Statutes and Ordinances of the University of Cambridge
CHAPTER II
pp. 200–202
MATRICULATION, RESIDENCE, ADMISSION TO DEGREES, DISCIPLINE

In this section

UNIVERSITY TRIBUNAL

Appointment of members of the University Tribunal

Panels.

1. The Council shall maintain a panel, hereinafter referred to as panel (a), of persons who are eligible under Special Ordinance D (i) 3 to serve as Chair of the University Tribunal and who are willing to do so, and shall appoint in the Michaelmas Term 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 or of the Septemviri shall be a member of panel (a).

2. The Council shall maintain a panel, hereinafter referred to as panel (b), of members of the Regent House who are willing to serve as members of the University Tribunal, and shall appoint ten persons to the panel in the Michaelmas Term 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).

Chair.

3. Not later than 31 December in each year the Vice-Chancellor shall appoint a member of panel (a) to serve as Chair of the University Tribunal for one year from 1 January next following; in making the appointment the Vice-Chancellor shall, if possible, select a person who is not a member of the Regent House. If the person appointed is unable or unwilling to act as Chair for a particular case, the Vice-Chancellor shall appoint another member of panel (a) to act as Chair for that case.

4. When a member of the University is to be charged before the University Tribunal, the Chair of the Tribunal shall appoint a date, time, and place for a hearing. The Chair shall have power, if the circumstances require it, to cancel a hearing so arranged at any time before the commencement of the hearing, and to appoint a different date, time, and place.

Appointment of Tribunal.

5. When a hearing has been arranged, the Clerk of the Tribunal shall forthwith send written notice to all members of panel (b), informing them of the date, time, and place appointed, 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. The Chair shall then appoint the other members of the Tribunal by causing lots to be drawn from among those members of panel (b) who have informed the Clerk of the Tribunal that they are able and willing to serve; and the Clerk shall thereupon inform the persons appointed of the charge or charges to be heard and the name of the person charged. The Chair shall in like manner appoint three reserve members of the Tribunal from panel (b) who shall be required to attend the Tribunal at the commencement of the proceedings so that lots may be drawn from among them if it becomes necessary to replace any member or members of the Tribunal who have failed to attend or who have otherwise become unable or unwilling to serve or against whose membership the Chair has under Regulation 6 allowed an objection. No member of the Tribunal shall be replaced after the commencement of the hearing.

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

7. If at the commencement of the proceedings the Chair is unable, using the procedure prescribed in Regulation 5, to appoint the appropriate number of members of the Tribunal from panel (b), he or she shall appoint such number of members from the panel as may be needed to fill the vacant place or places.

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

9. If after the commencement of proceedings the Chair becomes unable or unwilling to act, the Vice-Chancellor shall discharge the Tribunal and a new Tribunal shall be appointed in accordance with the provisions of Regulations 3–8. If after the commencement of proceedings any other member of the Tribunal becomes unable or unwilling to act, the remaining members shall continue to act, so long as there remain two members in addition to the Chair who are able and willing to act, but not otherwise. If more than two members become unable or unwilling to act, the Vice-Chancellor shall discharge the Tribunal and a new Tribunal shall be appointed in accordance with the provisions of Regulations 3–8.

Rules of Procedure

Notice.

1. When a member of the University is to be charged before the University Tribunal, the University Advocate, or other person responsible for presenting the case, shall send written notice to the Clerk of the Tribunal of the charge or charges to be brought before the Tribunal and the particulars thereof, and shall send with the notice any documents which it is proposed to produce and a list of all witnesses whom it is proposed to call, together with statements of the evidence that they are expected to give.

Parties.

2. The parties to a hearing by the Tribunal shall be:

  1. (a)the person charged;
  2. (b)the University Advocate or other person responsible for presenting the case;
  3. (c)any person who may be added as a party by the Tribunal, either on application or of their own motion.

3. The person charged and any person added as a party by the Tribunal shall be entitled to be represented by another person, whether such person is legally qualified or not, in connection with or at any hearing by the Tribunal.

Summons.

4. The Clerk of the Tribunal shall not less than fourteen days (or such shorter period as may be agreed by the Clerk with the parties) before the date appointed for the hearing send to each party (a) a notice of the hearing, which shall contain information and guidance concerning attendance at the hearing, the calling of witnesses and the bringing of documents, representation by another person, and written submissions, and (b) a copy of the charge or charges, together with the other information specified in Regulation 1.

