The ethics commission of ISM University of Management and Economics has concluded that Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius committed plagiarism in his doctoral thesis on alcohol consumption, which he defended in 2015. The panel identified five cases of plagiarism and two instances of improper text use that did not meet the threshold for plagiarism.
The commission determined that the violations breached the university's academic integrity principles and the requirements for independent doctoral research. However, it stopped short of recommending immediate revocation of the degree, stating that such a measure would be disproportionate, and noted no irregularities in the thesis evaluation or defence processes.
Under the proposed procedure, the required corrections and missing citations are to be identified and made public within 60 days. Following that step, Sinkevicius will be given six months to revise the thesis. The corrected version will then be reviewed by the doctoral committee and published alongside a corrections addendum. Should Sinkevicius refuse to make the necessary amendments within the allotted time, the commission may recommend initiating the revocation process.
Speaking to the BNS news agency, Sinkevicius accepted the commission's findings and said he would prepare the required revisions. "I conducted the data analysis myself and drew the conclusions myself. That is why I never doubted my work, but I am not contesting the identified violations," he stated.
ISM Rector Dalius Misiunas praised the commission for conducting a thorough and professional review in line with the principles of impartiality and objectivity. The investigation was launched following plagiarism allegations that surfaced in July.
