Proctor (a variant of procurator) is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another.
The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts: In law, a proctor is a historical class of lawyers, and the King's (or Queen's) Proctor is a senior government lawyer. In religion, a proctor represents the clergy in Church of England dioceses. In education, proctor is the name of university officials in certain universities.
In the United States and some other countries, the word "proctor" is frequently used to describe someone who supervises an examination (i.e. a supervisor or invigilator).
Law England A proctor was a legal practitioner in the ecclesiastical and admiralty courts in England. These courts were distinguished from the common law courts and courts of equity because they applied "civil law" derived from Roman law, instead of English common law and equity. Historically, proctors were licensed by the Archbishop of Canterbury to undertake the duties that were performed in common law courts by attorneys and in the courts of equity by solicitors. Proctors were attached to the Doctors' Commons, which performed a similar function for civil law or "civilian" advocates (the doctors) to that of the Inns of Court for barristers. Reforms in the mid-19th century removed the monopoly of the civilian doctors and proctors in the family and admiralty courts, leaving only the ecclesiastical Court of Arches. Later, the Judicature Acts of 1873 and 1875, which created the Supreme Court of Judicature, combined the three roles (proctor, attorney, and solicitor) into the common profession of "solicitor of the Supreme Court".
King/Queen's Proctor The King/Queen's Proctor is the historical name for an official who acted for the Crown in certain courts in England. The modern name of the office is HM Procurator General, and this office has for many years been combined with that of the Treasury Solicitor, whose formal title is His/Her Majesty's Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor.
In the admiralty courts, the King/Queen's Proctor historically acted in all causes concerning the King or Queen. A proctor or procurator was an officer who, in conjunction with the King/Queen's Proctor, acted as the attorney or solicitor in all causes concerning the Lord High Admiral's affairs in the High Court of Admiralty and other courts.
In probate and divorce courts, this official acted as the proctor or solicitor representing the Crown. In petitions of divorce, or for declaration of nullity of marriage, the King/Queen's Proctor may, under direction of the Attorney General, intervene in the suit for the purpose of arguing any question that the court deems expedient to have argued. The powers are set out in section 8 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, and include the power to show cause against a decree nisi being made absolute, usually on receipt of information indicating that the court has been misled into granting a decree.
Sri Lanka In Sri Lanka, the two groups of legal practitioners, advocates (similar to barristers) and Proctors (similar to solicitors) existed since 1833 until the Justice Law No. 44 of 1973, created a single group of practitioners, known as attorneys-at-law. There were two types of proctors; proctors of the Supreme Court and proctors of a district court. The former could practice in any court, while the latter was allowed to practice in the lower courts in a specific district. The Attorney General was authorised a proctor from each district to serve as the Crown Proctor to instruct or brief crown counsel on civil and criminal cases in district courts, courts of requests and police courts on behalf of the Crown.
Australia Proctor is a term that survives in Western Australia and in South Australia. Until it was amended in 1992 and later superseded by the Legal Profession Act in 2008, the Legal Practitioners Act 1893 (WA) provided for legal practitioners in Western Australia to be admitted and entitled to practice as "practitioners". That term was then defined as "a person admitted and entitled to practice as a barrister, solicitor, attorney, and proctor of the Supreme Court of Western Australia, or in any one or more of these capacities". Whilst it was theoretically possible to apply for admission in any of these capacities, as there was no separate qualification for such separate admissions, the standard practice (pre-1992) was for all persons to be admitted as barristers, solicitors, and proctors of the Supreme Court of Western Australia. Many survive today. South Australian legislation still provides as of December 2019 that a person admitted as a Solicitor to the Supreme Court of South Australia is also both a Proctor and an Attorney of that court.
United States The American colonies continued the British use of the term proctor in admiralty for attorneys who were admitted to specialized admiralty and patent bars. With the unification of the federal Admiralty Rules with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in 1966, attorneys practicing admiralty law before the federal courts ceased to be formally called proctors, though the term remains in unofficial use.
Ecclesiastical In the context of the Church of England, a proctor represents clergy in convocation. The Lower Houses of the Convocations of Canterbury and York include specially elected proctors (the deans of cathedrals and the Dean of either Jersey or Guernsey) and directly elected proctors (representing beneficed and licensed clergy, clergy with permission to officiate, archdeacons, clergy holding office in a cathedral, religious communities, universities and institutions of theological education).Canons of the Church of England, Canon H 2.General Synod Elections 2015 (GS 1975).
