The administration of the Faculty of Political Sciences announced that it does not accept the interpretation of the chairman and individual members of the Council according to which 13 of the 27 votes of the members of the Council can be sufficient for the election of the dean, and on the basis of which Slaviša Orlović was elected dean these higher education institutions.
As the "Vreme" portal first reported, last week a decision was signed at the Faculty of Political Sciences, whereby Professor Orlović will assume the position of dean at the beginning of the academic year.
Although Orlović himself made an unofficial promise to resign after the revolt of the FPN professors and students, it still did not happen.
Management: "We do not accept the Council's interpretation"
The announcement was signed by the current dean Dragan Simić, as well as four vice-deans of this faculty.
The outgoing dean has spoken out before that he is against the disputed decision and that he does not support the election of Slavisa Orlović.
"On September 6, 2024, the President of the Council, Kristina Schmidling, signed the decision on the election of Prof. Dr. Slaviša Orlović as dean at the session held on June 7, 2024. "The University of Belgrade - Faculty of Political Sciences does not accept the interpretation of the chairperson and individual members of the Council according to which 13 of the 27 votes of the members of the Council can be sufficient for the election of the dean," the announcement reads.
It is added that this attitude of the Faculty stems from the interpretation of the legal service, the decades-long practice of the work of the Council of this and other faculties, and the interpretation of the relevant bodies of the University of Belgrade.
"After the election session of the Council, the Administration sent requests for an opinion on this matter to the Secretary General and Ombudsman of the University of Belgrade. "Both answers unequivocally confirm that 13 out of 27 votes of Council members are not enough to elect a dean," it is stated.
In the announcement, it is assessed that this is why professor Slaviša Orlović cannot take up the office of dean On October 1, when the mandate of the current administration expires, due to the legal unfoundedness of the decision signed by the chairwoman of the Council, due to the fact that he announced his resignation electronically and addressed it to all members of the Teaching and Scientific Council as well as to the entire interested public.
"Also, three of the four proposed vice-deans have declared that they will not take this position." "Without the appointment of an acting dean and, after that, the restart of the procedure for the selection of the dean and the administration, the Faculty will function in very difficult conditions," the statement of the Administration of the Faculty of Political Sciences reads.
Because of everything that happened, the Administration proposed to hold a Council meeting as soon as possible, in order to call for elections for members of the Council from among the teaching staff.
"The management of the Faculty believes that the selection of the next dean of the Faculty of Political Sciences must be carried out by the Council, which will work in full capacity and with all the members who come from the ranks of the teaching staff," the announcement states.
Allegations of sexual harassment
Professor Orlovic found himself in the center of attention in 2014 after news broke that a master's student had accused him of sexual harassment. Some media wrote that she claimed that it happened in his office, and after that the issue of his removal from the position of vice dean was raised.
Orlović was subsequently removed from that position, but this was allegedly not stated as a formal reason. He told Politika at the time that he was dismissed from the position of vice dean "due to lack of communication with the dean" and stated that no criminal charges for sexual harassment were ever filed against him.
It is later CINS revealed that new reports for sexual harassment were filed against Slavisa Orlović, which was confirmed by professor Katarina Lončarević, who is also one of the three trustees at the faculty.
