The University of Cambridge has been granted a four-month injunction banning protest activity outside graduation ceremonies by the UK High Court.
With the ruling announced on March 21, the University of Cambridge has been accused of limiting freedom of assembly and expression, violating The European Convention of Human Rights.
Despite the High Court’s original dismissal of the request, the University of Cambridge applied for another injunction and was granted a shorter ban, set to end at 23:00 July 26, 2025.
The court decided there was an “imminent and real risk of a recurrence” and that this ban is the ‘minimum necessary in the circumstances’.
The ban prohibits the erection of “structures (including tents)” or attempting to “enter occupy or remain upon [or] block access” to specific sites on the University campus.
Anyone found in breach could be held in contempt of court and “imprisoned, fined or have your assets seized”.
Due to the unspecified nature of the court order, “persons unknown” was used as a placeholder for anyone deemed to be a protestor.
Civil Liberties group Liberty claims that “The ‘persons unknown’ injunction is far too broad and prohibits a wide range of activity on campus”.
Additionally, “the injunction […] effectively criminalises staff and students who inadvertently breach it”, and that fails to “protect individuals who may be accidentally caught by overly broad protest bans.”
Ruth Ehrlich, head of Policy and Campaigns at Liberty, commented on the effect removing student voices from the political landscape has, stating “It sets a dangerous precedent which will severely restrict protest rights on campus”.
The European Legal Support Centre (ELSC) defended the protesters at court, claiming that the ban violated freedom of expression and assembly under Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention of Human Rights.
Anna Ost, ELSC Senior Officer, claims that The University of Cambridge’s attempts to silence the student voice stems from their wants to conceal their “complicity in enabling genocide”.
Owen Greenhall, ELSC, claimed that prior to pro-Palestine protests, the University has not asked for an injunction on demonstrations related to Ukraine, suggesting that they are silencing specific protests based on “race and/or political belief“.
Myriam Stacey KC, a representative of Cambridge, has responded claiming that they do not intend to infringe on people’s rights, rather that they have asked for this injunction to protect the student body and its visitors.
Stacey argued the school body took “an entirely neutral approach” aiming to “balance the rights of all students and parties” looking to inhibit the action, and “not the viewpoint”.
