Reports

Report of the Council on the provisions concerning the initiation of Graces and of amendments to submitted Graces by members of the Regent House

The Council begs leave to report to the University as follows:

1. This Report proposes that a new provision is inserted in Statute A III to affirm that the Regent House has authority to initiate a Grace or to propose an amendment to a submitted Grace.

2. Following a technical review of the University’s Statutes completed in 2012–13, the Council proposed that certain provisions previously set out in Statute should be transferred to Special Ordinance. These proposals were approved by Grace 2 of 3 July 2013, and revised Statutes and new Special Ordinances came into force on 11 February 2014 (Reporter, 6338, 2013–14, p. 371).

3. One of the changes which took effect on 11 February 2014 was the removal of Sections 7–9 from Statute A VIII and their relocation as Sections 5–7 in Special Ordinance A (i). These provisions concern the initiation of a Grace or a proposal for the amendment of a submitted Grace by members of the Regent House. The Council is of the view that the powers of members of the Regent House to initiate and submit Graces to the Regent House, and to initiate proposals for the amendment of a Grace already submitted to the Regent House but not yet approved, were not affected by the relocation, but it is nevertheless considered that for the avoidance of doubt it would be prudent to affirm these powers by inserting a new provision in Statute and amending the wording of Statute A VIII (c).

4. The Council recommends that, subject to the approval of Her Majesty in Council, the Statutes of the University be amended as set out below and that these amendments be submitted under the Common Seal of the University to Her Majesty in Council for approval.

(a)That new Section 4 below be inserted in Statute A III (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 5) and the remaining Sections 4–10 renumbered as 5–11:

  4. The Regent House shall have the power of initiating Graces to the Regent House and of initiating proposals for the amendment of a Grace already submitted to the Regent House but not yet approved, as prescribed by Special Ordinance.

(b)That the final sentence of Statute A VIII (c) (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 10) be amended so as to read:

  All Graces submitted require the authorization of the Council; the Council may withhold that authorization in circumstances as prescribed by Special Ordinance;

22 May 2017	L. K. Borysiewicz, Vice-Chancellor	Nicholas Gay	Philippa Rogerson
	Chad Allen	Nicholas Holmes	John Shakeshaft
	Ross Anderson	Alice Hutchings	Susan Smith
	Richard Anthony	Umang Khandelwal	Sara Weller
	R. Charles	Stuart Laing	I. H. White
	Stephen J. Cowley	Mark Lewisohn	Jocelyn Wyburd
	Amatey Doku	Michael Proctor