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Masaryk University Faculty of Law Directive No. 2/2021
About studying in doctoral study programmes
as amended with effect from 5 September 2023
Pursuant to Section 28(1) of Act No. 111/1998 Coll., on Higher Education Institutions
and on Amendments and Supplements to Other Acts (Act on Higher Education
Institutions), as amended (hereinafter referred to as the "Act on Higher Education
Institutions"), I issue this Directive:
Article 1
Introductory provisions
This Directive implements the provisions of Part Four of the Study and Examination
Regulations of Masaryk University (hereinafter referred to as the "SED") and sets out
certain conditions for the organisation of studies in doctoral study programmes at the
Faculty of Law of Masaryk University (hereinafter referred to as the "Faculty").
Article 2
Appointment and dismissal of the supervisor
(1) Supervisors are appointed by the dean on the proposal of the departmental board or
by his/her own decision after consultation with the chair of the departmental board,
from among professors and associate professors. This appointment does not require
the approval of the Faculty's Scientific Council.
(2) In a justified case, the dean may, after approval by the Faculty's Scientific Council,
appoint an academic or other expert who does not hold the title of professor or
associate professor, but at least a Ph.D., CSc. or Dr., or an equivalent title, as a
supervisor for a specific student and a specific research focus of the dissertation.
(3) The student's supervisor shall be appointed by the departmental board (or the
departmental committee, if one is established and the relevant authority is delegated
to it), taking into account the information identified by the admissions committee
about the applicant's preference for the study, if any, expressed during the
admissions procedure.
(4) In appointing supervisors and designating a supervisor for a student according to the
preceding paragraphs, the Dean and the Departmental Board shall respect the
limitation of a maximum of 5 active students concurrently supervised by one
supervisor. The discipline board shall always assess the assignment of each new or
additional doctoral student to an individual supervisor on an individual basis, taking
into account in particular the supervisor's recent scientific, publication and grant
performance, his/her professional capacity and international professional experience,
and shall take into account his/her previous experience in supervising doctoral
students (e.g. the success rate of doctoral students, their professional achievements,
the doctoral students' subsequent careers), not only the academic degrees obtained.
(5) A supervisor is dismissed by the dean on the proposal of the departmental board or
by his/her own decision after consultation with the chair of the departmental board.
The removal of a supervisor does not require the approval of the Faculty's Scientific
Council.
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Article 3
Consultant
(1) In justified cases, the vice-dean may, on the proposal of the departmental board
(departmental committee), assign a consultant to a student if this is necessary and
expedient for the successful course of his/her studies. The proposal for the
assignment of a consultant shall include a detailed justification. The duties of the
supervisor remain unaffected by the appointment of a consultant.
(2) Unless otherwise specified in the appointment of the consultant, the consultant's
remit shall include, in particular, the long-term and planned provision of expert
advice and feedback
student, as well as methodological guidance in cooperation with the supervisor. The
student regularly informs the supervisor about the progress and outcomes of the
student's cooperation with the consultant, and on request also the departmental
board (departmental committee).
(3) A consultant may be dismissed by the vice-dean on the proposal of the departmental
board (departmental committee).
Article 4
Consultation Group
(1) During the first year of study, each student is assigned a three-member consultation
group by the departmental board (departmental committee) on the proposal of the
supervisor, of which the supervisor is always a member; at least one of the members
of the consultation group is usually external. If the student is assigned a consultant,
he or she is a member of the consultation group. If no consultant group is appointed
and unless otherwise determined by the subject board (subject committee), the
subject board (subject committee) shall act as the consultant group.
(2) The Consultation Group is involved in providing ongoing feedback to the student,
particularly in checking the achievement of milestones according to the individual
study plan.
Article 5
Individual study plans
(1) The individual study plan for the entire study and its modifications are created jointly
by the student and the supervisor. After consultation with the supervisor, the student
shall enter the draft individual study plan into the relevant application of the
information system by 20 February of the first year of study. The supervisor confirms
its version by 28 February of the first year of study. The departmental board
(departmental committee) discusses and, if in agreement, approves the individual
study plan by 30 April of the first year of study. The departmental board of a study
programme conducted in a foreign language may set other deadlines for the
fulfilment of the obligations under this paragraph.
