts on the basis of academic and scientific considerations. Decisions may include:

• Accept
• Minor Revision
• Major Revision
• Reject

Editorial decisions should be communicated to authors in a timely and professional manner. Where appropriate, reviewer comments are provided to assist authors in improving their manuscripts.

6. Reviewer Management

The editorial team selects reviewers with appropriate subject expertise and relevant research or professional experience.

Reviewers are expected to:

• Maintain confidentiality.
• Provide objective and constructive comments.
• Identify methodological or ethical concerns.
• Declare conflicts of interest.
• Complete reviews within the agreed timeframe.
• Avoid using unpublished information for personal or professional benefit.

The journal may replace reviewers when necessary because of conflicts of interest, lack of responsiveness, inadequate expertise, or other legitimate concerns.

7. Confidentiality

Manuscripts, reviewer reports, editorial correspondence, and other unpublished information are treated as confidential.

Editors, reviewers, and editorial staff must not disclose information about submitted manuscripts except to individuals directly involved in the editorial process or where disclosure is required for legitimate legal or ethical reasons.

The journal also expects reviewers and editorial staff to handle manuscripts securely and responsibly.

8. Conflicts of Interest

Authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial staff must disclose relationships or activities that could create an actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest.

Editors should recuse themselves from decisions involving manuscripts where their relationships or interests could compromise impartiality.

9. Plagiarism and Research Integrity

The journal is committed to preventing plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabrication, falsification, inappropriate image manipulation, authorship misconduct, and other forms of research or publication misconduct.

Submitted manuscripts may be screened using Turnitin or another appropriate similarity-detection system.

Where misconduct is suspected, the journal may investigate the matter and take appropriate action, including rejection, correction, expression of concern, or retraction where warranted.

10. Ethical Oversight

Research involving human participants, identifiable patient information, animals, or other ethically regulated activities must comply with applicable ethical requirements.

Where applicable, authors must provide evidence of ethical approval and appropriate informed consent.

The journal may request additional documentation when ethical concerns arise. COPE recommends that journals maintain clear policies covering ethical oversight, consent, vulnerable populations, confidential data, and research involving humans and animals.

11. Authorship and Contributor Information

The journal expects authorship to accurately reflect substantial contributions to the work.

All listed authors should approve the final manuscript and agree to its submission. Changes to authorship after submission should be properly justified and approved by all relevant authors before the change is considered.

12. Data Availability and Research Transparency

Where appropriate and ethically permissible, authors are encouraged to provide information regarding the availability of research data, materials, protocols, and other resources necessary to support transparency and reproducibility.

The journal may request additional information regarding data, methodology, or study protocols when necessary to assess the integrity of the research.

13. Proofreading and Copyediting

Accepted manuscripts may undergo editorial proofreading, copyediting, formatting, and technical preparation before publication.

Proofreading may address:

• Grammar and spelling
• Typographical errors
• Formatting
• Headings and structure
• Tables and figures
• References and citations
• Consistency of terminology
• Journal style requirements

Editorial proofreading does not alter the scientific meaning or conclusions of an article without appropriate author or editorial consideration.

Authors may be asked to review proofs before final publication and are responsible for identifying substantive errors within the designated proofing period.

14. Compiling Journal Issues

The editorial team is responsible for organizing accepted manuscripts into journal issues according to the journal's publication schedule.

Issue compilation may take into account:

• Article type
• Subject relevance
• Editorial balance
• Publication priority
• Completion of peer review
• Completion of revisions
• Proofreading and production status

The order in which articles appear in an issue does not imply a ranking of scientific importance.

15. Publication Schedule and Regularity

The journal aims to maintain a consistent and predictable publication schedule.

The editorial and production teams work to minimize unnecessary delays between acceptance and publication. Planned delays or exceptional circumstances should be managed transparently and communicated where appropriate.

Regular publication and predictable issue schedules are among the technical and quality considerations used in Scopus journal evaluation.

16. Corrections and Post-Publication Changes

Honest errors may occur in scientific publishing. When a significant error is identified after publication, the journal may publish an appropriate correction or other post-publication notice.

Corrections should clearly identify the affected article and describe the necessary changes while preserving the integrity of the published record.

17. Retractions and Expressions of Concern

The journal may retract an article or publish an expression of concern where substantial evidence indicates serious problems with the integrity, reliability, ethics, or publication history of the work.

Retraction decisions are handled according to applicable publication-ethics principles and are intended to maintain the integrity of the scholarly record.

18. Appeals and Complaints

Authors may appeal an editorial decision where they believe there are substantive grounds for reconsideration or a significant procedural error.

The journal also provides a mechanism for complaints concerning editorial conduct, peer review, publication processes, or other journal-related matters.

Complaints and appeals should be submitted in writing to the editorial office and should contain sufficient information to allow appropriate assessment. Clear procedures for complaints, appeals, and disputes are recommended as part of responsible journal management.

19. Artificial Intelligence and Editorial Work

The journal recognizes that artificial intelligence and AI-assisted technologies may be used in scholarly publishing.

AI tools must not replace human editorial judgment. Editors and reviewers must protect confidential manuscript information and should not upload confidential manuscripts or peer-review materials into AI systems where confidentiality cannot be assured.

Any use of AI in the editorial or peer-review process should be consistent with the journal's AI policy and applicable ICMJE recommendations. The current ICMJE Recommendations include specific guidance for authors, reviewers, and editors regarding responsible AI use.

20. Advertising and Commercial Influence

Advertising, sponsorship, or other commercial relationships must remain separate from editorial decision-making.

Advertisers and sponsors must not influence manuscript selection, peer review, editorial decisions, publication timing, corrections, or retractions.

The journal's Advertising Policy governs the acceptance and presentation of advertising content.

21. Editorial Board Responsibilities

Editorial Board members are expected to:

• Uphold the journal's editorial and ethical standards.
• Maintain confidentiality.
• Declare relevant conflicts of interest.
• Support a fair peer-review process.
• Provide subject-matter expertise when requested.
• Promote the journal's academic quality and integrity.
• Assist in addressing ethical or publication-related concerns when appropriate.

The editorial team should receive appropriate support and training to maintain effective journal management and consistent editorial practices. COPE identifies effective journal infrastructure, editorial-board management, and staff training as important elements of responsible journal publishing.

22. International Standards and Best Practices

The Netherlands Journal of Critical Care seeks to maintain its editorial and publication practices in accordance with internationally recognized scholarly publishing standards, including relevant recommendations and principles of:

• International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)
• Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)
• Scopus content and journal selection principles
• Applicable research-ethics and reporting standards

The journal periodically reviews its policies to reflect developments in medical publishing, research integrity, peer review, digital publishing, and responsible use of emerging technologies. Scopus identifies peer review, publication ethics, editorial policy, regular publication, international relevance, and online availability among important journal-selection considerations.