LONDON: A law firm in the UK that helped a university ban pro-Palestine protests on campus has been assisting other higher education institutions considering legal action against their students.
Shakespeare Martineau LLP represented Cardiff University in a case that resulted in a year-long ban on unauthorized campus protests from June.
The case could result in unlimited fines for staff and students found in breach of the injunction, as well as prison terms of up to two years.
Those wishing to hold protests on Cardiff’s campus will be required to apply for permission up to three weeks in advance.
Earlier this year, similar 12-month injunctions were granted to two colleges at Cambridge University
The Guardian reported on Monday that the law firm promoted the type of injunction, known as a “newcomer injunction” because it can be used “against persons unknown,” to other universities during a webinar held in October.
According to a freedom of information act obtained in conjunction with Liberty Investigates, it was found that representatives of Reading, Exeter, Northumbria, Hertfordshire, Birkbeck, Bath Spa and Liverpool John Moores universities registered for the webinar.
The Guardian reported that lawyers acting in the case against Cardiff warned that the injunction was too broad and could affect industrial action.
A UN watchdog, the newspaper reported, said the move is a “flagrant violation of international human rights law,” while Gina Romero, UN special rapporteur for freedom of assembly, said: “Profiting from the … curtailing of human rights is despicable.”
A spokesperson for Shakespeare Martineau said the injunction relates to “unlawful encampments,” and “lawful” protest would not be affected.
Smita Jamdar, head of education at Shakespeare Martineau, said: “Universities are dealing with complex situations on campus every single day. Understandably, many institutions are seeking guidance on how to manage a whole host of situations effectively and safely, while upholding the law and balancing the rights and freedoms of the whole campus community.”
But the European Legal Support Centre called the use of the injunctions a “chilling precedent for academic institutions,” adding that they are “legally complex and financially impractical for affected students to challenge in court.”
Last week, England’s Office for Students warned universities against “sweeping” limits on protest in a new set of guidelines due to take effect in August.
