Overview
- A three-day judicial review before Mrs Justice Lieven is due to conclude Thursday at the Royal Courts of Justice, with a written judgment to follow.
- The university says the OfS acted ultra vires under the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, ran a procedurally unfair investigation, and singled Sussex out compared with peers using the Advance HE template.
- Sussex argues the policy could not support disciplinary action when read alongside other rules and notes 2022–23 revisions that added explicit protections for freedom of speech.
- The OfS contends it had jurisdiction, says the policy fostered a chilling effect on speech across campus, and defends its investigation and conclusions as sound.
- The £585,000 penalty was a record and discounted as the first of its kind, and Sussex has a separate tribunal route that would proceed only if the High Court challenge fails.