Academy Senate finds no evidence Kalvins deliberately exceeded his authority

The Latvian Academy of Sciences Senate says it has no evidence that its president, Ivars Kalvins, deliberately exceeded his authority or acted out of personal interest when recommending Latvian citizenship for Indian citizen Divya Vishvanath, LSM reported. The Senate said, however, that Kalvins’s unilateral action posed risks to the academy’s reputation and credibility.

The Senate said it had not seen the recommendation letter before it was sent to parliament and had not assessed it in advance. At an October 29 meeting, the academy’s presidium said Kalvins had made the recommendation in good faith, relying on information provided to him, materials prepared by the academy’s Economics Institute, previous positive cooperation and Vishvanath’s potential contribution to Latvia’s pharmaceutical industry. Kalvins acknowledged that he had not checked the information in depth.

The Senate said the academy should improve the procedures for issuing recommendations and opinions in its name. It plans to clarify internal procedures and rules, and to consider setting up a working group to improve the academy’s internal processes. The Senate also identified a need to improve rapid decision-making, internal communication and the division of responsibilities, as well as external communications and the involvement of the scientific community and younger academy members.

The Senate said it was ready to work with the Ministry of Education and Science to assess the academy’s legal status, functions and governance model, while respecting academic autonomy and ensuring the participation of leading academy scientists.

Latvia’s parliament has revoked the law granting Vishvanath citizenship, and the prosecutor’s office has begun a review of the citizenship decision.