The rector of the University of St Andrews has been reinstated to its governing body for a second time during a tumultuous term in office, with both sides claiming victory after a legal battle over governance.

Stella Maris said on 12 March that she would be resuming all her duties in the role – an elected position that is intended to provide an independent voice for students – after an appeal against her dismissal was successful.

But the university said the legal judgment had vindicated its decision to remove Maris as a court member and charity trustee in January 2026.

The reinstatement follows Maris “reversing her position” on whether all court members are bound by collective responsibility, St Andrews highlighted.  

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Maris, who has been rector since November 2023, was previously dismissed after she accused Israel of genocide in an email to students, eventually winning an appeal against this decision.

The latest row centres on the Scottish university’s governance rules and whether court members can publicly disagree with decisions it makes.

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“Ms Stella Maris had refused to accept she was bound by collective responsibility, which applies to all charity trustees and members of court,” said the university in a .

“Ms Maris had also claimed that she alone had the authority to chair the St Andrews Court and should have absolute discretion over all aspects of its meetings.”

It said Maris had “attempted to overrule standard operating procedures and take the chair at the October 2025 meeting”.

After the court voted to uphold to its normal procedures, “she accused her fellow members of acting unlawfully”, the university added.

In his judgment, Lord Keen concluded that the university’s rules did state that the rector should be bound by collective responsibility, and that it was the university’s “senior lay member” who chairs the substantive business of the court.

But he agreed to quash the decision to remove Maris from the court if she agreed to “provide an unqualified undertaking that she will adhere to this position for the remainder of her term of office” – something that Maris has now provided in writing.

Maris, whose term as rector ends in October, clarified in a statement that in doing so she was “not undertaking to give up my right to disagreement or to judicial review”.

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In a further statement posted on , Maris said the dispute “goes to the heart of how universities govern themselves” and “whether members of a governing body can be removed simply for maintaining their disagreement with a decision once it has been made”.

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She said the university had asserted that collective responsibility required silence but “my position was that it requires compliance with decisions but cannot operate as a perpetual gag on disagreement”, claiming that the appeal decision “makes clear that disagreement itself cannot be treated as misconduct”.

She called for an “independent investigation” into how the decision to dismiss her had been reached, alleging “multiple breaches” of the court’s code of conduct.

“More broadly, this moment should remind us of something fundamental about the purpose of universities and the communities they serve,” Maris added.

“We must foster an environment where those who speak out against atrocities, genocide, illegal wars and abuses of power are not punished for doing so.”

A spokesperson for the university court said that it was pleased its decision had been “vindicated”, adding that courts have an “important duty and burden of responsibility to oversee the good governance and strategic decisions of our universities”.

“That burden has never been greater given the considerable challenges facing the higher education sector just now.

“The rector’s attempt to exercise sole authority disrupted a key meeting held to focus on St Andrews University’s finances, and these matters have been a sustained distraction to operations over several months.

“Now this issue is behind us, it is our hope that all court members will at all times act in the best interests of the university, its students, and staff.”

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tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com