Higher education institutions specific public law obligations in governance


Produced in partnership with Kris Robbetts of VWV
Practice notes

Higher education institutions specific public law obligations in governance


Produced in partnership with Kris Robbetts of VWV

Practice notes
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higher education institutions (HEIs) have long had a wide range of public law duties incorporated into statute or funding requirements that must be adhered to in addition to the more general public sector duties imposed on publicly funded bodies.

Legislative change has extended some of these duties and exacerbated tension between protected freedoms and limited rights. This Practice Note provides an overview of the core higher education (HE) specific public law duties and how they are continuing to evolve.

Freedom of speech

The right to freedom of speech and freedom of expression in HEIs has been enshrined in law since the enactment of section 43 of the Education (No 2) Act 1986 (E(No 2)A 1986). These rights are limited to the extent set by the law, for example through conflict with other legal duties imposed by legislation such as:

  1. •

    the Public Order Act 1986

  2. •

    Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010), and

  3. •

    Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 (CTSA 2015)

(see Prevent below) and are not therefore absolute. E(No 2)A 1986

Kris Robbetts
Kris Robbetts

Partner, VWV

Kris is an education lawyer at VWV LLP, undertaking regulatory compliance work within one of the largest education practices in the UK. He has nearly 20 years' experience of advising education institutions nationally on the full range of student and pupil related issues including admissions, discipline, exclusions, complaints, discrimination, fitness to practise, safeguarding, incident management and the impact of legal and regulatory change. Kris acts for a wide range of secondary and tertiary education providers, many of which are internationally renowned. Kris has degrees from Oxford University and University College London and, prior to qualification as a solicitor, undertook graduate study and research as a British Academy (AHRB) scholar.

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Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom
Related legal acts:
Key definition:
Higher education definition
What does Higher education mean?

A course of education or research leading to a university degree or equivalent.

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