Compliance and Legislation

Our Legal and Compliance Realm

As a public body, Trinity College Dublin is subject to a wide range of national and EU legislative requirements and to the standards of good governance expected across the Irish public sector. This includes compliance with:

• College Statutes, Charters, and Acts of the Oireachtas, including the Higher Education Authority Act (1971), the Universities Act (1997), and the Supplemental Charter (2022).
• National governance obligations, notably the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies, adopted by the College in 2024.
• Broad public sector duties in areas such as data protection, freedom of information, child protection, protected disclosures, and equality and human rights.
  
  

What We Do — Key Functional Domains

The Secretary’s Office coordinates and oversees a wide spectrum of compliance and legislative areas, including:

• Governance & Legal Oversight
  Supporting the College’s governing entities—the Board, University Council, and their committees—as well as managing legal advice, legal costs, and external legal frameworks.
• Policy & Code Management
  Developing and maintaining key internal instruments such as the Code of Conduct, Code of Governance, and policy management frameworks.
• Information Compliance
  Acting as the steward for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, ensuring Trinity meets its obligations as a public body in the transparent use and safeguarding of information.
• Protected Disclosures
  Providing secure channels and oversight for protected disclosures, promoting accountability in line with public sector standards.
• Equality, Human Rights & Public Sector Duties
  Embedding obligations under Irish equality and human rights law, and reporting on Trinity’s public sector duty commitments.
• Export Controls & Licensing
  Managing College compliance with Irish and international export control frameworks.
• Child Protection & Safeguarding
  Ensuring statutory compliance with child protection laws and overseeing safeguarding practices across the College.

Why It Matters

By upholding its statutory responsibilities as a publicly funded university, Trinity ensures accountability, transparency, and responsible stewardship of public resources. The Secretary’s Office enables the College to operate with legal certainty, ethical clarity, and full compliance with the obligations placed upon public bodies in Ireland.

Further Information and Links

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