Statutes and Ordinances of the University of Cambridge
CHAPTER II
pp. 199–200
MATRICULATION, RESIDENCE, ADMISSION TO DEGREES, DISCIPLINE

In this section

DISCIPLINE COMMITTEE

Appointment of members of the Discipline Committee

1. Any person against whom the University Advocate has determined that a charge shall be brought before the Discipline Committee shall be entitled, subject to the provisions of Regulations 8 and 9, to choose whether, for those proceedings, the Committee shall consist, in addition to the Chair, of two members of the Regent House and two persons in statu pupillari or of four members of the Regent House; provided that if, within seven days after notice of the charge, such person fails to notify his or her choice to the Secretary of the Committee, the Committee shall, subject to the provisions of Regulations 8 and 9, consist of the Chair, two members of the Regent House, and two persons in statu pupillari.

2. The Council shall maintain a panel, hereinafter referred to as panel (a), of persons who are eligible under Special Ordinance D (ii) 1 to serve as Chair of the Discipline Committee and who are willing to do so, and shall appoint in the Michaelmas Term in each year such number of persons as the Council may think fit, to serve as members of the panel for one year from 1 January following their appointment. No member of the Council shall be a member of panel (a).

3. The Council shall maintain a panel, hereinafter referred to as panel (b), of members of the Regent House who are prepared to serve as members of the Discipline Committee and the Discipline Board, and shall appoint up to twenty persons to the panel in the Michaelmas Term of each year, to serve for one year from 1 January following their appointment. No member of the Council or of the Septemviri shall be a member of panel (b).

4. The Council shall invite the Junior Combination Room Committee of each College, or if in any College there is no such Committee such other body as in the Council’s opinion is the nearest equivalent to a Junior Combination Room Committee, to nominate, not later than the division of the Michaelmas Term in each year, one eligible member of the College for appointment by the Council to a panel, hereinafter referred to as panel (c), of members of the University in statu pupillari to serve as members of the Discipline Committee and the Discipline Board. An eligible member of the College shall be a member of the College in statu pupillari who is willing to serve on panel (c) and who is keeping terms by residence or, having kept the number of terms required, is pursuing a course of study or research in the University. Not later than the last day of the Michaelmas Term in each year the Council shall announce the names of the persons whom they have appointed members of panel (c). The persons appointed shall serve for one year from 1 January following their appointment; provided that if a member ceases to be an eligible member of a College as defined in this regulation, he or she shall cease to be a member of panel (c).

5. The Chair of the Discipline Committee shall be appointed by the Vice-Chancellor from among those members of panel (a) who are able and willing to act as Chair for a particular case. If subsequently the Chair so appointed is unable or unwilling to act, the Vice-Chancellor shall appoint another member of panel (a) to act as Chair for that case.

6. The Secretary of the Committee shall, on the instructions of the Chair for the particular case, send written notice to all members of panel (b) and, when appropriate, of panel (c), informing them of the dates and times the Chair is available to attend a hearing, and requiring them to indicate, not later than 5 p.m. on the fourth day after the day on which the notice is despatched, whether they are able and willing to serve on any of those dates. The Chair shall then appoint the other members of the Committee in accordance with the provisions of Regulation 1 by causing lots to be drawn from among those members of panel (b) and, when appropriate, of panel (c) who have informed the Secretary of the Committee that they are able and willing to serve; and the Secretary of the Committee shall thereupon inform the persons appointed of the charge or charges to be heard and the name and College of the person charged and the location of the hearing. The Chair shall in like manner appoint up to three reserve members of the Committee from panel (b) and, when appropriate, up to three from panel (c) who shall be required to be available to attend the hearing so that lots may be drawn from among them if it becomes necessary to replace any member or members of the Committee who have failed to attend or who have otherwise become unable or unwilling to serve or against whose membership the Chair has under Regulation 7 allowed an objection. No member of the Committee shall be replaced after the commencement of the proceedings.

7. A person charged before the Committee shall be entitled to object for good cause to any member appointed to serve on the Committee for those proceedings. The Chair alone shall rule on any such objection and her or his decision shall be final.

8. If at the commencement of the hearing the Chair is unable under the provisions of Regulation 6 to appoint the appropriate number of members of the Committee from panel (b) or panel (c), he or she shall appoint such number of members from the appropriate panel as may be needed to fill the vacant place or places; provided that, if in the Chair’s judgement the appointment of a member or members from panel (c) cannot be achieved without undue delay, the Chair shall be empowered to appoint a member or members from panel (b) to fill the vacant place or places.

9. If on any occasion there are insufficient members of panel (b) or panel (c) who are able and willing to serve as members of the Committee, the Vice-Chancellor shall appoint the appropriate number of members of the Regent House to fill the vacant places on the Committee.

Rules of Procedure

1. The Secretary of the Discipline Committee shall send to any person charged before the Committee written notice of (a) the complaint against her or him, and (b) the date, time, and location of the Committee hearing, and shall draw attention to the provisions of the regulations for the appointment of members of the Committee whereby the person charged is entitled to choose the composition of the Committee. Copies of such notice shall be sent to the complainant and to the Head of the College of the person charged.

2. The Committee may sit either in public or in private at the discretion of the Chair except that, when the person charged requests that it shall sit in private, the Chair shall normally so decide. If the Committee sits in private, the following shall be entitled to be present: the person charged, her or his Tutor (or a deputy appointed by the Tutor), the Head of her or his College (or a deputy appointed by the Head), the University Advocate, the complainant, and any person appointed to represent the person charged, the complainant, or the University Advocate.

3. Whether the Committee sits in public or in private, it may proceed in the absence of any of the persons entitled to be present and, notwithstanding Regulation 2, the Chair shall have power to exclude any person if in the opinion of the Chair such exclusion is necessary for the maintenance of order.

4. The Chair shall not impose under Statute D (ii) 15 any fine exceeding £175.

5. The Committee shall not find a charge proved unless it is satisfied that the charge has been proved beyond reasonable doubt.

6. Any penalty imposed by the Committee shall have immediate effect; provided that the Chair of the Committee and the Chair of the Septemviri shall each have power to suspend the imposition of a penalty until the conclusion of the proceedings by the Septemviri of any appeal against a decision of the Committee.

7. Any person who appeals to the Discipline Committee shall notify the Registrary in writing. Such notice shall specify the grounds of the appeal and shall state whether the appeal is in respect of the whole or in respect of any specified part of the finding of the Discipline Board. Except with the leave of the Discipline Committee, the appellant shall not be entitled in the proceedings of an appeal to rely on any grounds of appeal not specified in the notice of appeal.