University of Cambridge seeks four-month High Court order against protesters
A previous effort to impose a five-year injunction prohibiting direct action relating to the conflict without its consent on several sites was rejected
Last updated 20th Mar 2025
The University of Cambridge is seeking a High Court order to block Israel-Palestine protests on parts of its campus until the end of July.
A previous effort to impose a five-year injunction prohibiting direct action relating to the conflict without its consent on several sites was rejected by a judge in February.
The university now wants to prevent protesters disrupting multiple graduation events on two sites that are planned between now and July 26, the final graduation ceremony of the academic year.
Last year, pro-Palestine protesters staged demonstrations at Senate House Yard and Greenwich House, which "forced" a graduation ceremony to be moved, lawyers for the university said.
Myriam Stacey KC, for the university, told a High Court hearing on Wednesday there is a "real and imminent risk" of further action on campus, with protesters saying "we will be back" after leaving Senate House Yard at the end of November.
She said the protesters seem to be mostly affiliated with the group Cambridge for Palestine, whose stated aims online include for the university to "divest from institutions and companies complicit in the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestine".
In written submissions, Ms Stacey said: "The claimant apprehends that, unless restrained by the court, the defendants will carry out acts amounting to trespass and nuisance on the land."
The sought-after injunction is against "persons unknown", as it is impossible to know which individuals will take part in demonstrations in the future, Ms Stacey said.
She told the court: "It is the activity we are seeking to stop, not the viewpoint. It is legally irrelevant who is doing this. It is what they are doing that we object to.
"The university takes an entirely neutral approach and seeks to balance the rights of all students and parties."
The European Legal Support Center (ELSC), which opposes the university's bid, said the injunction is a "disproportionate infringement" on the human rights of the protesters.
It believes it would set a "dangerous precedent" for protesting on university campuses and that the scope of the proposed order is too extensive.
Owen Greenhall, for ELSC, said in written submissions: "It remains a broad and all-encompassing measure, striking at the heart of protest at the University of Cambridge. It should not be ordered."
He said the University of Cambridge is discriminating against the "race and/or political belief" of protesters as it is only after pro-Palestine actions that it began seeking an injunction, allowing other demonstrations such as those for Ukraine or industrial action.
He also said the proposed injunction is "not necessary" and that the university "has not identified any serious risk sufficient to justify the extreme rights infringement now sought".
He added: "The result is a chilling effect on political expression at Cambridge."
Anna Ost, ELSC senior legal officer, said: "This injunction is part of a wider trend of universities converging with state repression to dismantle the mass movement for Palestinian liberation.
"Instead of upholding academic freedom and protecting students' right to protest, institutions like Cambridge are increasingly becoming sites of suppression."
The hearing, before Mr Justice Soole, is expected to conclude on Thursday with judgment given on Friday.