In December 2025, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the Law of Ukraine “On Academic Integrity,” which, for the first time, establishes uniform rules for the entire education and research system, from schools to universities, dissertation councils, and grant competitions.
For scientists, this is not just another law. It formalizes principles that have long been reflected in the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics and in university ethics codes: who qualifies as an author, what constitutes a violation, and what consequences follow from misconduct.
One of the key parts of the law is the alienation of authorship and the purchase or sale of authorship or co-authorship. This practice has become widespread in the Ukrainian academic environment in recent years, from a place in a monograph for a contribution to purchased articles in specialised journals.
What is alienation of authorship according to the law?
The law introduces a separate article on the alienation of authorship, which is understood as a situation in which:
- an academic work (or part of it) is created by one author and published under the name of another person as the author.
When:
- buy a finished work (article, dissertation, qualifying work) and submit it under their own name;
- buy a place in the list of authors even though they did not actually participate in the study;
- transfer the authorship of an already published work to another person.
The law separately regulates commissioned works and intermediary services. In this context, such services form the classic market of commissioned writing of articles and dissertations on a turnkey basis.
The legal framework provides a clear answer: buying authorship constitutes a violation of academic integrity.
What are the implications for researchers and teachers?
The law establishes a list of violations of academic integrity, which includes:
- alienation of authorship;
- academic plagiarism and self-plagiarism;
- fabrication and falsification of data;
- not performing tasks independently;
- unfair work with AI-generated results;
- other forms of non-compliance with integrity.
The law provides for severe sanctions for alienation of authorship:
- for students – expulsion, deprivation of scholarships and benefits
- for teachers and researchers – disciplinary sanctions up to and including dismissal
- for institutions – institutional measures that may affect accreditation and funding.
It is worth noting that the absence of a court decision does not prevent the application of academic sanctions. The university or research institution has the right to consider the violation at its own level.
Typical risk situations for Ukrainian scientists
What does this look like in real life? To be honest, a significant number of Ukrainian researchers have already encountered such practices:
- Buying a place in a collective monograph or article
When you are added to the list of authors without actually working on the text or research.
- Guest authorship for management or colleagues.
The author is included out of respect, for a position, or for formal consultation, rather than for a genuine scientific contribution. - Market of ready-made articles in Scopus and Web of Science.
When a ready-made article is offered, and that someone can be added as a second or third author.
After the law enters into force, such schemes will move from the category of vague regulation to a clearly defined offence. The responsibility will be borne not only by the one who sells the authorship but also by the one who buys it.
What it means for a scientist’s personal reputation
Legal risks are only the most visible aspect of a broader problem. For a researcher, the consequences can be even more painful:
- undermining the trust of colleagues, expert councils, and juries of grant and competition programmes;
- the risk of losing the academic degree or title if the violation is related to the dissertation;
- long-term career implications, especially in international projects where reputation checks are of great importance.
Purchased authorship may seem like a quick fix for a certification or competition, but under the new law, it is a long-term threat to your career and status.
How can researchers ensure honest authorship practices?
The law focuses not only on prohibitions but also on transparent rules. A safe strategy for a scientist:
- Identify authorship through real contributions.
An author is someone who participated in the problem statement, research design, data collection and analysis, writing, or substantial revision of the text. - Distinguish between authorship and acknowledgments.
People who helped in the organization or performed technical tasks can be mentioned in acknowledgements, but not as co-authors. - Avoid any authorship in articles.
Even if the journal is foreign, and the transaction is between authors who can reach an agreement with each other, it does not matter to the law. - Record the contribution of each author.
Contribution statements are not just a formality, but a tool to protect yourself and your colleagues.
What role can a submission-agent play in this context?
The law does not prohibit legal services, such as language editing, structural editing, translation, journal selection, technical preparation of a manuscript, communication with editors, etc. It is the sale of authorship and turnkey writing that is prohibited.
E-Science Space works in this field as a submission agent:
- does not create “anonymous” texts instead of the researcher;
- does not sell authorship in articles and does not agree on fictitious co-authorship;
- provides assistance in bringing real research to a fair publication, from structuring the manuscript and language proofreading to selecting a journal and providing technical support for submission.
As a result, the author:
- retains full control over the content and results of the study;
- receives professional support at difficult stages (formal requirements of journals, peer review, responses to reviewers);
- minimizes the risks of violating the law and damage to reputation.
The new law on academic integrity establishes clear rules that make unfair practices unacceptable. Buying authorship, fictitious co-authorship and custom work are now seen not only as an ethical violation, but as a legally defined offence with specific sanctions.
This is both a challenge and an opportunity for Ukrainian scientists:
- refuse to make unsafe compromises;
- build a publication strategy on honest research;
- use legal support tools where help is needed with form rather than content.
E-Science Space supports the rationale behind these changes. We aim for scientific activity in Ukraine to develop according to transparent and well-defined rules, ensuring that the publications of Ukrainian researchers are trusted both domestically and internationally. Although the new requirements may appear stringent, in the long term they benefit those engaged in genuine scientific work.
Our role is not to facilitate workarounds, but to assist researchers in adapting to the new standards, planning publications, and navigating complex technical processes without jeopardizing their reputations, thereby ensuring that Ukrainian science gains from these reforms rather than being hindered by them
