Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan expressed his hope that an independent entity will certify whether Justice Minister Radu Marinescu is guilty of plagiarism or not.
On the other hand, he stated that he evaluates his Cabinet members based on their activity during their ministerial mandates.
"I had a discussion with the minister this morning. The things he is accused of did not happen during his term as minister. These are things that, I understand, are from 15-20 years ago. I try to evaluate my colleagues based on what they do during their terms as ministers. We have also discussed previous cases in which ministers had situations that were related to their activity before taking up these portfolios," the prime minister said on TVR 1 on Tuesday.
He mentioned that plagiarism represents a "form of theft", but stressed that the decision must be made by an independent entity.
"Of course, plagiarism, in principle, which is a form of theft, is not 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 am not in a position to judge this situation strictly. I hope that in one way or another an independent entity will certify whether this plagiarism is real or not. But today, I understand that the minister no longer teaches at the university and obtaining this doctorate no longer has any effect on his career," Bolojan declared.
At the same time, he specified that clarifying such situations is necessary for the credibility and authority of people with positions of responsiblity.
"Any person who holds a public office or who has a position of responsibility, even in the private sector, is performing also function of the authority he or she has. The more we, who hold public office are attacked - motivated or not - and due to these attacks we lose our authority, the greater the risk of not being efficient. So, clarifying any situations like this is a good omen, in order to preserve the credibility of an official, in order to be able to exercise his or her authority and produce results," he said.
As to the competitions for the appointment of future chief prosecutors, Bolojan stated that these must be conducted "fairly and objectively", given that the justice system has low trust among the population.
A PressOne analysis by journalist Emilia Sercan shows that "more than half of Law PhD thesis of the Minister of Justice, Radu Marinescu, is plagiarized."
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