Decision on Prof. Gavrankapetanović's Return to the Faculty of Medicine Expected on Friday

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - A second extraordinary session of the University of Sarajevo's Governing Board has been scheduled for Friday, September 7, at 2:00 PM at the University Rectorate, as the first session on August 31, 2018, lacked a quorum. Of the 11 Board members, only four attended the session. Four of the seven absent members justified their absence.

The extraordinary session will discuss the request of Professor Ismet Gavrankapetanović to be reinstated as a professor at the Faculty of Medicine in Sarajevo. An invitation to attend was also sent to Professor Gavrankapetanović's attorney, Maida Galijatović.

The President of the UNSA Governing Board, Murat Ramadanović, told the Patria agency that he has not yet received any notice of absence from members for the session. According to the Rules of Procedure, absence from a session must be announced no later than the day before the scheduled session, or in justified cases, just before the session begins.

Asked what will happen if this session also fails to take place, Ramadanović said he believes they will have the necessary quorum, but according to the Rules of Procedure, a third session must be held where a decision is made. A quorum requires six Board members.

Attorney Senad Pećanin reminds that the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Semra Čavaljuga, terminated Professor Gavrankapetanović's work at the faculty because, as stated, Gavrankapetanović stopped working at the University of Sarajevo Clinical Center. Pećanin notes that no legal argument was cited for the termination of Dr. Gavrankapetanović's work at the Faculty of Medicine. He added that Dean Čavaljuga acted this way even though the Faculty's Legal Service had previously given an opinion that the faculty was obliged to enable Professor Gavrankapetanović to maintain an employment relationship at the faculty.

He reminds that the Faculty of Medicine still employs academic staff who are not employed at KCUS, and that Dr. Gavrankapetanović has therefore been grossly discriminated against, with his right to work being denied without justification.

At a previous session, Board members rejected Dr. Gavrankapetanović's objection to the termination of his employment at the Faculty of Medicine, thereby knowingly violating the law and abusing their official positions. Professor Gavrankapetanović's legal team has filed criminal complaints with the Federal Prosecutor's Office against the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Semra Čavaljuga, the members of the UNSA Governing Board who voted against reinstating Prof. Gavrankapetanović at the Faculty of Medicine, the University Rector Rifat Škrijelj, the Faculty of Medicine, the University of Sarajevo, and against unknown persons who mediated in the aforementioned illegalities.

Attorney Galijatović previously stated that a lawsuit has been filed with the court against the decision to terminate the employment relationship, given that the Governing Board, as a second-instance body, never decided on the objection. She also said that the higher education inspection determined the decision was illegal, but no instruction was given to the Faculty of Medicine to act, and that the final decision rests with the court.

- We hope that this lawsuit will lead to a comprehensive resolution of Prof. Gavrankapetanović's legal status. We also hope that Board members will act according to their conscience and the law, and bring the University within the framework of lawful operations – said Galijatović after the failed Board session on August 31.

Incidentally, the Rules of Procedure stipulate that the Board can also hold an electronic session, for which six members are needed to vote on agenda items via email.

The members of the UNSA Governing Board, in addition to Ramadanović, are: Prof. Dr. Jasminka Gradaščević-Sijerčić, Prof. Dr. Dijana Avdić, Prof. Dr. Lidija Zvačko, Prof. Dr. Abidin Deljanin, Prof. Dr. Kasim Bajrović, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dejan Milošević, Sifet Kukuruz, Sandra Začinović, Dr. Mersiha Slipičević, Haris Zahiragić, and a student representative.