Disciplinary Sections

Composition of the disciplinary sections

Disciplinary section for “users”, responsible for students

Composition:

• Four members of faculty or researchers
• Four students
• Two FNSP staff representatives
• One research assistant

Scale of sanctions

• Warning
• Reprimand
• Exclusion from the institution for a period of up to five years, possibly with a suspended sentence if the exclusion does not exceed two years
• Permanent exclusion from the institution
• Exclusion from all higher education institutions for a period of up to five years
• Permanent exclusion from all higher education institutions

Disciplinary section for “faculty", responsible for faculty members on casual contracts and teaching staff assigned to the IEP de Paris (MESR)

Composition:

• Four university professors or faculty members and researchers
• Two associate professors
• Two teaching assistants
• One research assistant

Scale of sanctions:

• Reprimand
• Promotion postponement for a period of up to two years
• Demotion
• Promotion freeze for a period of up to two years
• Barring from holding any teaching or research position for a period of up to five years, with removal of all or half of salary
• Automatic retirement
• Removal from office

Labour law procedure for administrative and academic staff employed by the FNSP

If the investigation concerns an employee of the FNSP, the Human Resources Directorate instigates a disciplinary procedure that must be carried out within two months. Employees are subject to national labour law and the disciplinary legislation applicable to all companies in France, which provides for the following scale of disciplinary sanctions:

• Written warning
• Written reprimand
• Disciplinary suspension without pay (maximum 8 days)
• Disciplinary transfer
• Demotion
• Dismissal for minor misconduct
• Dismissal for serious misconduct
• Dismissal for gross misconduct

Stages of the disciplinary procedure

• Case referred to the chair of the relevant disciplinary body by the President of the IEP.
• Case communicated to the person concerned, the educational authority and academic mediators.
• Appointment of a disciplinary committee chaired by the president of the relevant disciplinary body and including, in the case of Sciences Po, all other members of the disciplinary body.
• Chair of the disciplinary body appoints a rapporteur and assistant rapporteur to investigate the case. Since the reform of 2019, rapporteurs are no longer obliged to seek a verbal statement from the alleged perpetrator, unless the latter requests it (he/she may be accompanied by a person of his/her choice while the statement is being taken). There is therefore no formal obligation to hold hearings. Indeed, the rapporteurs may simply obtain written statements from the person accused and the President of the IEP de Paris and/or carry out any consultations they deem useful.
• Submission of the inquiry report.
• Disciplinary hearing hosted by the disciplinary committee in private. The accused has the right to give verbal statements during the hearing and to be accompanied by a lawyer of his/her choice. If, after being summoned to the hearing, the accused does not attend, the disciplinary committee may choose either to proceed, if the accused has not given a reason for his/her absence, or to postpone the hearing until a later date.

During the course of the disciplinary procedure, precautionary measures may be taken by the President of the IEP under his/her police power. These measures must correspond to a disturbance or threat of disturbance on Sciences Po’s premises due to an insufficiency of means to deal with the risk to public order. They will consist of prohibiting the accused from accessing certain classes or the campus itself for a given period of time (30 days maximum or for the duration of the procedure if disciplinary action has been taken in parallel).

In addition, if necessary, senior management may, in compliance with the presumption of innocence and to the extent possible, take steps to prevent the survivor and alleged perpetrator from coming into contact with one another over the course of the procedure (by changing course groups, rearranging office layouts or working hours etc.).

Modes of appeal:

• Internal appeal (recours gracieux) to the President of the IEP de Paris – optional.
• Appeal on the grounds of excess of power (recours pour excès de pouvoir) to the administrative courts.
• For the disciplinary body responsible for "faculty”, appeal to the national higher education authority, the Conseil national de l'enseignement supérieur et de la recherche (CNESR).

Instigating criminal proceedings

In the event that a crime or misdemeanour has been committed, Sciences Po’s senior management team is legally obligated to inform administrative or judicial authorities (cf. Article 40 of the French Code of Criminal Procedure (Fr) .

Legal information

Legal information regarding the processing of personal data in the decisions of the disciplinary body.