Autonomy of University as a Democratic Governance Principle in Latvia: Abstract

Abstract

Autonomy of a university is a right to self-determine its existence and operation. Autonomy is not the absolute freedom of action of the institution, but rather the liberty to operate within the national legal framework. Autonomy embraces the democratic principles of a governance model enforced with the purpose to maintain a balance between the self-governing entities. The balance refers to internal and external democracy. Shifting the balance of the current governance model of the Constitutional Assembly, the Senate, the Rector, the Audit Commission and the Academic Arbitration Court affects democracy at large. The article aims to analyse the legal framework of university autonomy and its changes, identify shortcomings of the governance model, and propose solutions to them. Used materials include legal acts, publications and literature. Methods used in the article are descriptive, analysis, synthesis, dogmatic, induction and deduction, and legal interpretation methods as well – grammatical, systemic, historical and teleological methods. The main results relate to how changing the university governance model in Latvia impacts the university autonomy and compliance with the democratic principle in governance. Leaving the choice to establish the Constitutional Assembly to the university jeopardises the principle of participation of a university staff in the university’s activities. Furthermore, leaving the establishment of the Academic Arbitration Court to the university dismantles the democratic balance in the university governance. Keywords: autonomy, self-governance, constitution assembly, the senate, the rector, the academic arbitration court