Privacy Policy

Last updated: 1 August 2026

1. Scope

The Medical Chamber of the Zenica-Doboj Canton (“Chamber”, “we”, “us” or “our”) publishes the open-access scholarly journals Medicinski glasnik - Med Glas (Zenica) and Bilten of the Medical Chamber of the Zenica-Doboj Canton (collectively, the “Journals”).

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, retain and protect personal data when you use our Journal websites and services or communicate with us as an author, reviewer, editor, editorial-board member, reader or other Journal user. For information about permitted and prohibited uses of our websites and services, please refer to our Terms of Use.

We have developed this Privacy Policy in accordance with the applicable data protection legislation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including the Law on the Protection of Personal Data of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and with reference to the principles of the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). The GDPR is widely recognized as a leading international standard for data protection, and we are committed to applying high standards of privacy and data protection in our activities. Where terminology or concepts under the applicable legislation of Bosnia and Herzegovina differ from those used in the GDPR, this Privacy Policy uses GDPR terminology where appropriate, provided that such terminology is consistent with the applicable legal framework of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

2. Information We Collect

We collect personal information in three principal ways: directly from you, from other sources, and through automated technologies.

Information you provide to us

The information we collect directly from you depends on how you interact with the Journals and may include:

  • Contact details, such as your name, email address, postal address and telephone number.
  • Account login information, such as your username, password and information needed to maintain account security.
  • Professional and academic profile information, such as your professional title, institution, department, field of study or practice, qualifications, areas of expertise and research interests, ORCID iD and, where provided, a profile photograph.
  • Publishing and editorial information, such as manuscript submissions, authorship and affiliation information, reviewer reports, editorial information, declarations, correspondence and other material provided as part of the publishing process.
  • Content and communications, such as comments, questions, enquiries, requests, correspondence and other information you provide to us.
  • Preferences, such as preferred language or preferences relating to Journal notifications and communications, where such options are available.

Information from other sources

Where appropriate and lawful, we may obtain or verify professional and contact information from:

  • publicly available institutional or professional websites;
  • scholarly and bibliographic databases;
  • ORCID and similar professional identifier services;
  • professional organizations;
  • information provided by other authors, editors or reviewers; and
  • service providers assisting us with the operation of the Journals.

We may use such information to maintain accurate professional profiles, identify appropriate reviewers or editors, communicate with Journal contributors and support the integrity of the publishing process.

Device and usage data

Our websites may automatically collect certain information about your device and interaction with the websites, including:

  • IP address;
  • browser type and version;
  • operating system and device information;
  • technical identifiers;
  • date and time of access;
  • pages visited and referring or exit pages;
  • interactions with website features;
  • error reports and performance information; and
  • other technical information necessary for the operation and security of the websites.

We collect this information through our servers, cookies and similar technologies.

You can control cookies through your browser settings. If you block certain cookies, some website functions, including registration or login, may not work properly.

3. How We Use Your Information

Depending on how you interact with the Journals, we use personal information to:

  • provide, operate and manage Journal websites and services;
  • create and administer user accounts and professional profiles;
  • process manuscript submissions;
  • invite and communicate with reviewers;
  • manage editors and editorial-board members;
  • administer peer review and editorial processes;
  • communicate editorial decisions, requests for revisions and publication information;
  • maintain accurate publication and scholarly records;
  • invite authors to submit manuscripts or reviewers to participate in peer review;
  • respond to questions, requests, comments and concerns;
  • provide technical and administrative support;
  • notify you about changes, updates and other announcements relating to the Journals;
  • maintain the security, reliability and functionality of our services;
  • identify and prevent unauthorized access, fraud, abuse and security incidents;
  • understand general patterns of website use and improve our services;
  • conduct appropriate statistical analysis, reporting and administrative activities;
  • comply with legal and regulatory obligations;
  • establish, exercise or defend legal claims; and
  • enforce our agreements and policies.

Where we use aggregated or anonymized information for statistical or research purposes, we take reasonable steps to ensure that individuals cannot be identified from that information.

We do not sell or rent personal information and do not use Journal user information for targeted commercial advertising.

4. Author, Reviewer and Editor Profiles

We may maintain professional profiles for authors, reviewers, editors and editorial-board members where necessary to operate the Journals.

Such profiles may contain:

  • name;
  • professional title and position;
  • institutional affiliation;
  • areas of expertise and research interests;
  • academic qualifications;
  • ORCID iD;
  • email address; and
  • information concerning participation in Journal activities.

Profile information is used primarily to communicate with you, administer manuscript submission and peer review, identify appropriate reviewers and editors, and maintain the proper operation of the Journals.

