University responds to thesis criticism

 

Published by the Communications and Development Department

 

23 October 2002

 

The University of Canterbury’s Chancellor Dame Phyllis Guthardt today said the Joel Hayward Working Party, under the chairmanship of retired high court judge Sir Ian Barker, examined the legitimacy of the thesis in an in-depth investigation that took up the better part of 2000.

 

“The essential finding was that the thesis was not dishonest or fraudulent. This means that neither the thesis nor the degree can be amended, removed, downgraded or altered. That is what the law says. From the University’s point of view, the matter is closed.”

 

She said certain groups had expressed they were not “happy” with the findings of the working party. “That is not a valid reason for opening another investigation. It would take new evidence, that was legitimate, credible, and bona fide, and of which the working party was totally unaware, for any consideration to be given to opening another investigation into the thesis.”

 

Seven other MA theses were supervised at Canterbury by Dr Vincent Orange between 1985 and 1997 and they were not the subject of the inquiry. The Council of the University established the Working Party to investigate the circumstances in which the degree of Master of Arts came to be awarded to Dr Hayward, no other student.

 

The topic of the thesis by Stephen Daniel Eaton was Judgement on Nuremburg, and it was submitted in 1994 as partial fulfilment of the requirement of an MA, the remainder of the requirement being four taught papers. The thesis is a study of the law in regard to the punishment of war crimes.

 

“The University will not provide the name of the external examiner on the grounds that, under the Official Information Act, release of these details would infringe the privacy of natural persons.

 

“We can confirm however, that the external examiner for the Eaton thesis was not the same external examiner as for the Hayward thesis.

 

“There is no suggestion of an investigation into the Eaton thesis. There is no evidence of fraud or dishonesty, there has been no criticism of it and it has never been embargoed or withheld,” Dame Phyllis said.