After a multi-year procedure initiated due to allegations that he required students to cite him in their papers in order to increase the number of citations and receive compensation, the decision by which the professor of the Faculty of Sport and Physical Education Dusko Bjelica was declared responsible for violating the Code of Ethics of the University of Montenegro was annulled, and in the repeated proceedings the proposal for establishing a violation of academic integrity was rejected.
On October 14, 2025, the Administrative Court of Montenegro accepted Bjelica's lawsuit and annulled the decision of the Senate of the University of Montenegro of January 25, 2022.
The verdict states: "The lawsuit is accepted. The decision of the Senate of the University of Montenegro of 25. 01. 2022 is annulled. The defendant is obliged to reimburse the plaintiff for the costs of the dispute in the amount of €800,00, within 15 days from the date of receipt of the verdict."
By this decision of the Senate, Bjelica's objection to the decision of the Council of the Ethics Committee of the University of Montenegro of November 19, 2021 was previously rejected as unfounded.
The Council of the Ethics Committee determined in this decision that Bjelica, in the period from November 13, 2019 to February 3, 2020, "acted by abusing his position of authority in order to create a privileged position for an individual, to the detriment of professional criteria and indirectly 'exploited' students", by requiring students to cite Professor Bjelica in their papers, "all with the aim of gaining personal benefit by securing a larger number of citations, for which a special fee was paid at the University of Montenegro".
Following the ruling of the Administrative Court, the Senate of the University of Montenegro, acting on the court's order, accepted Bjelica's objection and annulled the decision of the Ethics Committee Council from 2021, and returned the case for retrial.
In execution of the verdict, the Ethics Committee of the University of Montenegro issued a new decision on January 19, 2026, “rejecting the Proposal for Violation of Academic Integrity of July 7, 2021.”
Thus, in the repeated proceedings, the proposal to establish a violation of academic integrity against Professor Bjelica was rejected.
The case was first widely publicized in early 2021, when the media published allegations regarding the citation rate and manner of publishing Professor Bjelica's scientific papers, as well as data from international databases on the number of his citations. These articles questioned the growth in citation rates and the manner in which the papers were published, citing data from available scientific services and databases.
Subsequently, the Center for Civic Education (CCE) filed a Proposal for Violation of Academic Integrity in July 2021, with documentation relating to communication with students and associates and allegations of mandatory citation in papers. This proposal was the basis for initiating proceedings before the Ethics Committee of the University of Montenegro.
In November 2021, the Council of the Ethics Committee of the University of Montenegro issued a decision establishing that there had been a violation of the provisions of the Code of Ethics of the University of Montenegro. The explanation stated that the professor acted contrary to the provisions relating to the prohibition of abuse of authority and the preservation of professional criteria, and he was given a measure of public condemnation with publication in the Bulletin of the University of Montenegro.
Professor Bjelica stated in public speeches that he does not accept the allegations in the decision and that he believes the accusations are unfounded, which is why he has used the legal remedies provided for by the University's acts.
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