Article 1

1. The procedure for the granting of associate professorship is commenced upon submission of a proposal by an applicant.¹

2. The proposal, accompanied by supporting documents in compliance with section 72 (2) of the Higher Education Act and stating the topic of the lecture to qualify for associate professorship, will be submitted to the dean of the faculty which has been awarded accreditation for the academic branch chosen by the applicant in which he wishes to be granted associate professorship.

3. The faculty at which the procedure for the granting of associate professorship has been commenced will publish, on the publicly accessible part of the University website, information about the procedure under section 75 (1) of the Higher Education Act, and transmit the relevant information to the Rector’s Office of Charles University (“the University”).

4. If the applicant does not work as a teacher or researcher at the University, the dean may request the opinion of the dean of a faculty or the rector of a higher education institution who is able to assess the applicant’s teaching skills on the basis of his work.

5. If the proposal lacks elements prescribed by the Higher Education Act, the dean will invite the applicant, in writing, to correct the deficiencies. If the applicant fails to correct the deficiencies within three months of the date on which the dean’s request was delivered to him, the procedure will be discontinued and the dean will return the submitted documents to the applicant.

6. The procedure is to be conducted in such a way so as to be completed within twelve months of the date of submission of the applicant’s proposal or, where appropriate, of the date on which the applicant completed the proposal on the dean’s request.

Article 2

1. Within a month of the date of the applicant’s submitted proposal or, where appropriate, the date on which the applicant completed the proposal on the dean’s request, the dean will prepare a proposal to establish an associate professorship commission and to appoint its chair and members. The proposal will be submitted for approval to the research board of the faculty at its next meeting.

2. The associate professorship commission is composed of five members from among full professors, associate professors, and other distinguished representatives of the academic branch chosen by the applicant, or of a related branch. The chair of the commission must be a full professor. Three members of the associate professorship commission must not be employees of the University or of the legal entity which employs the applicant.

3. No co-author of the work which is being submitted as a dissertation may be a member of the associate professorship commission.

4. The dean will inform the members of the associate professorship commission that their appointment has been approved and will send them the documents necessary to assess the research or, where appropriate, the artistic qualifications of the applicant and his teaching competence under section 72 (8) of the Higher Education Act. At the same time, the dean is to send to the commission members the result of checking for the originality of the habilitation dissertation.

Article 3

1. The meeting of the associate professorship commission is presided over by its chair, or in his absence by a member of the commission designated by him, and otherwise by the oldest member of the commission (“the designated member”).

2. The associate professorship commission is quorate if at least four of its members are present. A resolution of the associate professorship commission is passed if at least three members of the commission approve it.

3. The associate professorship commission will appoint three external examiners of the dissertation, two of whom must not be employees of the University nor of the legal entity which employs the applicant. The chair of the associate professorship commission or the designated member will send to the external examiners without delay, and together with the applicant’s dissertation, a request to prepare external examiners’ reports, unless the dissertation in question is a dissertation under section 72 (3) (d) of the Higher Education Act. The faculty at which the procedure has been commenced will publish the dissertation in accordance with section 75 (4) of the Higher Education Act. At the same time, the Faculty is to send to the external examiners the result of checking for the originality of the habilitation dissertation so that they can provide their opinion with respect thereto in their reports.

4. On the basis of the applicant’s proposal and supporting documents, the external examiners’ reports and the applicant’s teaching experience, the associate professorship commission will decide by resolution whether or not it recommends to the research board of the faculty to appoint the applicant as associate professor. It will submit to the dean its resolution and its justification together with the result of its vote; information that the check for the originality of the habilitation dissertation has been carried out, and its evaluation form part of the resolution.

5. If prescribed by the internal regulation of the faculty, the associate professorship commission may do its vote electronically so as to ensure the secrecy of the vote. A vote is valid if at least four members of the associate professorship commission participated in it. A resolution is adopted if it was approved by at least three members of the associate professorship commission.

6. The dean will place the matter, without delay, on the agenda of the meeting of the research board of the faculty. 

7. The chair of the associate professorship commission or the designated member will present the opinion of the commission at a meeting of the research board of the faculty. Unless the code of procedure for the research board of the faculty stipulates otherwise, the nomination for associate professorship may be put to the vote if at least two thirds of the members of the research board of the faculty are present.

8. If the nomination for associate professorship is approved by an absolute majority of all members of the research board of the faculty, the dean will submit it without delay together with all the documents for decision to the Rector. If the nomination fails to be approved by the necessary majority, the procedure is discontinued.

Article 4

1. If the Rector agrees with the nomination for associate professorship, he will inform the applicant in writing that he will appoint him as associate professor as of the first day of the following month.