5. It shall be the duty of the person presenting the case to make any necessary arrangements for the summoning of witnesses and the production of documents, and generally for the proper presentation of the case to the Tribunal.

6. No additional witness or documentary evidence may be introduced by the person presenting the case, beyond those of which notice has been given under Regulation 1, without the consent of the Tribunal, and such consent shall not be given save for good reason; if such late introduction is permitted, the person charged shall be allowed an adjournment sufficient to enable him or her to consider the additional evidence and respond to it, and to introduce further evidence as appropriate.

7. A charge shall not be determined without an oral hearing at which the person charged and any other parties to the hearing are entitled to be present together with their representatives, if any.

Admission to hearing.

8. The Tribunal may sit either in public or in camera at the discretion of the Chair, provided that if the person charged so requests they shall normally sit in camera. The Tribunal shall have power, if they think it appropriate in the circumstances, to hear charges against two or more persons at the same hearing.

9. The Tribunal shall have power to proceed with a hearing in the absence of any of the persons entitled to be present and, notwithstanding the provisions of Regulation 7, the Chair shall have power to exclude any person from a hearing if in the opinion of the Chair such exclusion is necessary for the maintenance of order.

10. (a) The fact that any person has been, or is liable to be, prosecuted in a court of law in respect of an act or conduct which is the subject of proceedings before the University Tribunal shall not affect the jurisdiction or the powers of the Tribunal under Chapter III of the Schedule to Statute C; but the Tribunal shall consider the advisability of referring the matter to the police and, if they so refer the matter, shall adjourn their proceedings for such time as is reasonable in the circumstances to enable a prosecution to be undertaken.

(b) Evidence that a person has been convicted of an offence by or before any court of law, or that any court of law has found proved an offence with which a person was charged, shall, for the purpose of proving that the person committed the offence or was guilty of any act or conduct in respect of which he or she was so charged or convicted, be admissible in any proceedings before the University Tribunal.

Conduct of hearing.

11. Each party to a hearing before the Tribunal, or his or her representative, shall be entitled to make an opening statement, to give evidence, to call witnesses, to question any witness concerning any relevant evidence, and to address the Tribunal after the evidence has been heard.

12. Subject to the provisions of the Schedule to Statute C and of these Ordinances, the Tribunal shall have power to regulate their own procedure. The Chair may set time-limits for each stage of the proceedings, and any meeting of the Tribunal may be postponed or adjourned at the discretion of the Chair. It shall be the duty of the Tribunal and of the Chair to ensure that a charge is heard and determined as expeditiously as is reasonably practicable.

13. The Tribunal shall have power to dismiss a charge for want of prosecution, or, in the case of a charge brought under Chapter III of the Schedule to Statute C, to remit the charge to the Vice-Chancellor for further consideration.

14. The Tribunal shall not find a charge proved unless they are satisfied that it has been proved beyond reasonable doubt.

Penalty.

15. If the Tribunal find a charge proved, they shall, after giving the parties an opportunity to address them concerning the penalty to be imposed, determine the appropriate penalty (if any) in accordance with the provisions of Statute D II 3 or, in the case of a person charged under the Schedule to Statute C, in accordance with the provisions of Chapter III 12 of the Schedule to Statute C; and the Tribunal or the Chair, as appropriate, shall have power to impose such penalty.

16. The Clerk of the Tribunal shall be entitled to be present throughout the hearing and at any meeting of the Tribunal, and shall keep a sufficient record of the proceedings of the Tribunal.

Decision.

17. The Tribunal's decision shall be recorded in a document signed by the Chair which shall contain:

  1. (a)the Tribunal's findings of fact regarding the charge;
  2. (b)the reasons for the Tribunal's decision;
  3. (c)the penalty (if any) determined by the Tribunal;
  4. (d)the penalty (if any) imposed by the Tribunal or the Chair, as appropriate.

18. The Clerk of the Tribunal shall send a copy of the document specified in Regulation 17 to the Vice-Chancellor, the person charged, and the other parties to the hearing, and shall also send to the person charged a copy of Special Ordinance C (xiii) and Special Ordinance D (iii) 1–5 concerning appeals.

19. The Chair shall have power by certificate under his or her hand to correct in documents recording the decisions of the Tribunal any clerical errors arising therein from accidental mistakes or omissions.