Ilie Bolojan, about the plagiarism accusations against Radu Marinescu: “These are things from 15-20 years ago”
Ilie Bolojan states that the accusations of plagiarism brought to the Minister of Justice, Radu Marinescu, do not concern his ministerial activity and that the assessment of Cabinet members is based on their official mandate, not on events from the distant past.
Ilie Bolojan commented on the accusations of plagiarism in the case of the Minister of Justice. PHOTO: Mediafax
Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan commented on Tuesday, on TVR 1, the accusations of plagiarism that were brought to the Minister of Justice, Radu Marinescu, stressing that they refer to periods before his ministerial mandate and that the assessment of ministers must be based on their official activity.
“I had a discussion with the minister this morning. The things he is accused of did not happen during his ministerial mandate. These are things that, I understand, are 15-20 years ago. I try to evaluate my colleagues by what they do during their ministerial mandates. We also discussed previous cases in which ministers had situations that were related to their activity before occupying these portfolios“, said the prime minister.
Ilie Bolojan admitted that plagiarism is a form of theft, but insisted that a decision must come from an independent entity.
“Of course plagiarism, in principle, which is a form of theft, is not to be appreciated. This is a general principle that I have always supported and I believe that any rational person who understands the value of work supports it. But I do not have the data to strictly judge this situation. I hope that in one form or another an independent entity will certify whether this plagiarism is real or not. But today Mr. Minister understands that he no longer teaches at the university and that obtaining this doctorate no longer has an effect on his career his”, the prime minister also said, stressing that the clarification of these situations is essential for the credibility and authority of persons with responsible positions.
“Any person who holds a public position or who has a position of responsibility, even in the private sector, is performing according to the position and the authority he has. The more we who hold public positions are attacked – motivated or not – and because of these attacks we lose our authority, so the risk of not being efficient is quite high. So, clarifying any situations like this is auspicious, so as to preserve the credibility of a person in charge, so that he can exercise authority and produce results”, he completed.
Regarding the contests for the appointment of the future chief prosecutors, Ilie Bolojan stated that they must be conducted in a “fair and objective” manner, considering the low level of trust of the population in the justice system.
These statements come against the background of a report made by journalist Emilia Șercan for PressOne, which shows that “more than half of the doctoral thesis in Law of the Minister of Justice, Radu Marinescu, is plagiarized”, a topic that has sparked extensive debates in the public space.
