The Faculty of Law Guidelines for the Public Defence

(Translation provided for information only. In all matters of interpretation, the Swedish original document takes precedence.)

1 Introduction

Rules on the defence of a doctoral thesis and the grading of the thesis are laid down in Chapter 6, sections 33-35 of the Higher Education Ordinance (1993:100). Local rules that apply to Uppsala University can be found in Admission and Grading Regulations for Doctoral Studies at Uppsala University (UFV 2022/729). Additional local rules for the Faculty of Law are set out in the General Study Plan for Postgraduate Education at the Faculty of Law in Uppsala (JURFAK 2023/27).

Guidelines for Uppsala University can be found in the Guidelines for Doctoral Studies at Uppsala University (UFV 2022/728)

The following are guidelines for the dissertation at the Faculty of Law. The guidelines, which supplement the above-mentioned rules and university-wide guidelines, cover the procedure of the public defence, the task of the assessment panel, the meeting of the assessment panel, the task of the substitute, and remote transmission and participation.

2 Composition of the assessment panel

The assessment panel normally consists of three members. In special circumstances, the assessment panel may consist of five members. Appointed to the assessment panel is a substitute, who may replace any of the members and who is to be present during the public defence. The members of the assessment panel should be active in the field of jurisprudence and possess general competence in the legal subject to which the thesis relates. Specialist competence should be used, if possible. Exceptionally, if the nature of the thesis subject so requires, representatives of other scientific fields as well as practitioners with specialist competence may be included.

A scientifically qualified member should be at least associate professor or have equivalent competence. The majority of members should stem from a higher education institution other than Uppsala University. However, one member from the local faculty shall be included. The faculty should strive for the other members to represent different higher education institutions and different countries. Both genders should be represented on the assessment panel, unless there are exceptional reasons for a different composition. Proposals and decisions regarding a different composition should be specifically motivated. A person who has been examiner at the final seminar for the current thesis project may be included in the assessment panel only if there are exceptional reasons.

3 The Public Defence

In accordance with the general study plan, the research committee appoints a chairperson for the public defence. The chairperson is usually the respondent's main supervisor. The chair introduces himself/herself, the other supervisors, the respondent, the title of the thesis, the research subject, the opponent, and the members of the assessment panel.

The chairperson first gives the floor to the respondent, who has the opportunity to inform about any corrections in the thesis. The chair then gives the floor to the opponent to present the thesis. It is desirable if the opponent also gives a more general picture of the research area dealt with in the thesis and thus places the results of the thesis in a broader context. This presentation should be limited to 15 to 20 minutes. Alternatively, the opponent may choose to allow the respondent to begin by presenting the thesis for the same amount of time. The chair and the respondent should be informed at least one week in advance of the option the opponent will use. Furthermore, the opponent should bear in mind that the material submitted to the opposition may be used for a review of the thesis.

If the opponent has presented the thesis, the opponent asks the respondent after the presentation if the given overview gives an accurate picture of the content of the thesis and the respondent answers. The opponent may then, if agreed, ask the respondent to supplement the presentation.

This is followed by the actual examination of the thesis, which may vary in form and scope but should essentially be a dialogue between the opponent and the respondent. The review concludes with the opponent giving his/her general opinion on the thesis.

After the opponent's review, the assessment panel and the auditorium must be given the opportunity to ask questions and make comments. Critical comments from the assessment panel should be made during the examination. The audience should be given the opportunity to comment and ask questions.

There is no fixed time limit for a defence. It is desirable that the opponent gives the supervisor an idea of the expected time in advance. The chairperson will indicate if and when during the proceedings a break is necessary. The chairperson concludes the public defence.

4 The Task of the Assessment Panel

The task of the assessment panel is to review and assess the scientific quality of the thesis and its defence. It is not part of the task to approve the thesis in advance. Neither the opponent nor members of the assessment panel may submit written comments.

If a member of the assessment panel has questions about the thesis, the respondent must be given the opportunity to answer them during the public defence.

5 The Meeting of the Assessment Panel

The assessment panel meets immediately after the public defence.

The opponent, the chair of the defence and the other supervisors are admitted to the assessment panel with the right to attend and speak. However, they do not have the right to vote.

The chair of the defence opens the meeting of the assessment panel.

The assessment panel then appoints a chairperson from among its members.

As a rule, the meeting will proceed in such a way that the opponent begins by summarising his/her assessment. This is followed by a discussion within the assessment panel. Supervisors may provide additional comments and answer questions when requested by the members of the assessment panel.

The opponent and supervisor must leave the meeting before the assessment panel makes a decision on the grade. It is the responsibility of the chairperson of the assessment panel to ensure that this happens.

The thesis and defence are assigned a grade, pass or fail. The decision of the Assessment Panel shall be the one agreed upon by the majority. If a member of the Assessment Panel has entered a reservation against the majority decision, this must be recorded in the grading protocol, but not in the degree certificate. The Assessment Panel shall decide whether to state the reasons for the decision, and such reasons shall be appended to the grading protocol, but not to the degree certificate.

The chairperson of the assessment panel is responsible for establishing the grading protocol.

6 The Task of the Substitute

According to the general study plan, a substitute must be appointed to each assessment panel. The substitute must not be affiliated with the home faculty. The substitute must be prepared to join the assessment panel at short notice - including the day of the public defence - in the event that one of the full members is unable to attend. This means that the substitute must prepare for the defence in the same way as the regular members of the assessment panel. The substitute must be present throughout the public defence.

If the substitute takes the place of a member of the assessment panel, the substitute shall be considered a full member of the assessment panel. However, if the substitute is not given the opportunity to join the assessment panel, the substitute shall not take part in any decision concerning the approval of the thesis, nor shall he/she take part in the assessment panel meeting.

7 Broadcast and Remote Participation

The public defence may be broadcast to the public by audio and video. The decision on broadcasting is taken by the Research Committee when the date, opponent, assessment panel and substitute are decided. The audience of a public defence broadcast is not given the opportunity to comment or ask questions.

Normally, the public defence is conducted with the physical presence of all the necessary participants: respondent, opponent, assessment panel and chairperson.

If there are good reasons, a member of the assessment panel may participate remotely by audio and video. This must be notified and justified when the proposal for chairperson, opponent and assessment panel is submitted to the Research Committee. Examples of such reasons may be to enable the participation of world-leading expertise or difficulties in finding suitable members who can be present on site.

The Research Committee may, upon special request, grant an exemption for further participation at a distance in addition to the above, if there are special reasons.