Legal and ethical rules of plagiarism

Abstract

Plagiarism has always been a problem in the university environment as well. There is no legal definition of plagiary, plagiarism or self-plagiarism in the national, supranational (EU) law or international agreements. The definition of plagiarism and selfplagiarism should be clear for academic staff and university students as well. We can conclude that the whole academic society agrees that plagiarism is a serious problem. The paper identifies the legal framework of plagiarism in the Slovak and EU law, the forms of plagiarism behind the legal framework and the problems arising from the use of - artificial intelligence (AI) and proposes solutions for how to fight against plagiarism in the academic environment. The Slovak declaration confirms the fact that existing legal regulations do not reflect the whole gamut of possible instances and circumstances of unscientific, unethical, and dishonest conduct. It seems to be necessary to prepare a directive in the EU law as a repressive measure to define which research conducts is not acceptable, including the AI considered often as a new form of plagiarism. As well as the training courses for teachers and students focused on plagiarism, including the AI and the possibilities for using it in academic research would be a preventive measure for avoiding plagiarism and selfplagiarism.

Keywords

• plagiarism
• self-plagiarism
• author´s work
• quotation ethical codes
• legal rules