(2) When drawing up an individual study plan, the compulsory subjects of the study
programme are respected, as well as other principles approved by the departmental
board. Unless the subject board decides otherwise, the individual study plan contains
at least one mandatory milestone related to the preparation of the dissertation,
which is to be fulfilled by the end of the fourth semester of study at the latest, and
whose fulfilment is linked to a supervised presentation of the progress of the
dissertation preparation to date.
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Article 6
Research focus of the dissertation and title of the dissertation
(1) The title of the dissertation under which the dissertation is submitted to the thesis
archive in the information system must not deviate thematically from the approved
research focus of the dissertation, which is stated in the individual study plan.
(2) No later than the end of the sixth semester of study, the student shall notify the
relevant faculty department of the title of the dissertation under which the thesis
archive will subsequently be established. If the dissertation title coincides with the
research focus stated in the individual study plan, the dissertation archive is
established without further action. If the title of the dissertation does not coincide
with the research focus but does not deviate from it in terms of its content, the
supervisor's approval is also required for the establishment of the archive. If the title
of the dissertation deviates from the research focus in terms of its content, this is a
change in research focus; in this case, the approval of the subject board is also
required for the establishment of the archive.
Article 7
Requirements of the dissertation, language of the state doctoral examination and dissertation
defence
(1) A dissertation in a doctoral study programme conducted in the Czech language may
also be submitted in Slovak or English. With the approval of the subject board, the
dissertation may also be submitted in another language.
(2) Unless otherwise stipulated by the disciplinary board, the content and formal
requirements of the dissertation, the abstract of the dissertation, the thesis of the
dissertation (if required), and the requirements for publication of the original results
contained in the dissertation are governed by the arrangements set out in Annex 1
to this Directive.
Article 8
Development of students' pedagogical competences
(1) As part of the development of their pedagogical competences, students engage in
the fulfilment of the faculty's pedagogical tasks in cooperation with a supervisor or
other mentor from among the academic staff. Its content is determined by the
supervisor or a person authorised by the supervisor in consultation with the student
in accordance with the content of the relevant courses in which the student's duties
are performed.
(2) When determining the obligations within the framework of the development of
pedagogical competences, the supervisor respects the limit of direct teaching in the
range of 25 teaching blocks (100 min) for the entire period of study. Beyond this
limit, the student participates in direct teaching only if mutually agreed with the
supervisor and with the consent of the supervisor of the relevant course and the
head of the department. Involvement in direct teaching beyond the limit of 50
teaching blocks is possible only within the framework of an employment relationship
with the consent of the faculty management.
(3) The activities carried out in the performance of the faculty's teaching tasks are
recorded by the student in the relevant electronic overview, if the student is enrolled
in the study programme.
Article 9
Final and transitional provisions
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(1) I hereby delegate the interpretation of the individual provisions of this Directive and
the control of compliance with this Directive to the Vice-Dean for Doctoral Studies
and Rigorosum Proceedings.
(2) Directive No. 2/2021 of 23 August 2021 on doctoral study programmes is repealed.
(3) This Directive shall enter into force on 5 September 2023.
Annex No. 1 - Essentials of the dissertation
In Brno, 4 September 2023 Martin Škop
Dean
Annex 1
Essentials of a dissertation
(1) The minimum length of the dissertation (hereinafter also referred to as "thesis") is
150 standard pages, i.e. at least 270 thousand characters (including spaces and
notes) of the text from the introduction to the conclusion inclusive. Other parts of
the thesis are not included in the minimum length.
(2) The thesis contains a title page, an affidavit, an annotation with a list of keywords,
a table of contents, the text itself and a list of sources used, in the order in which
they were cited. Optionally, it may also contain acknowledgements and other
components.
(3) The title page is placed on a separate sheet. At the top it says "Masaryk University
Faculty of Law" and the programme studied. In the middle part it says "Dissertation",
its title and the author's name. In the lower part, the academic year of submission
of the thesis is indicated. If the thesis is submitted in a language other than Czech
or Slovak, the prescribed information is given in English; if the thesis is submitted in
a language other than Czech, Slovak or English, the title is also given in the language
of the thesis.