2. The Rector may ask the dean of the faculty at which the procedure was conducted to provide additional information necessary for further consideration of the proposal.

3. If the Rector does not agree with the nomination for associate professorship, he will submit it without delay to the research board of the University, together with the justification of his disapproval.

4. The research board of the University will decide on the nomination for associate professorship in a secret ballot. For a nomination to be approved, the consent of an absolute majority of all members of the research board of the University is necessary.

5. If the nomination for associate professorship fails to be approved by the necessary majority, the procedure is discontinued. 

6. After the termination of the procedure for the granting of associate professorship, the University will publish the dissertation in accordance with section 75 (4) of the Higher Education Act.

Article 5

In the procedure for the granting of associate professorship, the associate professorship commission, the research board of the faculty, and the Rector, or where appropriate, the research board of the University, assess the research or, where appropriate, the artistic qualifications and teaching competence of the applicant primarily against the recommended assessment criteria set out by the Rector in his directive after consultation with the research board of the University.

Article 6

The Administrative Procedure Code does not apply to the procedure for the granting of associate professorship.

Article 7

The applicant may raise objections to the procedure for the granting of associate professorship within thirty days. Objections are submitted to the dean if they concern the procedure at the faculty, and otherwise to the Rector. The Rector’s decision is final. The Rector’s or the dean’s decision must provide justification.

Article 8

The University charges a fee of CZK 2,000 to applicants for actions undertaken in connection with the procedure for the granting of associate professorship. The fee must be paid within thirty days of the approval of the associate professorship commission by the research board of the faculty, and it is non-refundable. The fee is a revenue of the higher education institution and is equally divided between the faculty at which the procedure was commenced and the University.

Article 9

1. The Rector decides on the annulment of an appointment as associate professor in annulment procedure under sections 74a and 74b of the Higher Education Act and under the Administrative Procedure Code.

2. The relevant documents for the Rector’s decision include the opinion of a review commission composed of five members. The members of the review commission are appointed by the Rector from among full professors, associate professors, or other experts; one member is appointed by the Rector on the proposal of the Minister of Education, Youth and Sports (“the Minister”) from among civil servants working at the ministry. The other members are appointed subject to their consent and upon consultation with the dean of the respective faculty. The members of the review commission appointed by the Rector will include the chair of the associate professorship commission or, where appropriate, a member of the associate professorship commission, established under the procedure for the granting of associate professorship for the person concerned. Most members of the review commission must be experts who are not employed at the public higher education institution at which the annulment procedure is conducted.

3. Before issuing a decision, the Rector may request an opinion of the research board of the respective faculty, the research board of the University, or the ethics commission of the University.

4. The review commission adopts its resolutions by an absolute majority of all members; the vote on the annulment of an appointment as associate professor is conducted by secret ballot.

Article 10

1. The full professorship appointment procedure is commenced upon submission of a proposal by an applicant, upon a proposal from the dean or the Rector, or upon the motion of the research board of the faculty which has been awarded accreditation for the given academic branch in which the appointment is proposed.

2. The proposal under section 74 (2) of the Higher Education Act, accompanied by supporting documents under the second sentence of section 72 (2) of the Higher Education Act, and stating the academic branch in which the procedure to appoint a full professor is being commenced, and also stating the topic of the lecture to qualify for full professorship, must be submitted to the dean of the faculty which has been awarded accreditation for the academic branch chosen by the applicant. If the procedure is commenced upon the applicant’s proposal, the proposal must be accompanied by a written recommendation from at least two full professors from the same or a related academic branch. If the procedure is not commenced upon a proposal from the applicant and the applicant has expressed, in writing, his disagreement with the commencement of the procedure, the procedure will be discontinued.

3. The faculty at which the full professorship appointment procedure has been commenced will publish, on the publicly accessible part of its website, information about the procedure under section 75 (1) of the Higher Education Act, and transmit the relevant information to the Rector’s Office of Charles University.

4. If the applicant does not work at the University as a teacher or researcher, the dean may request the opinion of the dean of the faculty or the rector of a higher education institution who is able to assess the applicant’s teaching qualifications.

5. If the proposal lacks necessary elements prescribed by the Higher Education Act, the dean will invite the applicant, in writing, to correct the deficiencies. If the applicant fails to correct the deficiencies within three months of the date on which the dean’s request was delivered to him, the procedure will be discontinued and the dean will return the submitted documents to the applicant.

6. The procedure will be carried out in such a way so as to be completed within twelve months of the date of submission of the applicant’s proposal or, where appropriate, of the date on which the applicant completed the proposal on the dean’s request.

Article 11

1. Within one month of the date of submission of the proposal or, where appropriate, the date on which the applicant completed the proposal on the dean’s request, the dean will prepare a proposal to establish a commission and to appoint its chair and members. The proposal will be submitted for approval to the research board of the faculty at its next meeting.

