Misconduct in research is handed over to the Government Disciplinary Board for Higher Officials
The decision of the Swedish National Board for Assessment of Research Misconduct (NPOF) that a professor at Halmstad University has been found guilty of research misconduct has gained legal force. The Vice-Chancellor has now decided to let the Government Disciplinary Board for Higher Officials (SAN) examine whether this constitutes as grounds for dismissal.
In April 2024, NPOF decided that the professor has been guilty of extensive plagiarism of a student report, which was assessed as a serious deviation from good research practice. The Board also found that the professor had acted with intent.
The professor has subsequently appealed NPOF’s decision to three instances. First to the Administrative Court, which rejected the appeal, then to the Administrative Court of Appeal, which decided not to hear the case, and finally to the Supreme Administrative Court, which upheld the Administrative Court’s decision not to hear the case. Thus, NPOF’s decision has now gained legal force. Halmstad University’s Vice-Chancellor has therefore decided to refer the matter to the Government Disciplinary Board for Higher Officials, the body that decides on issues of dismissal for senior government officials.
The Act on responsibility for good research practice
The Act on responsibility for good research practice and the examination of research misconduct (2019:504) defines research misconduct as “a serious deviation from good research practice in the form of fabrication, falsification or plagiarism committed intentionally or through gross negligence when planning, conducting or reporting research”.
