The Department of Media Studies at the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad has been informed that the Basic Court rejected the motion for a temporary measure requesting that Professor Jelena Kleut be reinstated at work until a final decision is reached in the proceedings regarding her promotion to the position of full professor.
The department reminds that this promotion was blocked due to discriminatory actions and a political decision by the (expanded) Senate of the University of Novi Sad.
“We are particularly concerned that even in the Administrative Court proceedings, the request for a temporary measure was denied, and we were informed about it through tabloids. Neither Professor Kleut nor her legal representative received official notification, while tabloids had already published the full ruling issued by the court,” the statement reads.
They emphasize that this is only one of several legal proceedings seeking a temporary measure. Both the department and Professor Kleut are awaiting decisions from other courts.
The department notes that they were surprised by the response from the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad to the Basic Court, regarding the request for a temporary measure.
“Extending a fixed-term employment contract through a temporary measure would mean that the individual performs the duties of an associate professor without having been promoted to that title. This violates provisions of the Higher Education Act, and from the perspective of accredited study programs, such a person cannot participate in the teaching process. (…) Only an individual formally promoted to the position of professor can conclude an employment contract,” the Faculty’s statement reads.
By interpreting the rules in this way, the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad rejected the positions of all relevant institutional bodies that had previously confirmed that Jelena Kleut meets the requirements for promotion to full professor, effectively closing the possibility for her return to work until the conclusion of legal proceedings, unless higher courts allow otherwise, the Department of Media Studies notes.
“We find it disheartening that the Faculty of Philosophy does not protect its employee and that this action once again confirms that staff cannot rely on institutional support,” the department stated.
The department questions whether the Faculty stands by the decisions of its own expert bodies, which unequivocally confirmed that Jelena Kleut meets all requirements for promotion, or whether it will continue to ignore the rulings of its organs.
“Since the Faculty did not explicitly state in its response to the Basic Court that Jelena Kleut substantively meets the requirements for promotion, but only listed procedural steps, does this mean that the leadership does not share the opinion of the Selection Committee, the Faculty Electoral Board, or the University Expert Council, all of which confirmed that she fully meets the criteria? If so, we call on the leadership to clarify which requirements are not met,” the statement from the Department of Media Studies at the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad concludes.
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