Based on valid regulations, it is possible to refuse to authenticate fake degree certificates, or we may amend the Criminal Code and introduce bought diplomas as a crime, so that persons who possess them are held accountable, a lawyer and ex-assistant minister of education, Mubera Kurpejovic, told TV E.
Fake degree certificates have existed for years, while their authentication has existed since 2008.
“Legislation of a home country is very important in this situation, that is, a country where the degree is issued and where a higher-education institution operates. Fake degree certificates are mostly linked to unaccredited institutions with no tradition,” she said.
As Ms Kurpejovic explained, there were over a thousand requests for degree attestation in the first year, while from 2021, over 5.000 attestation requests were received.
According to her, the applicable Criminal Code recognizes only fake certificates – Article 412 – but it refers to forged certificates.
It’s very hard, she noted, to determine whether a certain degree certificate was bought. “It’s almost impossible, as there are no mechanisms for that recognized by the law. You can only tell that in this moment this diploma is suspicious, that is, bought, as you most often can’t prove it”.
Ms Kurpojovic also recalled that the Ministry of Education recently stated they would not authenticate diplomas from Bosnia and Herzegovina anymore, because competent bodies from this country had started checks on the work of those institutions.
