Controversies on the constitutionality of university autonomy in Peru
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4013/rechtd.2026.182.04Abstract
In 2014, a new university law came into force in Peru that regulates the creation, operation, supervision and closure of public and private universities, through the licensing for the university higher education service, denying the licensing and producing a process of cessation of activities for not having reached minimum quality standards. At the time, its constitutionality was rejected and questioned, but in the end, the Constitutional Court declared the constitutionality of Law 30220. Subsequently, with the enactment of Law 31520 in July 2022, a series of claims were filed, mainly due to the alleged violation of university autonomy, due to the new conformation of the board of directors of Sunedu. This has led to strong controversies that contrast the right to university quality with the right to university autonomy. So far, a constitutional court has declared the amparo lawsuit filed by Sunedu to be well founded and, consequently, it has ordered the non-application of Law 31520, while the representatives of the public universities are elected according to the new law. This paper seeks to analyze and resolve this controversy from an academic, doctrinal and jurisprudential point of view, contributing to the constitutional debate on the university in Latin America.
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