Council of State rules in favor of campus police

The Council of State, Greece’s highest administrative court, has ruled that legislation which provides for the creation of a new police corps, permanently stationed on university campuses, does not violate academic freedom and the self-governing legal status of the institutions.

The court also ruled that the establishment of a university police is necessary for reasons of public interest, more specifically for the protection of public order and security, as well as the unimpeded exercise of academic freedom.

Critics say the move threatens academic freedom established after the end of military rule in the 1970s.