The Independent Commission (IC) includes five members external to CES, namely:
 

Catarina Isabel Reis Neves
Graduated in Cognitive-Behavioural Clinical Psychology from the University of Coimbra in 1999. Master's Degree in Psychology of Deviant Behaviour: Victimology Branch, from the University of Porto in 2006. Postgraduated in Mental Health from the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the New University of Lisbon and Lisbon Institute of Global Mental Health. Specialised in Clinical and Health Psychology by the Portuguese Psychologists Order. She has been working for more than 20 years in the social, domestic violence, victimology and justice psychology areas, having been responsible for the creation of the Victim Information and Stabilisation Office at the DIAP of Águeda. At the moment, she is a Victim Support Technician and Technical Director of a Shelter House for men victims of domestic violence.

Cristina Ayoub Riche
President of the Instituto Latinoamericano del Ombudsman - Defensorias del Pueblo (ILO), former Ombudsperson of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), professor and retired researcher at the Centre for Public Policy Studies on Human Rights at UFRJ. She has a postgraduate degree in Arabic language and literature, a Master's and PhD in History of Sciences and Techniques and Epistemology (UFRJ). She is a lawyer, registered with the OAB/RJ, and a conflict mediator with a postgraduate degree in Civil Law and Civil Procedure. She created the Ombudsperson’s Office of the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), as well as the Ombudsperson's Office of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). She was President of the Executive Committee of the Ibero-American Network of University Defenders (RIdDU), of which she is a founding member.

Jorge António Ribeiro Pereira
Member of the Board of the European Network of Ombudspersons in Higher Education, Jorge A. Ribeiro Pereira was the Student Ombudsperson at the University of Beira Interior (UBI) between 2021 and 2023. Master in Medicine from UBI, he acted as student representative in institutional bodies such as the General Council of UBI, the Pedagogical Council and the Council of the Faculty of Health Sciences. He was also involved in the Academic Association of UBI, as Vice-President of the Board and President of the General Student Assembly. He is a member of the Consulting Council of the International Student Participation Network. Fluent in Portuguese, English and Spanish.

Maria Eduarda Proença de Carvalho
She began her career in 1991 as a lawyer at Daniel Proença de Carvalho's office. In 2009, she joined Proença de Carvalho e Associados as a partner, and in 2010 she joined Uría Menéndez-Proença de Carvalho after the merger of both firms. Her practice is focused on Litigation, Criminal, Family and Succession Law, in which she specialises, having created the aforementioned department at UM-PC. She was a permanent member of the Portuguese Association of Women Jurists and of the Brazilian Association of Women Jurists. She was a member of the Lisbon District Council of the Portuguese Bar Association for three terms and its treasurer. She was vice-president of the Board of the Special Olympics Portugal.

Michaela Antonín Malaníková
Student Ombudsperson at the Faculty of Arts, Palacky University, Czech Republic, since November 2020. She is Professor of Medieval History at the Department of History, Palacky University, with research in urban social history, family history and gender history. She collaborated for several years with a human rights NGO campaigning for women's rights, and is currently a member of the Czech Chamber of Gender Experts. She is a board member of the European Network of Ombudsperson in Higher Education, and a committee member of the Platform of School Ombudspersons in the Czech Republic. She is fluent in Portuguese.