The Scientific Council of the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN) has annulled Jacek Bartosiak’s doctorate. This announcement was made on Friday on the institute’s website.
“The Directorate of the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences informs that on June 14, 2024, the Scientific Council of the Institute of Political Studies PAN adopted a resolution declaring the resolution awarding the doctoral degree to Mr. Jacek Bartosiak null and void,” reads the statement on the institute’s website. No further details were provided.
For over a year, the academic community has been discussing the likelihood of plagiarism in the doctoral dissertation of Jacek Bartosiak, who is a lawyer by profession.
According to media reports, the decision to revoke Bartosiak’s doctoral degree was based on expert opinions from Dr. Tomasz Kamiński of the University of Łódź, Dr. Łukasz Fyderek of Jagiellonian University, and legal expert Dr. Mateusz Błachucki from PAN. These experts were part of a commission appointed by the Institute of Political Studies PAN in October 2023.
Dr. Błachucki’s legal opinion, which is considered crucial, argues that Bartosiak appropriated significant portions of someone else’s work, thereby meeting the criteria outlined in Article 195 of the Law on Higher Education and Science. This article pertains to the “annulment of the decision to award a doctoral degree,” according to the website gazeta.pl. The article’s authors noted that the official expert opinions cannot yet be published, as this requires the consent of all parties involved, due to personal data protection regulations.
Jacek Bartosiak responded to the matter in a Twitter post, criticizing the manner in which PAN handled the case.