Close relationships are a natural part of human life – they also arise in academia, where people meet while studying, working, and conducting research. While many of them enrich the university environment, others can lead to difficult situations and conflicts of interest. Masaryk University has therefore joined the open debate on how to approach these relationships fairly, sensitively, and with regard to the safety of the entire academic community.
The Masaryk University Ombudsperson, together with the Ombudsperson of Charles University, has issued a statement entitled Close Relationships on Academia – Grand Statement 2025. This document opens up the sensitive topic of close relationships in the academic environment, highlights their benefits and risks, and summarizes experiences from Czech and foreign universities.
The statement is the first of its kind in the Czech Republic and is intended to serve as a practical guide – both for university ombudspersons when dealing with reports and for employees, students, and university management seeking a fair and safe approach to such situations.
The academic environment is a place where friendships, partnerships, and other close relationships naturally develop—between colleagues, students, or students and teachers. These bonds can be enriching, but they also carry the risk of a conflict between personal and professional roles.
Close relationships can affect the fairness of assessment, trust in impartiality, and feelings of security. Situations involving people in unequal positions—such as teachers and students, or superiors and subordinates—are particularly problematic. Even voluntary relationships can lead to suspicions of favoritism or, conversely, feelings of discrimination.
Masaryk University has established rules and support mechanisms that protect individuals and the entire academic environment. At the institutional level, these include a Code of Ethics and internal rules defined therein that highlight the risks of conflicts of interest, as well as social safety strategies and policies that systematically address this issue, and educational activities and training, such as lectures, discussions, and thematic campaigns.
At the individual and team level, there should be an obligation to report conflicts of interest, for example in the case of a close relationship with a person you are evaluating or managing. It is also recommended to withdraw from the evaluation role in order to maintain fairness and trust (e.g., not allowing yourself to be assigned to examine a person with whom you have a close relationship).
The Ombudsperson, Ethics and Disciplinary Committees, and psychological counseling are available to those affected. All cases are handled confidentially and with respect for the rights of all parties.
Statement (Czech only) Protection of rights at MU Safe faculty
In this follow-up article from our series on ethical and security aspects of the academic environment, we focus on ethics and the protection of rights. These values form one of the fundamental pillars of academic culture. They promote fair treatment, open communication, and responsibility towards students and employees.
SPARK Europe Webinar Series | 14th January 2026 |4-5 pm (CET) | Translational Pharmacology: Can We Get More from Our Animal Studies? | Anita Mathias, PhD (SPARK Stanford) | hosted by SPARK FLI
