Lithuanian parliament delays decision on Beinoravičius’s ethics commission role

The Lithuanian parliament has postponed a vote on whether Darijus Beinoravičius, found guilty of academic misconduct, should remain a member of the State Service Ethics Commission (VTEK), LRT reports.

Lawmakers were scheduled to decide on Tuesday whether Beinoravičius could continue in the role, but the vote was deferred to the next session by unanimous agreement. A request to dismiss him was submitted to Seimas Speaker Juozas Olekas in early March, signed by 35 MPs—primarily from opposition parties.

In September, the Academic Ethics Oversight Commission of Mykolas Romeris University (MRU) ruled that a research paper submitted by Beinoravičius constituted plagiarism, violating academic ethics. He resigned from his MRU position at the end of last year but currently holds seats on both VTEK and the board of Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT).

The Lithuanian Research Council, which delegated Beinoravičius to the LRT board, has stated that current regulations do not provide for automatic removal of a public broadcaster’s board member unless they have been formally dismissed from their primary role for ethical violations.