Who is in charge at the Grotius building? Although Michiel Kompier is now officially the interim dean of the Faculty of Law, the participational bodies do not recognise him as the highest administrator. The reason: the Executive Board allegedly did not follow the rules in appointing Kompier.

An extra Faculty Joint Assembly (Facultaire Gezamenlijke Vergadering, FGV) scheduled yesterday afternoon at the Faculty of Law culminated in a hard confrontation between President of the Executive Board Alexandra van Huffelen and members of the faculty participational bodies. Inset: Who occupies the highest administrator position at the Faculty of Law?

The reason for the meeting was a recent board change. Following Roel Schutgens’ sudden resignation last week, the Executive Board immediately appointed Michiel Kompier as interim replacement as of 1 March.

The FGV found the information it received about Michael Kompier to be ‘incomplete’

The FGV was informed of this decision last Wednesday in a brief meeting with the Executive Board. The participational bodies were completely taken aback by the news: just the day before, a regular meeting had been held with Schutgens as dean. In this meeting, the faculty’s education and examination regulations (EER) were discussed.

By their own account, FGV members were handed over a ‘half A4’ with Kompier’s CV last week. In yesterdays meeting, which Kompier did not attend, the FGV referred to this information as ‘incomplete’. For example, no information was provided about how Kompier’s term as administrator at the Nijmegen School of Management faculty had ended, namely in a breach of trust with the participational bodies.

‘Irresponsible and careless’

Yesterday’s extra meeting had three agenda items. The first: a motion on the invalidity, illegality and carelessness of the appointment decision of the proposed interim dean. The second: a vote of confidence about Michiel Kompier. The third: a motion to request the Faculty Board, which the FGV claims Kompier is not part of, to appoint a vice dean as deputy dean. The current vice deans of the Faculty of Law are Claartje Bulten (vice dean of research) and Vincent van Hoof (vice dean of education).

But before these items could be addressed, Alexandra van Huffelen took the floor in the meeting room at the Grotius building. Although not a member of the FGV, the President of the Executive Board was given ample time to explain why she thought it unwise to allow the meeting, with the above agenda items, to go ahead.

‘At our university, we consult with each other before allowing issues to escalate’

‘You indicated that you were only willing to postpone this meeting on the condition that Kompier’s appointment would be reversed,’ she said to the members of the participational bodies. ‘I must tell you that I found this to be irresponsible and careless. At our university, we consult with each other before allowing issues to escalate.’

But escalation proved unavoidable. The FGV insisted that the procedure followed to appoint Kompier as interim dean was in violation of the law. ‘Our faculty regulations state very clearly that in the event of the dean’s sudden departure, the Faculty Board appoints the vice dean as interim dean,’ said vice chair Tom Salemink. ‘The whole idea is that we have an arrangement that provides continuity in the event of the dean’s departure.’

Functioning of the Faculty Board

However, the Executive Board feels that in this case, it was justified in bypassing the FGV in appointing an interim dean. Indeed, Schutgens’ departure came very suddenly, threatening to leave the faculty adrift. The Administrative Director is also currently ill.

Van Huffelen: ‘We observe that decision-making within the faculty is slow, and that there are problems with communication. We also received confidential reports about the functioning of the Faculty Board.’ The President of the Executive Board was quite shocked by that confidential information, she said. ‘And believe me, I have encountered my fair share of problems in my career.’

During a brief adjournment, in which the President of the Executive Board and the FGV spoke behind closed doors, Van Huffelen was unable to get the participational bodies to change their mind. A vote on the agenda items followed. All three were accepted.

This means that the FGV does not recognise Michiel Kompier as its interim dean. According to the participational bodies, it is now up to the incumbent board to put forward one of the vice deans.

Consequences

‘What do you think are the consequences of your decision?’, Van Huffelen asked after the vote.

‘Our position is that the appointment decision is null and void,’ vice chair Salemink replied. ‘In that sense, there was never an appointment, and this decision has no effect in principle. If the appointment decision turns out to be valid after all, the faculty regulations state that, in case trust is lost, the relevant dean must tender their resignation to the Executive Board.’

Still the interim dean

After the meeting, Van Huffelen said that Michiel Kompier is still the interim dean of the faculty. She expressed hope for good cooperation between Kompier and the participational bodies. ‘This is important because we see that there is a lot more going on here.’

‘The bottom line is that we are committed to having someone join the Faculty Board – a reputable person in whom we have full confidence. I think it is important that all themes are well considered, that there is a good Faculty Board here, and that decisions are taken with decisiveness.’