Notices

Calendar

15 June, Sunday. Scarlet Day. Trinity Sunday.

17 June, Tuesday. Discussion by videoconference at 2 p.m. (see below).

20 June, Friday. Full Term ends.

25 June, Wednesday. Easter Term ends. Congregation of the Regent House at 2.45 p.m. (Honorary Degrees).

Discussion on Tuesday, 17 June 2025

The Vice‑Chancellor invites members of the Regent House, University and College employees, registered students and others qualified under the regulations for Discussions (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 111) to attend a Discussion by videoconference on Tuesday, 17 June 2025 at 2 p.m. The following items will be discussed:

1.Second Joint Report of the Council and the General Board, dated 4 June 2025, on the review of examination regulations following the marking and assessment boycott (Reporter, 6787, 2024–25, p. 606).

2.Report of the Council, dated 4 June 2025, recommending the budget and allocations from the Chest for 2025–26 (Reporter, 6787, 2024–25, p. 610).

The Report of the General Board on the outcomes of the Academic Career Pathways (Research and Teaching) and (Teaching and Scholarship) 2025 exercises (p. 636) will be discussed on 1 July 2025.

Those wishing to join the Discussion by videoconference should email UniversityDraftsman@admin.cam.ac.uk from their University email account, providing their CRSid (if a member of the collegiate University), by 10 a.m. on the date of the Discussion to receive joining instructions. Alternatively contributors may email their remarks to contact@proctors.cam.ac.uk, copying ReporterEditor@admin.cam.ac.uk, by no later than 10 a.m. on the day of the Discussion for reading out by the Proctors,1 or may ask someone else who is attending to read the remarks on their behalf.

In accordance with the regulations for Discussions, the Chair of the Board of Scrutiny or any ten members of the Regent House2 may request that the Council arrange for one or more of the items listed for discussion to be discussed in person (usually in the Senate-House). Requests should be made to the Registrary, on paper or by email to UniversityDraftsman@admin.cam.ac.uk from addresses within the cam.ac.uk domain, by no later than 9 a.m. on the day of the Discussion. Any changes to the Discussion schedule will be confirmed in the Reporter at the earliest opportunity.

General information on Discussions is provided on the University Governance site at https://www.governance.cam.ac.uk/governance/decision-making/discussions/.

Appointment of Commissary

In accordance with Statute A I 12, the Chancellor has by Letters Patent appointed the Rt Hon. Sir Patrick Elias, Honorary Fellow of Pembroke College, formerly a Lord Justice of Appeal, as Commissary with effect from 6 June 2025. Prior to that date, Sir Patrick Elias had been serving as Acting Commissary (Reporter, 6724, 2023–24, p. 209).

The Letters Patent state as follows:

KNOW ALL PERSONS by these Presents that I, David John, Baron Sainsbury of Turville, Master of Arts, titular Doctor of Law honoris causa, Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, for the trust and confidence which I repose in the Right Honourable Patrick Elias, Knight, Master of Arts, Doctor of Philosophy, a member of His Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council, HAVE ordained constituted and appointed AND DO by these Presents and with effect from the sixth day of June in the year two thousand and twenty-five ordain constitute and appoint the said Sir Patrick Elias to the Office of COMMISSARY of the said University with full power and authority to act in all matters causes and controversies appertaining to the Office of Commissary and the Jurisdiction thereof according to Law and Right and according to the Statutes Ordinances Usages and Privileges of the said University To hold exercise and enjoy the said Office with all the rights and privileges authority and power in any respect incident or belonging to the same unto the said Sir Patrick Elias or his sufficient Deputy or Deputies.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this third day of June two thousand and twenty-five.

David Sainsbury

Amending Statutes for Hughes Hall

5 June 2025

The Vice-Chancellor begs leave to refer to the Notices of 8 and 15 May 2025 (Reporter, 2024–25: 6783, p. 553; 6784, p. 559), concerning the text of a Statute to amend the Statutes of Hughes Hall. She hereby gives notice that in the opinion of the Council the proposed Statute makes no alteration of any Statute which affects the University, and does not require the consent of the University; that the interests of the University are not prejudiced by it, and that the Council has resolved to take no action upon it, provided that the Council will wish to reconsider the proposed Statute if it has not been submitted to the Privy Council by 5 June 2026.

Grace for submission to the Regent House under Special Ordinance A (ii) 5 (Guild of Benefactors)

5 June 2025

The Council has received the following Grace, which has been initiated under Special Ordinance A (ii) 5 (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 68) by 94 members of the Regent House. A list of the signatories is set out in Annex A, below.

The Council will consider the Grace as soon as practicable.

Formal text of the Grace

That the list of members of the Vice-Chancellor’s Guild of Benefactors be made public.

Background

Donors to the University who give above a certain threshold (£1m for individuals, £1.5m for corporates) are admitted to a circle called the Vice-Chancellor’s Guild of Benefactors. The composition of the Guild used to be in the public domain (see e.g. [link removed]1). However it has more recently been judged to be ‘commercially sensitive’ and has been withheld even from those making Freedom of Information requests (https://ico.org.uk/media2/migrated/decision-notices/4028921/ic-269307-z8m7.pdf). Paradoxically, the names of members have for the last 26 years been incised in stone tablets around a staircase in the Old Schools, which is judged to be a secret area that is off-limits for the University community.

Members of the University have a right to know who its honoured funders are, so that they can understand the nature of the institution of which they are a part. While some donors may prefer to remain anonymous, those admitted to the Guild do not fall within that category. The undersigned members of Regent House call on the Council to make the list public.

Annex A

Grace for submission to the Regent House under Special Ordinance A (ii) 5 (Injunctions)

5 June 2025

The Council has received the following Grace, which has been initiated under Special Ordinance A (ii) 5 (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 68) by 156 members of the Regent House. A list of the signatories is set out in Annex A, below.

The Council will consider the Grace as soon as practicable.

Formal text of the Grace

That the University administration and the Council:

(a)not apply for any extension to the present interim injunction or for any further injunctions aimed at curtailing protest on University premises;

(b)not apply to the High Court for permission to bring a contempt application in the event of an alleged breach of the injunction;

(c)enter into dialogue with students who take conscientious action.

Background

The University has recently gone to the High Court to apply for a civil injunction to prevent protests from taking place on a swathe of its property, including the Old Schools, Greenwich House and the Senate House. The injunction that the University was granted on 21 March 2025 lasts until 26 July 2025 and was chiefly justified as a way of preventing the disruption of graduation ceremonies; it also sought to forestall further student occupations such as the recent occupation of Greenwich House. The original target of the injunction was pro-Palestine protests, but the injunction as granted applies to protests of any kind.1

A civil injunction is a legal instrument that allows corporations with deep pockets to prevent protests taking place at or near company property. Should anyone breach the injunction, they can be subject to an ‘order of committal’, which can lead to a prison sentence of up to two years and/or an unlimited fine, including potential confiscation of assets – punishments handed down with no right to legal aid or to a jury trial. It is also possible for corporate bodies to pass on the legal costs incurred in obtaining an injunction to the individuals named in it, with no limit to the expenses that can be passed on. Civil injunctions allow the very entities against which protest is directed to criminalise protest, outside the democratic processes of Parliament. Working in tandem with the highly restrictive provisions of the 2022 Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act and the 2023 Public Order Act, they serve as a means for stifling dissent and their use has been challenged by environmental and human rights organizations in the courts.2

The University has not made clear whether it will pursue students who breach the terms of the injunction through the courts, subjecting them to potential fines and/or imprisonment.

Annex A