A visitor, in English and Welsh law and history, is an overseer of an autonomous ecclesiastical or eleemosynary institution, often a charitable institution set up for the perpetual distribution of the founder's alms and bounty, who can intervene in the internal affairs of that institution. Those with such visitors are mainly chapters, chapels, schools, colleges, universities, and hospitals.
The office of visitor arose in church government and the visitor of an ecclesiastical corporations is normally the bishop of that diocese. Outside of the church, visitors are sometimes appointed for eleemosynary foundations (those established for the perpetual distribution of the alms or bounty of the founder), such as hospitals or colleges. [1] [2] Blackstone, in his Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765), saw the crown as having visitatorial jurisdiction over all civil corporations (i.e., non-eleemosynary lay corporations), with this being exercised through the courts. [3]
Many visitors hold their role ex officio , by serving as the British sovereign, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lord Chancellor, the Lord President of the Council, the Lord Chief Justice, or the bishop of a particular diocese. Others can be appointed in various ways, depending on the constitution of the organization in question. Bishops are usually the visitors to their own cathedrals.
All eleemosynary corporation have a visitor as a necessity incident of their foundation; [4] where no visitor is named, the sovereign is the visitor. [5] Prior to the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, the sovereign's visitatorial jurisdiction was delegated to the Lord Chancellor; powers concerning the visitorial function of the crown are now part of the ministerial prerogative powers of the UK government. [5] [6]
Universities and colleges in England and Wales established by royal charter (or a private act of Parliament) may have a visitor, although the newer universities do not have visitors. [7] The colleges of Oxford and Cambridge universities are, with the exception of some modern foundations, eleemosynary corporations and thus have visitors, but the universities themselves are civil corporations and thus do not have visitors. [8] [9]
The right of the visitor, and not the courts, to adjudge on alleged deviations from the statutes of academic colleges was affirmed in the case of Philips v. Bury, 1694, in which the House of Lords overruled a judgment of the Court of King's Bench. [10] [11]
The first university (as opposed to college) in England and Wales to be constituted as an eleemosynary foundation and thus to have a visitor was Durham University, under the Durham University Act 1832. [12] Following this, other universities were established with visitors by royal charter or act of parliament until 1992. [7]
The Education Reform Act 1988 transferred jurisdiction for most employment disputes in universities to employment tribunals, and the Higher Education Act 2004 transferred the jurisdiction of visitors over the grievances of students in English and Welsh universities to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator. [7]
The residual powers remaining to the visitor in higher education include the interpretation and enforcement of the charter and statutes, issues over membership of committees and the appointment or dismissal of officers of the institution, compliance with the charitable objectives defined by the founder, and disputes between academics and the institution that are not employment disputes or that have been otherwise transferred to the courts or tribunals. Decisions of the visitor are subject to judicial review for failure to apply the rules of natural justice or for lack of jurisdiction, but not for errors in fact or law. [13]
There were 51 higher education providers in England with visitors in 2026. [14]
The position has also existed in universities in other countries which have followed the English and Welsh model (there being no such office in Scotland), although in many countries the visitor's role in complaints has been transferred to other bodies.
In Ireland, the Universities Act 1997 redefines the appointment, function and responsibility of a visitor. The act defines that where a university does not have a visitor, a visitor may be appointed by the government and must be either a current or retired judge of the High Court or a retired judge of the Supreme Court. It also defines that the visitor's responsibility is to enquire into situations where "there are reasonable grounds for contending that the functions of a university are being performed in a manner which prima facie constitutes a breach of the laws, statutes or ordinances applicable to the university" at the request of the Minister for Education. [15]
In Fiji, the Court of Appeal in Muma v USP [16] declared that in default of appointment, the country's president was the visitor of a university established by the Queen, since Fiji had subsequently become a republic. [17]
The Governor of Victoria is the visitor to Deakin, Federation, La Trobe, Melbourne, Monash, RMIT, and Victoria Universities., [18] but has only ceremonial duties.
The Governor of New South Wales is the visitor to Macquarie University, Sydney Grammar School, and the University of Sydney pursuant to statute. [19] [20] [21] [22] The governor is also the visitor of the University of Wollongong by the University of Wollongong Act 1989. [23] Only ceremonial duties can be exercised by the Governor of NSW in his or her role as visitor; this is mandated under the same act.
The Governor of Queensland is the official visitor to the University of Queensland. [24]
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, as a member of the Canadian royal family, served as the visitor to Upper Canada College from 1955 to his death in 2021. Priorly, Prince Edward, Prince of Wales, acted as the school's visitor between 1919 and 1936. [25]
The governor general of Canada, as the King's representative, serves as the visitor to McGill University. [26] Similarly, the lieutenant governor of Ontario serves as the visitor to the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, [27] and the lieutenant governor of Newfoundland and Labrador serves as the visitor to Memorial University of Newfoundland. [28]
The Anglican Bishop of Montreal serves as the visitor to Bishop's University in Lennoxville, Quebec, and the Anglican Bishop of Huron serves as the visitor to Renison University College in Waterloo, Ontario. [29]
In India, the President of India is the visitor to 126 central government institutes, [30] such as the Indian Institutes of Technology. [31]
In the United States, the office of visitor, from its early use at some colleges and other institutions, evolved specifically into that of a trustee. Certain colleges and universities, particularly of an earlier, often colonial founding, are governed by boards of visitors, often chaired by a rector (rather than regents or trustees, etc.). Examples include the College of William and Mary and the University of Virginia.
In Nigeria, the visitor in publicly funded tertiary institution is the most senior member of government. This is usually the president in federally-funded universities or the governor for state-funded universities. [32] [33]
In the Jill Paton Walsh continuation of the Lord Peter Wimsey series of detective novels, The Late Scholar , Lord Peter (now the Duke of Denver) is the visitor of the fictional St Severin's College in Oxford, which is central to the plot.
The establishment of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge may be contrasted with the foundation of their colleges. All the colleges are founded by charter. With the exception of the more modern foundations they are eleemosynary corporations, that is to say they were established and endowed for the perpetual distribution of the bounty of the founder and were frequently charged with the duty of saying masses or prayers for the founder and his or her kin.