Justice Minister Radu Marinescu conveyed on Monday, following accusations of plagiarism in his doctoral thesis, that he followed all ethical and scientific standards, and that his work was assessed by his supervising professor, the doctoral committee and the National Committee for the Certification of University Titles, Diplomas and Certificates (CNATDCU).
"Why now? Why me? In a defamatory and contradictory article, which obsessively repeats previous slanders against me (lawyer of gangsters, imposed as minister by clans with obscure interests, etc.), an article which repeatedly focuses on the prosecutor selection procedure launched by the Ministry of Justice just a few days ago (hence the question of why me and why now), without even using a software-based analysis, journalist Sercan Emilia accuses me of plagiarism in my doctoral thesis, which I did not commit," Marinescu wrote on his Facebook page.
Radu Marinescu added that he completed his PhD under the supervision of Professor PhD Ion Dogaru and that it was assessed in line with all academic standards.
"I graduated top of my class, with full-time studies and no interruptions, from the Law Faculty of the University of Craiova. Immediately after graduation, I entered the legal profession and practised continuously for thirty years as a lawyer within the Dolj Bar, my professional competence being recognised through multiple successive terms in leadership positions. I also represented the Dolj Bar internationally within the European Bars Federation. About 17 years ago, I drafted my PhD at the same prestigious state law faculty under the guidance of the late academician Professor PhD Ion Dogaru. I complied with the guidelines and standards of scientific ethics and quality, in accordance with the legislation at the time, the PhD being assessed by my supervising professor, the doctoral committee and the CNATDCU, according to all requirements, without any irregularities being reported. I also mention that I do not hold a university chair, I am only an external collaborator (associate professor) of the University of Craiova," the Justice Minister underscored.
Regarding journalist Emilia Sercan's claims questioning the ethical, scientific and legal standards of his PhD, Radu Marinescu stated that the respective standards were established and validated by the doctoral committee and the CNATDCU in accordance with the law in force at the time.
"To the extent that anyone contests them, even nearly 20 years later, they have the full right to appeal to the competent authorities under the law, the truth cannot be equated with mere media allegations, even bizarre ones (for example, that I plagiarised, while the footnotes quote the works of authors supposedly used, who were also quoted by the authors in question; some texts are legally reformulated, not copied word-for-word as claimed; yet it is suggested there could be a conspiracy involving accomplices, intermediaries or even an unidentified plagiarised work, allegations that I plagiarised the history of evidence, which is in fact unique or other similar claims regarding legal conceptual unanimity, or presenting older cases while discussing old codes, etc.)," Marinescu mentioned.
The minister brought to mind that, according to the Constitutional Court Decision no. 364 of 8 June 2022 (binding), these standards "cannot be reexamined with legal relevance" in the context of changing laws over time, regarding the scientific value of the work, "there being no constitutional or legal basis for this."
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