Advisory opinions

This is a list of short summaries of advisory opinions. The list also includes decisions. In these cases, LOWI has declared the petition inadmissible. It has therefore not examined the substance of the petition and has not issued an advisory opinion.
By placing keywords in the search bar (click on the magnifying glass in the top right corner) you can search specifically within the advice.
The full text of the advisory opinion is only available in Dutch. If you want to read the full text in English, you can use the Dutch text for translation purposes.

  • Advisory opinion 2023-08
    Researcher who refuses to approve the final manuscript and simultaneously refuses to give up his co-authorship did not delay or hinder the work of other researchers in an inappropriate manner (norm 58). The other researchers should nevertheless be permitted to publish the manuscript.
  • Advisory opinion 2023-07
    Scientific and public debate. The fact that the Petitioner is apparently not (yet) able to gain access to the scientific forum does not mean that his substantive objections to the work of the Defendant must be dealt with in the context of an integrity procedure.
  • Advisory opinion 2023-06
    There is no doubt about the fact that the dissertation deals only briefly with Zwarte Piet, because that figure actually played only a minimal role in the underlying research. No indications or arguments that the defendant would conceal this role.
  • Advisory opinion 2023-05
    The key issue in this case is whether the role of a professor should be investigated who was the last or co-author of various publications, of which it has already been established that these must be withdrawn due to malpractice.
  • Decision 2023-04
    Petitioner clearly does not use the right to complain for the right purpose. The petition only concerns a repetition of previous complaints. Petitioner excessively uses the complaints procedure, on such a scale that the procedure could never have been intended for this.
  • Advisory opinion 2023-03
    When a scientist participates in an advisory board this falls under the scope of ‘scientific and scholarly research in the broadest sense’ to which the code of conduct applies. However, the petitioner's complaint is unfounded.
  • Advisory opinion 2023-02
    Scientific integrity requires a scientist to always weigh up which principle should be given priority in the event of conflicting principles. The LOWI can clearly see that the Interested party has prioritized responsibility for maintaining confidentiality over transparency with regard to the specific meeting to which he contributed.
  • Advisory opinion 2023-01
    Complaint about a doctor. The case concerns a discussion paper in a scientific journal about the then prevailing Covid-19 policy. The doctor was not appointed for scientific research, only for patient care. However, this was not clear to the reader of the discussion paper. Therefore the complaint was nevertheless declared admissible.
  • Advisory opinion 2022-19
    Conflict between an external PhD-student and an associate professor. There is an unequal position, because the associate professor is in hierarchy above the external Phd-student. The conflict is about authorship and the order of authors.
  • Advisory opinion 2022-18
    Petitioner is an association that engages in a public debate and strives for a legislative change. More often complaints procedures are being used for the sake of a public debate. LOWI wonders whether CWI’s and LOWI are the designated organizations to handle these kind of complaints.