5. Email Communications

Email is an essential part of our Journal operations.

We may use your email address to:

  • confirm account registration or changes;
  • acknowledge manuscript submissions;
  • invite you to review manuscripts;
  • send reviewer reminders;
  • communicate editorial decisions;
  • request revisions or additional information;
  • communicate publication and production matters;
  • respond to enquiries;
  • provide important Journal announcements; and
  • send other communications necessary to administer the Journals.

We may use third-party email service providers to deliver these communications. Such providers process personal data on our behalf only as necessary to provide email-delivery services and subject to appropriate contractual and legal safeguards.

We do not use Journal contact information for unsolicited commercial communications. Where optional promotional communications are introduced, they will be handled in accordance with applicable law and will include an appropriate means of withdrawal.

6. Sharing of Your Information

We may share personal information where reasonably necessary to operate the Journals and provide their services.

Service providers

We may provide information to trusted service providers that perform services on our behalf, including:

  • website and hosting providers;
  • manuscript and journal-management platforms;
  • email delivery providers;
  • cloud-storage and backup providers;
  • IT and technical-support providers;
  • security providers;
  • analytics providers, where used;
  • database and infrastructure providers; and
  • other providers necessary to operate and maintain the Journals.

These providers may process personal information only as necessary to provide their services and subject to applicable contractual and legal safeguards.

Scholarly and publishing services

Information necessary to maintain and disseminate the scholarly record may be provided to:

  • indexing and abstracting services;
  • DOI and persistent-identifier providers;
  • scholarly databases;
  • repositories and archives;
  • libraries; and
  • other services involved in scholarly communication and preservation.

We may disclose personal information where we have a good-faith belief that disclosure is necessary to:

  • comply with applicable law, regulation, legal process or other legal obligation;
  • detect, investigate or help prevent fraud, security incidents or technical problems;
  • protect the rights, property or safety of the Chamber, the Journals, our users, employees or other persons; or
  • establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

7. International Processing

Where personal data is transferred internationally, we take reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards are applied and that the information remains protected in accordance with applicable data-protection law.

Such safeguards may include contractual protections, appropriate data-processing agreements and other lawful mechanisms applicable to the particular transfer.

8. Cookies and Similar Technologies

Our websites may use cookies and similar technologies to:

  • maintain login sessions;
  • support website security;
  • remember technical preferences;
  • understand website usage;
  • monitor performance; and
  • improve website functionality.

You can control cookies through your browser settings and other available tools. Blocking certain cookies may affect your ability to register, log in or use some features of the websites.

9. Data Retention

We retain personal information for as long as reasonably necessary to provide our services and fulfill the purposes described in this Policy.

Information associated with published articles may need to be retained for a substantially longer period, and in some cases indefinitely, because it forms part of the permanent scholarly record.

When personal information is no longer required, we will delete, anonymize or securely dispose of it where reasonably practicable.

10. Data Security

We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to safeguard personal information against loss, theft, misuse and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration or destruction.

Although we take reasonable precautions, no internet transmission or electronic storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

Depending on the circumstances and applicable law, we may process personal information because:

  • processing is necessary to provide a service or administer your relationship with the Journal;
  • processing is necessary to comply with a legal obligation;
  • processing is necessary for the legitimate interests of the Chamber and the Journals, including operating the publishing process, maintaining scholarly records, communicating with professional contributors and protecting our systems; or
  • you have provided consent where consent is required.

Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw your consent subject to applicable law. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

12. Your Rights

Subject to applicable law, you may have the right to:

  • request access to your personal information;
  • request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;
  • request deletion of personal information where legally applicable;
  • request restriction of processing where legally applicable;
  • object to certain processing;
  • withdraw consent where processing is based on consent; and
  • exercise other rights provided by applicable data-protection legislation.

These rights may be subject to legal exceptions and limitations. In particular, information that forms part of the permanent scholarly record may need to be retained even where a request for deletion is made.

13. How to Contact Us

For questions about this Privacy Policy or requests concerning your personal information, contact:

Medical Chamber of the Zenica-Doboj Canton

Email: medicinskiglasnik@outlook.com

Please use the subject “Privacy Request” where possible.

We may request information necessary to verify your identity before responding to a request involving your personal information.

You may also have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent data-protection supervisory authority in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

14. Third-Party Websites and Services

Our websites may contain links to external websites, databases, repositories, indexing services or other platforms.

This Privacy Policy does not apply to the privacy practices of third parties. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of any third-party service before providing it with personal information.

15. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy when necessary to reflect changes in our services, publishing practices, technology, service providers or applicable law.

The current version will be published on the relevant Journal website and will include the date of the latest revision.