Siniša Mali's annulled doctorate

Category: Above the law

Period: from 2013

Outcome: Under investigation (as of 5 Jun 2026)

Siniša Mali, later finance minister, defended his doctorate in 2013 at the Faculty of Organisational Sciences, and the University of Belgrade found that on 51 pages he had copied other people's texts word for word without citing the source. The University annulled the doctorate twice, and both decisions were struck down by the Administrative Court on procedural grounds, without any assessment of whether the work is plagiarised. Mali denies plagiarism and has remained minister. The proceedings, begun in 2014, are still unresolved after twelve years: no action has been taken since January 2024, and three lawsuits filed by Mali are pending before the Administrative Court.

The doctorate and plagiarism suspicions

Siniša Mali, who later became finance minister, defended his doctorate in 2013 at the Faculty of Organizational Sciences (FON) of the University of Belgrade. Since 2014, the text has been challenged as plagiarism.

The faculty initially concluded that the thesis was not plagiarised, but the university did not accept that report.

A degree annulled twice

In November 2019, the Professional Ethics Committee of the University found that on 51 pages of his dissertation Mali had copied other people's texts verbatim without citing the sources.

The Senate unanimously annulled his degree on 12 December 2019, and again on 22 December 2021.

Administrative Court rulings

Acting on lawsuits filed by Mali, the Administrative Court annulled the Professional Ethics Committee's decisions (2021 and 2023) and the Senate's second decision (2023) on procedural grounds, partly following a ruling by the Constitutional Court that the university's rules had been applied retroactively.

The courts did not assess whether the work was plagiarised.

Mali stays on as minister

Mali denies plagiarism and calls the University's decisions political.

Prime Minister Ana Brnabić said Mali would remain a minister in her government; Aleksandar Vučić first said the decision would not affect his place in the government, and a day later that Mali „must also pay a political price“. Mali remained finance minister.

A new doctorate in Košice

In the meantime, according to the daily Danas, Mali defended a new doctorate at the Technical University of Košice in Slovakia in June 2023, and the Qualifications Agency recognised that degree on 2 August 2023.

Proceedings at a standstill

Since November 2023 the proceedings have again been handled by the Professional Ethics Committee, but according to a response from the University, no new action has been taken since January 2024; three lawsuits filed by Mali are pending before the Administrative Court (June 2026).

The University's position is that Mali does not hold the title of Doctor of Science on the basis of the Belgrade doctorate. The proceedings, begun in 2014, thus remain unresolved after twelve years, while the minister stays in office.

Participants

Siniša Mali: According to the Ethics Committee's decision, he copied other people's texts verbatim without attribution on 51 pages of his doctorate; he denies this (responsible)
Ana Brnabić: She called the Committee's decision on the doctorate political and said Mali would remain a minister (commented on the case)
Aleksandar Vučić: He called the decision on Mali's doctorate deeply political, and a day later said Mali must pay a political price (commented on the case)
Vladan Đokić: After the Senate's second decision, he said the University no longer wanted to deal with the doctorate without a court ruling (investigation and courts)
University of Belgrade: The Board found that others' texts had been copied, the Senate annulled the doctorate twice, and new proceedings have stalled since 2024 (investigation and courts)
Faculty of Organisational Sciences, University of Belgrade: It first concluded that the thesis was not plagiarised, which the University did not accept, and in the repeated proceedings the dean issued a public reprimand (investigation and courts)
Administrative Court: Acting on lawsuits filed by Mali, it overturned the University's decisions in 2021 and 2023 on procedural grounds (investigation and courts)
Constitutional Court of the Republic of Serbia: In July 2022 it ruled that the regulations under which the doctorate was annulled were unconstitutional (investigation and courts)