(4) The affidavit is on a separate sheet. It consists of the text below (accompanied by
the type and title of the work) and the author's signature. The text of the affidavit is
as follows: 'I declare that I have prepared my dissertation on [title of dissertation]
by myself. All the sources and sources of information that I have used to write this
thesis have been cited in the footnotes and are listed in the list of sources and
literature used." If the thesis is submitted in a language other than Czech or Slovak,
the affidavit shall be in English and read as follows: "I hereby declare that I have
prepared my dissertation thesis on the topic [title of thesis] by myself. All sources
that I have used to write this thesis have been cited in the footnotes and are listed
in the list of sources and literature."
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(5) An annotation with a list of keywords is placed on a separate sheet. It consists of
a Czech and English version of the annotation (the usual length of each is 500-600
characters including spaces) and a Czech and English version of the list of keywords
(the usual length of the list is 5-10 words). The text of both language versions of the
annotation and the keyword lists must be identical to those provided by the student
in the IS MU thesis archive.
(6) The content of the work is placed on a separate sheet or sheets. It includes chapters
and subchapters, and optionally other subdivisions. Individual items are numbered
and marked with the page on which they begin.
(7) The text of the thesis itself is usually divided into chapters, subchapters and
sections. The numbering is done in Arabic numerals, with each level separated by a
full stop (1 Chapter title, 1.1 Subchapter title, 1.1.1 Section title). The introduction
and conclusion are not numbered. The chapter always starts on a new page.
(8) The list of sources used is on a separate sheet or sheets. It must include an
alphabetically ordered, ascending numbered list of bibliographical data of all
literature used in the production of the thesis (the criteria for ordering are the
surname of the author and, in the second sequence, the year of publication of the
work). Optionally, a list of cited court decisions and other sources, as well as legal
regulations, may also be included. However, this must be visibly separated from the
list of references.
(9) Paper size is A4, text colour is black. Starting with the affidavit, the pages are
numbered in ascending Arabic numerals. The first line of a paragraph (excluding the
line immediately following the heading) shall be indented by a paragraph stop of
appropriate length.
(10) The thesis is submitted electronically via IS MU in a text format allowing easy
editing in commonly used text editors such as .doc or .docx format. Submission in
hard copies is not required.
Requirements of the dissertation abstract
(1) The minimum length of the dissertation abstract (hereinafter also referred to as
"abstract") is 10 standard pages (i.e. 18 thousand characters including spaces and
notes).
(2) The abstract in a concise and concise form contains: (1) a characterization of the
topic, a definition of the aim of the work and the methods used in the treatment of
the topic, (2) a summary of the content of the work (especially the main chapters),
(3) the conclusions reached by the author. The abstract also includes the content
(outline) of the thesis and a list of sources used. The table of contents and the list of
sources used do not count towards the specified minimum length.
(3) The abstract is produced in a format accepted by the thesis archive in IS MU. Paper
size is A4, text colour is black. Individual pages are numbered in ascending order
with Arabic numerals. The first line in a paragraph (except for the line immediately
following the heading) is indented with a paragraph indent of appropriate length.
(4) The abstract is submitted electronically via IS MU. Submission in hard copies is
not required.
Requirements for publication of original results
The dissertation must contain original results, either already published or accepted for
publication. This condition is fulfilled in one of the following two ways:
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(1) The entire dissertation, or rather the predominant part of it, has been
published or accepted for publication.
(2) The dissertation contains original results that have been published or accepted
for publication in at least two peer-reviewed publications, such as a journal
article (Jimp , Jsc and Jost ), a monograph (B), a chapter in a monograph (C), or
an article in a conference proceedings (D).
Thesis of the dissertation
(1) If the subject board so determines, the student shall submit a thesis of the
dissertation (hereinafter also referred to as "thesis") no later than with the
application for the state doctoral examination. The thesis debate is also part
of the state doctoral examination.
(2) The provisions of the preceding paragraph do not apply if the student submits an
application for the defence of the dissertation at the same time as the application
for the state doctoral examination and submits the dissertation.
(3) Theses contain a title page with the title of the dissertation, the study programme,
the name of the author, the name of the supervisor, and the text itself in the
following structure (with possible more detailed structure):
1. Introduction (containing a brief definition of the problem to be solved)
2. Overview of the current state of knowledge of the problem
3. Intent of the dissertation (including the definition of directions for further
investigation of the problem, definition of the dissertation objectives, definition
of the research/expertise question or hypotheses and basic methods of
solution)
4. List of resources
(4) The minimum length of the thesis is 30 standard pages (i.e. 54,000 characters)
including spaces and notes.
Translated with DeepL-Translator.