Article 1 - Preamble

1. Charles University (“the University”) has established the Václav Havel Bursary.

2. The Václav Havel Bursary is designed for international students whose study, anywhere in the world, is made more difficult or impossible due to repression by totalitarian, authoritarian, or not free regimes. Its purpose is to give an opportunity to study to those who were illegitimately denied such opportunity, who have been subjected to long-term pressure and repression or face harassment by the state and authorities.

3. Applications for the Václav Havel Bursary may be submitted by students and persons from countries in which, according to the evaluation of generally respected humanitarian organisations, human rights and freedoms are constantly violated and in which the state exposes persons to oppression, harassment, or repression which result in discriminatory measures in relation to obtaining an education.

4. The Václav Havel Bursary is granted in the form of:

   a.	Bursary to support study in the Czech Republic under section 91 (4) (b) of the Higher Education Act No.  č. 111/1998 Sb., and Article 11 of the Scholarship and Bursary Rules of the University (“the bursary”),
   b.	Contribution for participants in lifelong learning programmes (“the contribution”).

Article 2 - The Václav Havel Bursary Board

1. Applications for the Václav Havel Bursary are considered and examined on an individual basis by the Václav Havel Bursary Board (“the Board”).

2. The Board is chaired by the Vice-Rector for International Affairs. Other members of the Board are appointed by the Rector upon the advice of the Academic Senate of Charles University, humanitarian organisations, and the Rector’s own initiative.

3. Board meetings are convened as required.

Article 3 - The Bursary

1. The Václav Havel Bursary is designed for foreigners or stateless persons who submit evidence, in the form of relevant documents, of repression or persecution in their home country (e.g.,  confirmation issued by a non-profit organisation, police record, a document proving termination of study at a higher education institution, or an affirmation stating the reasons for the impossibility to study, etc.).

2. The amount of the bursary is determined by the Rector so that it covers the necessary costs of accommodation and board in University facilities as well as the basic costs related to study and stay in the Czech Republic.

3. The bursary is awarded for a standard period of study in the programme of study in the which the student is enrolled.

4. The bursary may be awarded only to a student of the University who was admitted to study at a faculty of the University based on the admissions procedure.

5. An application for the bursary is submitted via the Dean or Vice-Dean designated by the Dean on two dates - 31 March and 31 October of the calendar year. The Dean or the designated Vice-Dean delivers the application to the University Rectorate to the attention of the chair of the Board.

6. The application includes the following appendices: a copy of the application for study at a faculty of the University, the CV of the applicant, a personal letter from the applicant to the Board, transcript of the study results achieved so far, a copy of the diploma confirming the highest level of education attained, and documents confirming repression or persecution under Article 3 (1).

7. The applicant must submit, together with the application for the Václav Havel Bursary, a confirmation of the amount of other financial support for study he receives (in particular from a foundation, humanitarian organisation, or from European or other projects). Based on this information the Board may decide not to award the bursary or to reduce its amount. If the applicant does not receive any other financial support, he submits an affirmation stating this fact.

8. A student who is awarded the Václav Havel Bursary is obliged to submit, by 31 October of every subsequent academic year of study, a confirmation of the amount of other financial support received for study, if he has started to receive such support (in particular from a foundation, humanitarian organisation, or from European or other projects). Based on this information the Board may initiate a procedure to withdraw the bursary or to reduce the amount of the bursary. If the applicant still does not receive any other financial support, he submits an affirmation stating this fact for the given academic year. The original of this document is submitted via the faculty filing office to the designated person at the Faculty, who then informs the Board.

9. The Rector decides based on the opinion of the Board whether the funds for the bursary will be released. The Dean issues a decision on awarding the bursary after the applicant is enrolled in study.

10. The bursary is paid by the faculty on a monthly basis to the account of the applicant always by the fifteenth day of the month including any holiday.

11. The bursary cannot be awarded and paid to a student in the following cases:

    a.	During the period of interruption of study; if the study is interrupted only for a part of a calendar month the amount of the bursary is proportional to the number of days during which the student studied; or
    b.	When the student exceeds the standard period of study.

Article 4 - The Contribution

1. The contribution is designed for foreigners or stateless persons for the support of their participation in a lifelong learning programme, or for the preparation for study in the Czech language at Charles University provided by the Institute for Language and Preparatory Studies and the Faculty of Arts of Charles University in the Czech Studies programme.