Education
High university official In some universities, a proctor is a high official.
University of Cambridge
The early history of the office at Cambridge is obscure, but it seems that the Proctors have always represented the colleges in University proceedings. In the past the Proctors administered the university's finances, acted as examiners for all candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Arts, prosecuted anyone suspected of unfair trading, and had a multitude of other tasks. At present their functions are twofold: (1) taking part in all university ceremonials, and (2) enforcing discipline in the case of members of the university who are in statu pupillari (undergraduates, Bachelors of Arts and Bachelors of Laws).
Election At the University of Cambridge, the Proctors are nominated every May by colleges identified in a predetermined cycle. They then serve for one year from 1 October, assisted by their Deputy Proctors and two Pro-Proctors. They must have been a member of the Senate for three years, and must have resided two years at the university. The two Pro-Proctors are not, as at Oxford, nominated by the Proctors, but are also elected by the Regent House on the nomination of the colleges, each college having the right to nominate a Pro-Proctor for the year next before that in which it nominates the Proctor (Grace of 26 February 1863). Two additional Pro-Proctors are also elected by the Senate each year, on the nomination of the Vice-Chancellor and Proctors, to assist the latter in the maintenance of discipline (Grace of 6 June 1878).
The Proctors for 2025–2026 are Dr Martin Parker Dixon (Senior Proctor) of Sidney Sussex College and Dr Benjamin Spagnolo (Junior Proctor) of Trinity College.
The Deputies to the Proctors are Professor Markus Gehring (Deputy to the Senior Proctor) of Hughes Hall and Dr Fraz Mir (Deputy to the Junior Proctor) of King's College.
The Pro-Proctors are Professor Martin Dixon (Senior Pro-Proctor) of Queens' College and Dr Daniel Trocme-Latter (Junior Pro-Proctor) of Homerton College.
The Pro-Proctor for Ceremonial is Mr Timothy Milner of Darwin College.
The Additional Pro-Proctors are Dr Mark Purcell of Pembroke College and Dr Seb Falk of Girton College.
The first hundred years of Proctorial records are mostly lost, but the Proctors' Office web site has a more or less complete list of the Proctors since 1314.
Ceremonial functions The Proctors are ex officio members of the Board of Scrutiny, the Board of Examinations, and various other bodies. Their presence is required at all Congregations of the Regent House, at which the Senior Proctor reads all the Graces and the Junior Proctor takes the vote of the Regent House. If any Grace is opposed by any member of the Senate saying non-placet, the Proctors take the votes of those present and announce the result. Graces are offered not only for making changes in University Statutes and Ordinances and for appointing examiners and the like, but also for granting degrees. When a degree is to be taken, the college of the candidate presents a supplicat or petition for the degree; this petition is approved by the Regent House, if and when they have satisfied themselves that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions, and is read at the Congregation by the Senior Proctor: these supplicats are practically never opposed, but Graces for new Statutes and Ordinances are frequently opposed, and on very important occasions such as the election of a new Chancellor many hundreds of non-resident members of the Senate come up to record their votes.
Disciplinary functions The proctors' powers as to discipline have a very long history. As far as concerns members of the university they have authority to impose certain fines for minor offences, such as not wearing academic dress on occasions when it is ordered, and also to order a student not to be out of their college after a certain hour for a certain number of days ("gating"). For more serious offences, the proctor generally reports the matter to the authorities of the offender's college to be dealt with by them, or as a last resort brings the offender before the university court of discipline, which has power to rusticate or send down (expel).
The power of the proctors over persons who are not members of the university dates from charters granted by Elizabeth I and James I, which empowered the university authorities to search for undesirable characters, men and women, rogues, vagabonds, and other personas de male suspectas (persons suspected of evil), and punish them by imprisonment or banishment. In recent times this power was often exercised with respect to prostitutes. The proctors promenaded the streets attended by their servants who are always sworn in as special constables. These constables, colloquially known as "Bulldogs", are now members of Cambridge University Constabulary: they retain full police powers of arrest within 5 miles (8 km) of Great St Mary's Church, deemed to be the centre of the university. Proctors no longer have the power of arrest.