A legal action has been initiated at the Lisbon Administrative Court this Tuesday, involving nine plaintiffs. The case targets the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation, with the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), nine elected council members, and seven proposed co-opted members of the institution’s General Council as interested parties. This development was reported on the online platform Citius.
A source close to the case explained that the injunction challenges Minister Fernando Alexandre’s decision to appoint an electoral commission to restart the election process for the General Council, which has been at a standstill since March.
The Ministry of Education has not yet responded to inquiries regarding this matter.
The General Council is responsible for temporarily appointing the rector and initiating the election process for the new rector.
Emídio Gomes, the previous rector until the end of September, chose not to run for re-election and resigned to become the president of Metro do Porto.
On October 6, the Minister of Education appointed Jorge Ventura as interim rector to ensure the continuity of university governance until institutional normalcy is restored.
On October 20, the minister established an Electoral Commission to organize elections for the General Council and complete the process within 60 working days, which extends to mid-January.
This Electoral Commission consists of five internal and external members, chaired by Sebastião Feyo de Azevedo, the president of the Porto Municipal Assembly, along with Ana Costa Freitas, Francisco Teodósio Jacinto, João Filipe Coutinho Mendes, and Maria João de Carvalho Reis Carneiro.
According to the ministry, this intervention is sanctioned by the Legal Framework of Higher Education Institutions (RJIES) in cases of serious institutional crises that cannot be resolved autonomously.
The ministry also clarified that the Electoral Commission cannot undertake routine management actions or intervene in the cultural, scientific, and pedagogical autonomy of UTAD, and its functions will conclude once the new General Council is inaugurated.
The composition of the General Council, which elects the rector, remains incomplete because, in March, the method of voting for co-opted members, by show of hands and the interim president’s tie-breaking vote, was legally contested.
As per a decision announced on September 26, the North Central Administrative Court invalidated the adopted voting method, mandating a reopening of the co-option process through secret ballot and absolute majority decision of elected council members as per the General Council’s internal regulations.
Meanwhile, the seven proposed co-opted members have appealed the North Administrative Court’s decision to the Supreme Administrative Court.
Levi Leonido, from the Higher Education Citizen Audit Movement, criticized the minister’s intervention in UTAD as “disproportionate, inappropriate, and inadequate,” asserting that Fernando Alexandre proceeded with “the dismissal of an elected body before the final legal ruling and before the legal deadline for appeals by interested parties.” “The minister acted hastily,” he remarked, noting that the official never responded to multiple requests for an audience.
