The UV sentenced for having suspended agreements with Israel

The 14 January 2025 the "Association Action and Communication on the Middle East ACOM" has lodged a lawsuit against the "Pronouncement of the Governing Council of the Universitat de València, the 28 May 2024, about the agreement of the Universitat de València with Palestine", in particular the Agreement ACGUV 129/2024.
After the judicial process, the last 15 September the Court for Contentious Administrative proceedings number 8 of València, in judgement 191/2025, it ruled against the Universitat de València, voiding the appealed legal ruling.
Furthermore, the Court recognises that the plaintiff has the right to accept that the Universitat de València spreads the void agreed in this sentence as well as the impugned agreement.
The Judge considers that the agreement made for not signing agreements with universities from Israel introduces "an unequal treatment that lacks of justification or protection, due to the fact that it takes place in the context of an action of evident political nuances that have an impact on one of the traditional cases of discrimination (nationality), specially banned by the constitutional doctrine, because of its capacity to cause unfavourable situations that go against personal dignity, even contradicting the functions, principles and purposes established in the Statutes", with reference to the Statutes of the Universitat de València.
The Principal of the Universitat de València, Mavi Mestre, reported last Tuesday 7 October to the Governing Council that this sentence passed in the first instance, as well as the instructions that she gave to the Legal Guidance Service of the Universitat de València and the General Secretary, María Elena Olmos as their coordinator, to lodge an appeal to this judicial decision.
The appeal was brought last Friday 3 October, just as the Principal reported, "so that the resolution of the Judge , for now".
The Principal pointed out that at this stage "is more clear than ever that the genocide that the Palestinian people are living is of such proportions that world's public opinion demands action by the international community".
The appeal lodged by the Universitat de València insists on the fact that the Universitat de València does not present discrimination measures due to nationality, but in the fact universities from Israel are integrated in a state structure that is developing actions openly banned by the International Law.
Similarly, she also points out that the "exceptional measures adopted, always in the context of a call for peace and dialogue (...) have they foundation in the linkage with the State of Israel".
For the UV, this agreement has been adopted in the context of its university autonomy, collected in Article 4 of the Statutes of the Universitat de València, according to which the UV "is dedicated to the intellectual and material development of the people, the progress of knowledge, peace, gender equality and the ecological defence of the environment".
This way, Uv affirms that this agreement is not overstepping the competences, but that it supports the constitutional doctrine that recognises universities as a reinforced autonomy, different from other public administrations, based on academic freedom.
Furthermore, for the UV, the voided agreement by the sentence can not be understood outside the context, which is "the exceptional situation lived in Gaza, with civilian population in an emergency situation and a deeply affected territory because of the military operations of the Israeli army.
In the appeal, the UV emphasises that this pronouncement "is not at all an isolated case", but that it is "alienated with the reports, resolutions and international actions" as the UN, the International Criminal Court or the International Court of Justice.
For her part, the Principal, during her intervention on the Governing Council, reported that the situation of the Israeli Government, "is such a Human Rights violation that we act with penalties that are up to us. As we did with Rusia. With Russian universities we did have prevailing collaboration agreements , we did have agreement on double degree programs, that we broke, applying sanctions, as those applied by the international community".
"We defend before the Justice our capacity of assuming the agreement that we think that are appropriate, and of establishing measures that are up to us, in accordance to the constitutional principle of University Autonomy. Autonomy for which we fought for during the period of francoism and that obtained the public university system on the constitution", pointed out the Principal in her report to the Governing Council.