Romanian PM Cleared of Plagiairizing His PhD :: Balkan Insight

Romania's National Ethics Council, an Education Ministry panel, announced late on Thursday that Prime Minister Ponta did not plagiarize his PhD thesis, saying that it was written in accordance with the academic standards of the time it was published.

The board said that Ponta followed the rules prevailing in 2003, when he completed his doctoral thesis on the International Criminal Court.

?The decision of the Ethics Council is a definitive one and says that the case is closed?, Education Minister Ecaterina Andronescu said on public television. Andronescu is a member of Ponta's ruling Social Democratic Party, PSD.

The announcement may not end disputes over Ponta's PhD, however, as various bodies are in charge of checking the authenticity of scientific works.

In June, the National Council for Attesting Titles, Diplomas and University Certificates, CNADTCU, a body working under the umbrella of the Romanian Academy, said that Ponta did plagiarize large sections of his thesis and called for him to be stripped of his PhD.

A third panel, set up by the University of Bucharest, which granted Ponta his degree, is due to deliver its report on the plagiarism allegations on Friday.

Plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty are endemic in Romania. After the overthrow of the Communist regime in 1989, a large number of private universities and institutes opened, offering what some say were illegitimate? academic qualifications.

Ponta, who said his only mistake in writing his thesis was not to credit all the sources in the footnotes, but only in the bibliography, insists that the charges were politically orchestrated by his rival, Romania's now suspended President, Traian Basescu.

For weeks, Romania has been moving towards a showdown between Basescu and Ponta, with both jockeying for power.

The parliament, where Ponta's leftist coalition has a majority, on July 6 voted to suspend Basescu as President for 30 days and announced that a referendum will take place as next stage of a campaign to impeach him.

Source: http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/education-panel-says-romanian-pm-does-not-copied-his-phd-thesis

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