Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin Has Updated its Statutes

Posted on: 18 March 2016

The Statutes of Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin contain the basic internal laws, structures and rules of the College and University and provide co-ordination with and expand on the provisions of the Universities Act, 1997 and of the Trinity College, Dublin (Charters and Letters Patent Amendment) Act, 2000.

Trinity was given the powers to make statutes under its first Charter of 3 March, 1592, with the latest updates coming in to effect on 3 March, 2016.  The statutes have always governed significant aspects of Trinity life and cover important issues such as Governance, Staff, Provost, Board, Fellows, Scholars, Students, Visitors and many other matters such as the College Community, including graduates.

Upon completion of the work of the Statutes Review Working Party with the adoption of the 2010 Consolidated Statutes of Trinity College Dublin and of the University of Dublin (the 2010 Statutes), Board established the Schedules Working Party (SchWP) to revise the Schedules to the Statutes and to make consequential recommendations for amendments to the Chapters of the Statutes. Several issues had been left over in 2010, and they have now been concluded by the SchWP.

The SchWP comprised Professor Shane Allwright, Registrar (Chair); Professor Eoin O’Dell; Professor Deirdre Ahern; John Coman, Secretary to the College; Victoria Butler, Assistant Secretary; and Sheena Brown, Administrative Officer. Previous members of the SchWP, who also contributed to its work and are now retired, were: Anne Fitzgerald; Monica Alcock; and Paul Guinness.

Professor Allwright commented: “I am pleased to inform the College Community that the recent substantial additions and amendments to the Chapters and Schedules, having been approved by Board and Council, assented to by the Fellows and approved by the Visitors, have now been incorporated into the 2010 Statutes.”

Mr Coman noted that “The 2010 Consolidated Statutes including updates to 3 March 2016 have been uploaded to the web and are available for consultation”.

Professor O’Dell, School of Law and the Chair of the original Statutes Review Working Party, said that “It is the hope of the Schedules Working Party that, in conjunction with the 2010 Statutes, the 2016 Schedules will ensure that the basic law of the College and University can properly and appropriately support and organise the College, protect the welfare and order of its Community, and advance its mission and objects.”