Award of Honoris Causa Degrees Regulations, 2017

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L.N. 182 of 2017

EDUCATION ACT

(CAP. 327)

Award of Honoris Causa Degrees Regulations, 2017

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred upon him by articles 74 (5) and 75 (6) of the

Education Act (Cap. 327), the Chancellor of the University of Malta has promulgated

the following regulations made by the Senate of the University of Malta by virtue of

the powers conferred upon it by articles 75 (3) and 79 (b) of the said Act

Citation and Interpretation

(1) These regulations may be cited as the Award of Honoris Causa Degrees

Regulations, 2017.

(2) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires –

“the Award” means the Honoris Causa degree; and

“the Committee” means the Honoris Causa Degrees Committee as appointed

by Senate and Council.

Applicability

These regulations shall be applicable from 1 June, 2017, onwards.

Preamble

(1) An honoris causa degree is the highest award the University can bestow.

(2) Through its choice of honoris causa degree recipients, the University

makes a public declaration of its values.

(3) By awarding honoris causa degrees, the University recognizes those

individuals whose accomplishments are of such excellence that they provide

inspiration and leadership to its academic staff, its graduates, its students and to

society at large.

Honoris Causa Degrees Committee

(1)

Senate and Council shall establish an Honoris Causa Degrees

Committee to propose to Senate and Council individuals for the conferral of honoris

causa degrees.

(2) The Committee shall consist of

The Rector (Chairman);

Two members appointed by and from Council; and

Two members of the academic staff appointed by Senate.

(3) The period of appointment shall be of one year, renewable for a maximum

of four years.

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(4) The Committee shall have the power to regulate its functions by

establishing Rules of Procedure for such purpose and/or to supplement the criteria

stipulated within these regulations.

Criteria for the Conferment of an Honoris Causa Degree

(1) In selecting individuals, the Committee shall seek to choose persons of

such calibre that, in honouring them, the University too is honoured. Through its

recommendations of nominees, the Committee shall seek to reflect the character and

diversity of the country and of the University itself.

(2) On the recommendation of the Committee and Senate, the Council may,

at its discretion, order the conferment of an honoris causa degree on

(a) any alumnus of the University who has achieved national or international

distinction in a particular field of expertise; or

(b) any individual who has provided significant support to the University, its

faculties or programmes of study sustained over a number of years; or

(c) any individual who has given distinguished service to the University or

society in areas such as educational, artistic, cultural, industrial, environmental or

public service; or

(d) any individual who is likely to contribute in enhancing the University’s

reputation and in furthering its strategic plans and development; or

(e) any individual whose outstanding contribution to a particular field or to

society at large may have not yet been widely recognized; or

(f) any other person the University may deem worthy of such a distinction.

(3) An honoris causa degree shall not be awarded to

(a) members of staff, still in employment at the University; or

(b) any employees or members of any board or committee or the University

Council or any entity of the University during their tenure; or

(c) members currently elected on the Maltese House of Representatives or

members of the European Parliament representing Malta.

(4) Newly retired members of staff of the University shall only be considered

for honoris causa degrees in exceptional circumstances.

Honoris Causa Degrees

(1) The honoris causa degree to be awarded shall be the most appropriate one,

depending on the background and achievements of the individual being proposed.

(2) The University shall have the power to confer the following honoris

causa degrees on individuals for their outstanding achievements

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(a) Doctor of Literature, honoris causa (D.Litt.): awarded for outstanding

achievement, usually of a scholarly or creative nature, in literature and the arts, and

including the social sciences and law;

(b) Doctor of Science, honoris causa (D.Sc.): awarded for outstanding

achievement, usually of a scholarly or creative nature, in the pure and applied

sciences, and including engineering and medicine;

(c) Doctor of Philosophy, honoris causa (D. Phil.): awarded for outstanding

achievement in a general or pluri-disciplinary area of knowledge, not easily reducible

to any one of the other two categories mentioned above; and

(d) Master of Letters, honoris causa (M.Litt.).

Nominations for the Award of Honoris Causa Degrees

(1) Nominations for the award of honoris causa degrees shall be made

confidentially in writing by any member of Senate to the Rector at any time of the

year. The individual being nominated shall not be made aware of the proposal being

made.

(2) Proposals shall be supported by

(a) a statement by the proposer outlining in detail the motivation for the proposed

Award; and

(b) the Curriculum Vitae of the person being proposed.

(3) In considering proposals for Award, the Committee may request

independent testimonials by individuals of repute (not related by consanguinity to the

nominee), vouching for the nominee’s merits for the Award.

(4) Nominations shall not be accepted if made by a person on his own behalf.

(5) The Rector shall submit all proposals received, together with the

accompanying documents, to the Committee.

Proceedings of the Committee

(1) All members of the Committee shall keep the proceedings of the meetings

of the Committee in the strictest confidence and the names of the proposed recipients

shall not be disclosed to any person outside the Committee.

(2) The Committee shall consider all nominations proposed to it according

to the criteria stipulated in these regulations. The Committee shall ensure that the

number of awards is kept restricted and that the selected individuals are of a truly

high calibre.

(3) The Committee shall make its recommendations to Senate and Council at

their next scheduled meetings. Once the individual proposed is approved, the Rector

shall write formally to the recipient about the University’s wish to confer an honoris

causa degree.

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(4) The name of the person proposed for an Award shall remain confidential

until the intended recipient accepts the offer of the Award. In cases where the proposed

recipient is not approved by the Committee, the nominee shall not be informed. No

written communication shall be provided by the Committee except to positively

recommend to Senate.

Conferment of the Honoris Causa Degree

(1) Honoris causa degrees shall only be conferred during a convocation for

the Award of Honoris Causa degrees, to be held on a date as approved by Senate,

normally in November/December.

(2) Honoris causa degrees shall only be awarded in absentia in exceptional

circumstances, these being

(a) the inability of the nominee to attend for certified medical reasons; or

(b) the inability to travel to Malta for reasons beyond the control of the nominee,

which reasons must be accepted by the Committee as valid and sufficient.

(3) If the recipient is unable to receive the honoris causa degree on the date

proposed to him, the University may offer to defer the conferment to a future occasion.

(4) Honoris causa degrees shall only be awarded posthumously in very

exceptional circumstances.

(5) Honoris causa graduates may use the post-nominals indicated in

paragraph (2) of regulation 6. Such graduates may not adopt the prefix ‘Dr’.

Revocation of the Honoris Causa Degree

(1) On a recommendation of the Senate, which shall explain the motivation

for its decision in writing, Council may, at its discretion, revoke honoris causa degrees,

already awarded by the University. Revocation shall subsist for grave reasons only,

namely a conviction by a court of criminal jurisdiction, involvement in human rights

abuses, and/or evidence of corruption. These reasons, or knowledge thereof by the

Committee, shall not precede the conferment of the honoris causa degree but should

be discovered or become available to the Committee after the conferment of the

honoris causa degree.

(2) The University shall, promptly and expeditiously, publish the news of

a revocation and have such information duly entered in its register of honoris causa

graduates.

(3) The University reserves the right to pursue the appropriate legal

proceedings should the honoris causa graduate persist in making reference to the

honoris causa degree by virtue and/or via any means of communication, including

publications, websites and social media.

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