Victor Ponta gives up his PhD in Law

Prime Minister Victor Ponta on Tuesday announced that he sent a letter to the Rector of the University in Bucharest notifying the fact that he gives up his PhD in Law which he obtained in 2003 at the University of Bucharest. He shows, in a message posted on Facebook, that he should have done this a long time ago, since public allegations on his dissertation came forth, but that he hasn’t done it so far as he considered himself of good faith in his arguments at the time of the disproof and did not want to combine the professional side with the purely political one.

Ponta also states that after leaving politics he aims at starting a new doctoral activity, “in compliance with all the standards and requirements from that time”.

The PhD thesis of Prime Minister Victor Ponta was subject to certain allegations of plagiarism.

The announcement made by Ponta has already stirred controversy. Former Ombudsman Gheorghe Iancu told Hotnews on Tuesday the PM’s decision has no legal and judicial effect. He explained that no one can give up a PhD title, the institution which granted the title being the one to withdraw it, under certain conditions, in order to take effect.

Moreover, the Rector of the University of Bucharest, Mircea Dumitru, stated also on Tuesday, in an open letter to Victor Ponta, that the higher education institution will take all the necessary legal steps, in compliance with the Prime Minister’s request.

“We received your letter which informs us that you gave up the title of Doctor in Law. We appreciated the honesty of your letter and the good faith with which you are now considering the decision of the Ethics’ Commission in 2012. We totally agree with your assessments related to education as a fundamental and essential area for our future as a European society,” said Mircea Dumitru in the letter.

 

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