Court
Court serves as a bridge between the wider community and the University. It provides a source of ideas, influence and support from the wider community to assist the University in pursuit of its mission.
On this page
Responsibilities and terms of reference
Court is responsible for:
- appointing the Chancellor and Pro-Chancellors on the nomination of the Board of Trustees;
- appointing 2 members to serve on the Nominations Committee of the Board.
Court may also:
- pose questions to the Chair of the Board of Trustees on the activity of the Board in the preceding year and the plans for the year ahead;
- pose questions to the Vice-Chancellor and Executive Group on the execution of the strategy of the University;
- pose questions to the Board of Trustees on the financial statements;
- ask questions and offer comment to the Board of Trustees and the Executive Group on any aspect of the University's business.
See full details of Court’s responsibilities in statutes 6-8 of the University's Statutes.
Membership
Court membership is set out in statute 6 of the University's Statutes and is made up of:
Core Members
Elected
- 30 Alumni Association Representatives
- 5 Emeriti
Nominated
- 20 Members from civic, cultural and community organisations or bodies
- 20 Members from unions, professional organisations, business community and industry or other knowledge-intensive organisations
- 5 representatives from elected representatives of the City of Bristol and its surrounding areas
Ex Officio
- Chancellor
- Pro-Chancellors
- Honorary Fellows
Additional Members
The Chancellor may appoint up to 20 Additional Appointed Members as set out in Statute.
Current members of Court
To see a list of current members, download the Court membership 2023/24 (PDF, 133kB)
Diversity monitoring
The diversity of our Court members has been researched periodically since 2020, data for the membership is not currently available.
Attendees
Statute 6 sets out that the following people can attend Court:
- 20 university employees, who are elected by university employees
- The elected Sabbatical Officers of the Students' Union
- Board of Trustees
- Vice-Chancellor and President
- Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost
- Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education and Students
- Pro Vice-Chancellor for Global Engagement
- Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise
- Chief Operating Officer, Registrar and University Secretary
- Chief Operating Officer
- Deans
- University Librarian
- Chief Property Officer (the Bursar)
- Clerk to Court
They do not have the authority to make committee decisions and are not eligible to vote in meetings.
Court Secretary
- Current post-holder: Michael Flay, Head of Governance
- Email: michael.flay@bristol.ac.uk
- Telephone: +44 (0) 117 45 54881
Vacancies
There are currently no vacancies.
Meeting dates and paper submission deadlines 2023/24
Court meets in accordance with its Standing orders (PDF, 145kB).
- Friday 1 December 2023, 9am
(Paper deadline 17 November 2023)
Papers
The Court convening notice 2023 (PDF, 196kB) was circulated to members on Monday 23rd October 2023.
Download individual Court papers:
- Covering letter (PDF, 139kB)
- Agenda (PDF, 84kB)
- 001: Minutes of the Annual Meeting 2022 (PDF, 524kB)
- 002: Re-appointment of Pro-Chancellor (PDF, 786kB)
- 003: Report of the Board of Trustees including amendments to Statutes 6.3 & 7.4 (PDF, 356kB)
- 004: Annual Report and Financial Statements 2022/23 (PDF, 6,033kB)
- 005: Keynote Speakers & Workshop: Enterprise & Innovation (PDF, 129kB)
Download the Combined paper pack for the Court meeting, 1 December 2023 (PDF, 7,794kB) for Court.
You may also download the following presentations from the meeting:
- Annual report and financial statements 2023 (PDF, 869kB)
- Leveraging world-class research for social impact and regional economic developm (PDF, 8,646kB)
Read the Questions submitted in advance of the meeting (PDF, 121kB)
Minutes
Download minutes from previous meetings of Court.