BDS motions at two more students’ unions – the Royal College of Art and Nottingham – have been overruled by their trustees because it would be unlawful to implement them.

These decisions follow letters from UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) to the students’ unions pointing out that if the students’ unions implement the motions they would be conducting political campaigns in breach of charity law, as well as various other legal requirements.

A similar decision was reached earlier by trustees of the University of Manchester Students’ Union.

Royal College of Art

On 3 July 2024, the Royal College of Art’s Students’ Union (RCASU) circulated and posted on its website a statement with Q&A section, detailing an update on the BDS motion which had been passed by a majority at the Students’ Union Assembly on 20 March 2024. 

Following a warning that: ‘The content of this message may be upsetting to read, so please take care and read only when you have the emotional capacity to do so’, the statement provided a helpful explanation of the legal position.

• Legal advice from specialist charity lawyers was taken in order to consider the legality and risks of implementing the Motion.
• The Board of Trustees have the power to override the Motion because a policy cannot be implemented if it “…is or may be in breach of, contrary to or otherwise inconsistent with charity or education law or any other legal requirements (including ultra vires)” based on the NUS Charity’s Model Constitution for Students’ Unions.
• As outlined in charity law, the RCASU can solely advocate and intervene on matters directly relevant to students as students, and its charitable goals revolve around enhancing student education, welfare and overall experience at RCA.
• The types of issues identified as not ‘students as students’ issues were, amongst others, industrial disputes in other sectors, the treatment of political prisoners in a foreign country and the Middle East peace process.
• Legal restrictions on charities carrying out any activities with a political element means that the SU has to be careful with any activities that could be seen as an attempt to influence law and public policy in any part of the world.
• RCASU is legally entitled to form a ‘corporate conclusion’ (a view set and shared by Student Members) on any topic and can facilitate debates amongst students on political issues.
• It is acknowledged that this Motion went further than just reaching a corporate conclusion as it called on the SU to use its resources to implement the Motion on issues that went beyond those considered to be ‘students as students’ issues.

In the Q & A section of the statement, RCASU confirmed they have identified that students would benefit from the provision of greater support and training to help avoid legal challenges in the future. The statement also referred to the guidance given by the National Union of Students (NUS).

Nottingham

On 4 July 2024, the University of Nottingham Students’ Union (UoNSU) posted an “Update on recent Policy and Trustee Board Decision”. This referred to a motion titled “End University of Nottingham Complicity in Israeli War Crimes” which had been approved by a majority in a referendum of students in March 2024.

The motion resolved amongst other things:

• “To demand the University support the BDS movement and …. drop all investments in and not work with companies that are complicit in the Israel occupation of Palestine”
• “To no longer platform companies on the BDS list … – e.g. Starbucks and Costa – within the SU, and to lobby the university to remove companies specifically targeted by the BDS movement from all campus buildings”

Following the referendum, an impact assessment was carried out and the Trustee Board sought advice from the NUS. In the light of the advice, the Trustee Board did not ratify the motion “due to legal considerations”, so the motion falls.

Jonathan Turner, UKLFI Chief Executive, said:

“We welcome these decisions respecting the law. Extensive research at American universities has shown that BDS campaigns promote antisemitism, including directly targeting Jewish students for harm.”