2. The amount of the contribution is determined by the Rector so that it covers the necessary costs of accommodation and board in University facilities as well as the basic costs related to participation in the lifelong learning  programme and stay in the Czech Republic.

3. The contribution for lifelong learning may be awarded for the duration of one lifelong learning programme organised by the Institute for Language and Preparatory Studies and the Faculty of Arts of Charles University in the Czech Studies programme as a preparatory course for study at the University offered under Article 3 of the Rules for Lifelong Learning of the University.

4. The contribution may be awarded only to a person who has been admitted to a lifelong learning programme under paragraph 3 above.

5. Every application for a contribution is examined on an individual basis.

6. The application for the contribution is submitted within the deadline for the submission of an application for participation in a lifelong learning programme under paragraph 3 via the Dean or a Vice-Dean designated by the Dean, who delivers it to the University Rectorate, to the attention of the chair of the Board. The application includes concrete reasoning including the facts under Article 1 (2) and (3). The application includes the following appendices: a copy of the application for a lifelong learning programme under paragraph 3, the CV of the applicant, a personal letter from the applicant to the Board, documents of the academic branch the student has studied so far (transcript of the study results achieved so far, a copy of the diploma confirming the highest level of education attained), and documents confirming repression or persecution under Article 3 (1).

7. The applicant must submit, together with the application for the contribution, a confirmation of the amount of other financial support he receives (in particular from a foundation, humanitarian organisation, or from European or other projects). If the applicant does not receive any other financial support, he submits an affirmation stating this fact.

8. The Rector decides based on the opinion of the Board whether the funds for the contribution will be released. The Dean of the faculty or director of the Institute for Language and Preparatory Studies awards the contribution after the applicant is enrolled in the lifelong learning programme.

9. The contribution is paid by the faculty or the Institute for Language and Preparatory Studies on a monthly basis to the account of the applicant always by the fifteenth day of the month including any holiday.

10. The contribution cannot be awarded or paid if the study of the participant in the lifelong learning programme under paragraph 3 above is interrupted or terminated.

11. The contribution may be received for a maximum period of two academic years. At the beginning of each academic year the applicant who was awarded the contribution is obliged to submit a confirmation of the amount of other financial support he receives, if he has started to receive such support (in particular from a foundation, humanitarian organisation, or from European or other projects). If the applicant still does not receive any other financial support, he submits an affirmation stating this fact for the given academic year. The original of this document is submitted via the faculty filing office to the designated person at the faculty, who informs the Board.

Article 5 - Common Provisions

1. The decision whether funds will be released for new applicants for the Václav Havel Bursary in a given calendar year is made by the Rector, who may also decide on the highest possible number of newly awarded bursaries or contributions.

2. The Finance Department of the University Rectorate transfers the funds for the bursary and the contribution to the relevant faculties and to the Institute for Language and Preparatory Studies.

3. The faculties and the Institute for Language and Preparatory Studies are obliged to notify the Finance Department of the Rectorate of the termination or interruption of disbursement of the bursary and contribution within 8 days of the occurrence of the fact.

4. The administrative acts related to obtaining a visa, long-term residence permit, and health insurance, as well as practical matters necessary so that the applicant can participate in the lifelong learning programme or study at the University are carried out by UK Point, the Institute for Language and Preparatory Studies, and the International Relations Office of the Faculty of Arts of the University in cooperation with humanitarian organisations.

5. Administrative and organisational matters related to the Václav Havel Bursary, including informing about the possibility of obtaining the bursary or contribution, are handled by the International Relations Office of the University Rectorate, which regularly informs the relevant humanitarian organisations, the faculties, UK Point, the Institute for Language and Preparatory Studies, and the Public Affairs and Communications Department of the University Rectorate about the bursary.

6. The Legal Department of the University Rectorate, in cooperation with the Student Affairs Department, provide consultation services to the above-listed offices of the Rectorate.

Article 6 - Final Provisions

1. The Václav Havel Bursary is one of the University projects (in addition to the Václav Havel Europaeum in European studies and the Václav Havel Edition) which bear the name of Václav Havel.

2. The bursary is established with the explicit consent of Mrs. Dagmar Havlová.

3. This Directive is issued after obtaining the prior opinion of the Academic Senate of Charles University of 31 May 2022.

4. The Rector’s Directive No. 47/2020 is hereby repealed.

5. This Directive becomes effective on 1 June 2022.

In Prague on 27 May 2022

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