Regardless of whether you wrongfully appropriate an object, a privilege, money, or an idea, it is theft under the various names by which the specific act is incriminated. Therefore, if Mircea Geoană wrongfully appropriated parts of someone else’s work and included them in his doctoral thesis, as accused by Emilia Șercan, he has stolen.
Considering Ms. Șercan’s qualifications and track record, the likelihood that her disclosure is correct is very high; however, of course, until an official independent verdict is reached, Mr. Geoană benefits from the presumption of innocence.
The issue is that following Decision CCR no. 364/2022, CNATDCU is no longer entitled to verify the quality of the thesis that entered the civil circuit, specifically 19 years ago.
But if Mr. Geoană is convinced of his innocence, he can voluntarily subject his thesis to an independent evaluation, possibly with a foreign component, to dispel the accusations. Or at least present the result of the plagiarism detection software analysis he refers to in his response.
Decision CCR leaves open the possibility of an official analysis of compliance with the legality conditions for obtaining the title, and Emilia Șercan complains of a series of irregularities that could be subject to analysis.
But even here, things are not very simple, because the thesis is still two decades old. Apart from murder, I do not know of any criminal offense that has not been prescribed in 20 years, and the law in force at that time was different from the current one, including in terms of deadlines.
Mr. Geoană invokes political attack, and given that legally, as I have shown, not much can happen, the relevance of the disclosure is indeed linked to Mr. Geoană's imminent presidential candidacy, currently rated as the favorite in opinion polls.
Is the plagiarism accusation likely to bring down Mircea Geoană in the presidential race?
Normally, such an unclarified suspicion of theft and imposture is lethal for a political career. In Romania, the effect is debatable.
The history of the last 30 years has shown that the same circumstances can be either lethal or have no major effects depending on the public profile of the accused person and their reaction.
If the individual is highly disliked by the public and also attempts to create a special legal status for themselves, to change the law for their benefit, in other words, to be some kind of "special," as Victor Ponta was, the accusation is extremely damaging. But not because the principle of academic integrity burns in the outraged, but strictly emotionally.
That was also the case with Liviu Dragnea. The majority took to the streets not primarily for justice and principles but because they detested the person who tried to create a special law for himself. When Dragnea went to jail, so did the attachment to principles, leading to the party that was most active at the time having candidates in elections and members in the new national leadership, two of whom were under criminal investigation, one already indicted.
Nicolae Ciucă is also accused of plagiarism; PICCJ managed to block the CNATDCU investigation, which was still possible at the time. I didn't see anyone take to the streets for that, nor when the savior from PICCJ became the head of DNA. And there was no devastating electoral impact on the PNL either.
Real respect for academic integrity cannot be significant in a country where children are encouraged from a young age in school to plagiarize, meaning to memorize and reproduce exactly, without quotation marks, comments designed by others during exams. The best reproducer gets the highest grade.
This is the Romanian school from the communist era to the present day, where can the demand for originality and respect for others' creations stem from?
And there is another equally unpleasant aspect that must not be overlooked. Plagiarism investigations have been politically confiscated to be copiously used in political battles, turning them into mere political weapons with the required credibility for many.
Therefore, those who rejected Mircea Geoană most likely receive an additional reason, those who sympathize will overlook it, and very few will consider the plagiarism suspicion truly important in itself. And once this investigation is also politically exploited, the accusation will become part of the campaign turmoil.