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Code of Practice Issued Under Section 43 of the Education (No.2) Act 1986

1. Section 42 of the Education (No.2) Act 1986 places a duty on the College to take such steps as are reasonably practicable to ensure that freedom of speech within the law is secured for its members, students and employees, and for visiting speakers.
2. The Section also requires the College to issue and keep up to date a Code of Practice, to be followed by students, other members, and employees of the College about the organisation of meetings that are to be held on College premises, and about the conduct required of those persons in connection with meetings. This Code of Practice therefore applies to all students, other members, and employees of the College in respect of meetings on any of the College’s premises, outdoor as well as indoor. It is a paradoxical result that the recent legislation, the object of which is to safeguard freedom of speech, forces the College to institute a process of codification which must inevitably limit to some degree the freedom and and discretion of organisers of meetings, but the Council hopes that the Code of Practice has been framed in such a way as to minimise this effect.
3. The attention of members of the College is drawn to sections 8 and 9 of the Code of Practice for Discipline in College. The regulations apply to ALL meetings held on College premises, including meetings organised by conferences and other outside bodies; members of the College are reminded that actions that disrupt meeetings or impede freedom of speech or lawful assembly will also costitute offences under the University’s regulations for discipline: see parargraph 7 below.

Organisation of Meetings on College Premises

1. Permission is required for all meetings and other activities (including dinners, parties, and other entertainments) to which speakers are invited, and for all other meetings at which more than ten persons are expected to be present, whether or not the meeting is open to the public. Permission must be obtained from the Senior Tutor (or in the case of conferences, from the Conference Manager in the case of a conference to be held in College, or Warden of Wolfson Court if the conference is to be held in Wolfson Court) not less than seventy two hours beforehand. The application for permission should state the name of the person taking responsibility for the meeting, the date and time of the meeting, the place, the name, addresses and colleges (if any) of the organisers, the name of the organisation making the arrangements, and name of any expected speakers, whether or not they are members of the University.
2. The organisers of a meeting to which parargraph 4 applies must comply with any conditions set by the appropriate College authority in respect of the organisation of the meeting or other activity and the arrangements to be made. Such conditions may include the requirement that tickets must be issued, that an adequate number of porters/stewards shall be available, that the services of the porters shall be hired, that the police shall be consulted, and that the time and place of the meeting shall be changed. In extreme cases the College reserves the right to cancel a meeting on account of a threatened breach of the peace.

Conduct of Meetings on College Premises

1. The organisers of any meeting on College premises, and of persons attending such meetings, must comply with instructions given by any person authorised to act on behalf of the College (including the Proctors) in the proper discharge of their duties. The attention of members of the College is drawn to sections 1 and 2 of the Code of Practice for Discipline in College and to the rules governing meetings and parties. Any person attending a meeting who is not a member of the College may be required at any time to leave the College’s premises, notwithstanding any payment he or she might have made to attend the meeting.

The University

1. The provisions of section 43 of the Education (No. 2) Act 1986, apply also to the University in respect of all its members, students and employees, and to visiting speakers. The College may invite the Proctors to enter its premises and authorise them to act in the discharge of their University duties. Members of the College are reminded that University disciplinary regulations apply on College premises as elsewhere within the precincts of the University, and their attention is particularly drawn to the following University regulation for discipline (Statutes & Ordinances, 2005, p.195):
   All members of the University shall comply with any instruction given by a University officer, or by any other person authorised to act on behalf of the University, in the proper discharge of his or her duties.
   All members of the University shall state their names and the Colleges to which they belong when asked by a Proctor or Pro-Proctor, or by any other person in authority in the University or in any of the Colleges in the University.

Other Legal Requirements

1. The attention of the organisers of public meetings and assemblies is drawn to sections 11 and 14 of the Public Order Act 1986, concerning processions and assemblies. Further details may be obtained from the Senior Tutor. Other legal requirements may affect the conduct of meetings. For example, a speaker who incites an assembly to persons to violence or to breach the peace, or to racial hatred, commits a criminal offence. Moreover, assemblies of persons, even if directed to lawful purposes, cease ot be lawful if they threaten serious public disorder or breaches of the peace.

Application of the Code

1. Any person who is in doubt about the application of this Code of Practice to any meetings or public gatherings or parties in the College, is under obligation to consult the Senior Tutor (or in the case of conferences, the Conference Manager in the case of a conference to be held in College, or Warden of Wolfson Court if the conference is to be held in Wolfson Court) who will determine whether the provisions of the Code apply. In addition to this Code there is a further College Code of Practice for Parties and Meetings.
2. Breach by any members of the College of any of the requirements of this Code, will be treated as disciplinary offences.