– The thoughts that went through Nicolaus Copernicus’ head and were put down on paper are immortal. They are still a determinant of how we think about areas of the Universe that he did not even think about, that he could not have imagined. – said Secretary General of the Copernican Academy Professor Krzysztof Górski, PhD, during the opening ceremony of the College of Legal Studies at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Lublin.

On 13 September, at the premises of the Regional Branch of the National Bank of Poland in Lublin, the opening of the College of Legal Studies at the Nicolaus Copernicus University.

The ceremony was attended, among others, by the Secretary General of the Copernican Academy Prof. Dr. Krzysztof Górski, the Rector of the Nicolaus Copernicus School Dr. Piotr Turek, the Minister of Education and Science Przemyslaw Czarnek, the former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Cardinal Gerhard Müller and a member of the Copernican Academy, the Dean of the College of Legal Sciences of the Nicolaus Copernicus School Prof. Fabrizio Giulimondi.

A living memorial to Nicolaus Copernicus

As Professor Górski emphasised at the beginning of the ceremony, the patron of the Copernicus Academy had achieved immortality thanks to his discoveries, but he was still not sufficiently appreciated. – In my personal opinion, as a nation we have not yet risen to the challenge of discovering what a diamond he was, and he is still unrefined,” he explained.

– It seems that in astronomy we have it easy – everyone says that Copernicus was an astronomer – ‘he stopped the Sun, moved the Earth’ – and we already have the matter settled. But in fact, in astronomy, the so-called Copernican principle is the guiding philosophical principle that allows us to systematise our knowledge of the entire Universe,” the AK General Secretary continued.

– The thoughts that went through Copernicus’ head and were put down on paper are immortal. They are still the determinant of how we think about areas of the Universe that he did not even think about, that he could not have imagined. The power of these thoughts has survived him and his time, and so aspirationally I would like to see our tasks at the Academy and the Nicolaus Copernicus University to pay Copernicus this proper homage and treat the Academy – in accordance with the ideas of its founders – as a living monument to this figure,” added Prof. Górski, comparing the Polish scientist’s achievements to those of Leonardo da Vinci.

Minister Czarnek: SGMK law college to be an elite international doctoral school

Also speaking at the ceremony was Minister of Education and Science, who spoke about the importance of building an elite doctoral school based on the disciplines that Copernicus dealt with.

– It is a great moment that here in Lublin, where in 1569 the Lublin Union was established – judged differently but nevertheless pointed to as the prototype of today’s European Union – the College of Legal Sciences of the Nicolaus Copernicus University is being established. It is being established on the 550th anniversary of Nicolaus Copernicus’ birth, explained Minister Czarnek.

– That is why we created the Copernican Academy, so that it would be a living memorial to the 550th anniversary of Copernicus’ birth, hence the importance of this global aspect of the Academy’s activities, the Minister added.

At the same time, Prof. Czarnek assured that the establishment of the new College does not mean the creation of competition for the two best-known existing law faculties in Lublin. – The College of Law in Lublin is not in competition with either the Faculty of Law of the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, the Faculty of Law of the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, or any law faculty of any university.

– The Nicolaus Copernicus Law School’s College of Law, as part of this great international monument, was established to be an elite international doctoral school with active research activities, the Minister added.