{"id":4156,"date":"2025-03-03T12:26:56","date_gmt":"2025-03-03T11:26:56","guid":{"rendered":"\/?p=4156"},"modified":"2025-04-14T12:33:20","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T10:33:20","slug":"high-court-rejects-bid-by-the-university-of-cambridge-for-a-long-term-injunction-on-palestine-protests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/high-court-rejects-bid-by-the-university-of-cambridge-for-a-long-term-injunction-on-palestine-protests\/","title":{"rendered":"High Court rejects bid by the University of Cambridge for a long-term injunction on Palestine protests\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Joint Press Release<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

High Court rejects bid by the University of Cambridge for a long-term injunction on Palestine protests<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 27 February 2025, the High Court of Justice refused to make an injunction sought by the University of Cambridge on 12 February, which aimed to ban all Palestine-related protests at four university sites until 2030. A coalition of groups, including the European Legal Support Center, University and College Union, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians, and Liberty declared the ruling a victory for student activists, affirming their right to protest and pushing back against the University\u2019s attempts to suppress political expression on campus.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The University\u2019s application came in response to a series of high-profile encampments and demonstrations led by Cambridge for Palestine (C4P) at Senate House Yard in May and November 2024. These actions were part of a broader movement demanding that Cambridge divest from companies and institutions linked to Israel\u2019s crimes against Palestinians, particularly its violations in Gaza, which the International Court of Justice has ruled may plausibly amount to genocide\u2014a conclusion reinforced by a large body of international law experts.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The protests saw students engaging in peaceful direct action after what they described as months of broken commitments and failed negotiations with university administrators. Despite the university\u2019s legal efforts to impose a sweeping five-year protest ban, the court issued a narrow, two-day injunction that restricted entry to Senate House and Senate House Yard. However, it explicitly removed any references to Palestine or C4P, while preserving the right to protest in surrounding areas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We welcome the court\u2019s decision to reject the University\u2019s attempt to criminalise protest, but this fight is far from over. The Judge has scheduled a follow-up hearing for March 2025 to decide whether a longer-term injunction will be imposed. We will continue to challenge this blatant attack on students\u2019 fundamental rights and oppose any attempt to suppress political expression on campus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since October 2023, university managements across the UK have escalated a pattern of aggressive tactics aimed at suppressing student-led protests. Disciplinary measures have been weaponised against individual students, while universities have pursued costly legal action to remove protest organisers and dismantle encampments. In many cases, police have been called to forcibly remove demonstrators, leading to arrests and, in some instances, injuries. Reports have also emerged of security staff harassing and even physically assaulting student protesters.1<\/sup> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond direct crackdowns on demonstrations, universities have sought to stifle, censor, and monitor lawful political expression and peaceful activism. Events have been cancelled, excessive bureaucratic barriers imposed on organisers, and students and staff subjected to investigations for their participation in protests. In some cases, individuals have even been referred to the Prevent Programme and accused of supporting terrorism simply for their social media activity or other lawful expressions of solidarity. These actions represent a growing and dangerous trend, posing a direct threat to the student movement in Britain. The right to protest and freedom of speech on university campuses are being eroded, with consequences that extend far beyond higher education and into wider civil society.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna Ost, lawyer from the ELSC, stated:\u202f<\/strong>\u201cThis is a significant victory\u2014one that sends a strong message to other universities attempting to impose such draconian restrictions on freedom of assembly and protest. The University of Cambridge\u2019s efforts to undermine its students\u2019 civil liberties\u2014by seeking an injunction to effectively ban expressions of Palestine solidarity both on and off campus until 2030\u2014represented the broadest restriction on university protests to date.<\/em> Since October 2023, we have witnessed ongoing attempts to undermine students’ right to protest and to challenge their institutions\u2019 complicity in violations of international law and genocide. It is our responsibility to fight this wider pattern of repression against our movement, on university campuses or otherwise, and against our civil liberties in the legal terrain.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ruth Ehrlich, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Liberty, said: \u201cIn an increasingly hostile space for protest rights, civil injunctions are being used by universities around the country to limit the way anyone can make their voices heard on campus. Students have long been at the forefront of movements for social change. Liberty will continue to defend their right to protest.\u201d\u202f<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A UCU spokesperson stated: \u201cThe failure of Cambridge\u2019s bid at the High Court to repress pro-Palestine protests for five years is an important victory for our democratic rights. Universities should be promoting our basic freedoms, not attempting to crush them. We now urge Cambridge\u2019s Vice Chancellor to drop these cack-handed attempts at criminalising peaceful protest altogether.\u201d<\/em>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ben Jamal, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Director, said: \u201cThis is an important victory for freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, both of which should be cornerstones of university life. The University of Cambridge tried to single out Palestinian staff and students and those speaking up for international law, and subject them to draconian restrictions not applied to protestors on any other issue. This decision should mark a watershed in defence of freedom of expression and the right to protest.\u201d  <\/em> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The High Court has rejected the University of Cambridge\u2019s bid to ban Palestine-related protests until 2030. This ruling affirms students\u2019 right to protest, pushing back against the University\u2019s attempts to suppress political expression and solidarity activism on campus.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":7272,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,55],"tags":[101,112],"test-2":[],"country":[152],"blog_categories":[],"class_list":["post-4156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-case-update","category-press-release","tag-academic-freedom","tag-anti-palestinian-racism","country-gb"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":3,"label":"Case Update"},{"value":55,"label":"Press Release"}],"post_tag":[{"value":101,"label":"Academic freedom"},{"value":112,"label":"Anti-Palestinian Racism"}],"country":[{"value":152,"label":"Britain"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/elsc.support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/High-Court-rejects-bid-by-the-University-of-Cambridge-for-a-long-term-injunction-on-Palestine-protests-1-1024x538.png",1024,538,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Bashar","author_link":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/author\/bashar\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":3,"name":"Case Update","slug":"case-update","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Updates on legal cases ELSC is working on.","parent":0,"count":32,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":3,"category_count":32,"category_description":"Updates on legal cases ELSC is working on.","cat_name":"Case Update","category_nicename":"case-update","category_parent":0},{"term_id":55,"name":"Press Release","slug":"press-release","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":55,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Official updates shared with media or public.","parent":0,"count":76,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":55,"category_count":76,"category_description":"Official updates shared with media or public.","cat_name":"Press Release","category_nicename":"press-release","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":101,"name":"Academic freedom","slug":"academic-freedom","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":101,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"Academic freedom under threat","parent":0,"count":30,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":112,"name":"Anti-Palestinian Racism","slug":"anti-palestinian-racism","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":112,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"Discrimination against Palestinians","parent":0,"count":60,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4156"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4156\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6999,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4156\/revisions\/6999"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4156"},{"taxonomy":"test-2","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/test-2?post=4156"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=4156"},{"taxonomy":"blog_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog_categories?post=4156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}