2. The commission is composed of five members from among full professors, associate professors, and other distinguished representatives of the academic branch chosen by the applicant, or of a related branch. The chair of the commission must be a full professor. Three members of the commission must not be employees of the University nor of the legal entity which employs the applicant.

3. The dean will inform the members of the commission that their appointment has been approved and will send them documents necessary to assess the teaching and research qualifications or, where appropriate, the artistic qualifications, of the applicant in accordance with section 74 (1) of the Higher Education Act.

Article 12

1. The meeting of the commission is presided over by its chair or a designated member. 

2. The commission is quorate if at least four of its members are present. A resolution of the commission is passed if at least three members of the commission approve it.

3. The commission will assess the applicant’s qualifications and decide by resolution whether or not it recommends to the research board of the faculty to appoint the applicant as full professor. It will submit its resolution and its justification to the dean, together with the result of the vote.

4. If prescribed by an internal regulation of the faculty, the commission may do its vote electronically so as to ensure the secrecy of the vote. A vote is valid if at least four members of the commission participated in it. A resolution is adopted if it has been approved by at least three members of the commission.

5. The dean will place the matter, without delay, on the agenda of the meeting of the research board of the faculty.

6. The chair of the commission or the designated member will present the opinion of the commission at a meeting of the research board of the faculty. Unless the code of procedure for the research board of the faculty stipulates otherwise, the nomination for full professorship may be put to the vote if at least two thirds of the members of the research board of the faculty are present.

7. If the nomination for full professorship was approved by an absolute majority of all members of the research board of the faculty, the dean will submit it to the Rector without delay together with all the documents. The Rector may ask the dean of the faculty at which the procedure was conducted to provide additional information necessary for further consideration of the proposal.

8. If the nomination for full professorship failed to be approved by the necessary majority, the procedure is discontinued.

Article 13

1. The Rector will submit, without delay, the nomination for full professorship to the research board of the University.

2. The applicant has a right to address the research board of the University with a brief statement on the perspectives of his branch; the Rector will inform the applicant of this right in advance.

3. The research board of the University will pass its resolution on the nomination for full professorship in a secret ballot. If the nomination for full professorship is approved by an absolute majority of all members of the research board of the University, the Rector will submit it, without delay, via the Minister for decision to the President of the Republic, accompanied by all relevant documents.

4. If the nomination fails to be approved by the necessary majority, the procedure is discontinued.

Article 14

1. The Minister will refer the nomination for full professorship back to the research board of the University if the full professorship appointment procedure under section 74 of the Higher Education Act was not followed; the referral must include justification.  

2. If the Minister refers the nomination, including a justification of the referral, back to the University, the research board of the University will hold a discussion on this topic.

3. If the research board of the University confirms, after taking a secret ballot vote, that the full professorship appointment procedure was not followed, the nomination proposal will be referred back to the stage of procedure at which the failure occurred. 

4. If the research board of the University does not confirm, after taking a secret ballot vote, that the full professorship appointment procedure was not followed, the nomination proposal will be resubmitted, accompanied by a resolution of the research board of the University.

Article 15

In the full professorship appointment procedure, the commission, the research board of the faculty, and the research board of the University assess the teaching and research qualifications or, where appropriate, the artistic qualifications of the applicant who should be a distinguished and recognised scholar or artist in his branch, in particular against the recommended assessment criteria set out in the Rector’s directive under Article 5.

Article 16

The Administrative Procedure Code does not apply to the full professorship appointment procedure.

Article 17

The applicant may raise objections to the full professorship appointment procedure within thirty days. The objections are submitted to the Rector. The Rector’s decision is final. The Rector’s decision must provide justification.

Article 18

The University charges a fee of CZK 5,000 to applicants for actions undertaken in connection with the full professorship appointment procedure. The fee must be paid within thirty days of the approval of the commission by the research board of the faculty, and it is non-refundable. The fee is a revenue of the higher education institution and is equally divided between the faculty at which the procedure was commenced and the University.

Article 19

1. Before submitting to the research board a proposal for the appointment of members of the associate professorship commission, or of the commission in the full professorship appointment procedure, or a proposal for the appointment of external examiners to the associate professorship commission, the dean or, where appropriate, the chair of the associate professorship commission, will seek to obtain the consent of such persons.

2. The Rector may prescribe, in his directive on which the research board of the University is to provide its comments, minimum requirements for the content of the justification to be drawn up by the associate professorship commission under Article 3 (4) and by the commission in the full professorship appointment procedure under Article 12 (3).

3. The Rector at the level of the University, and the deans at the level of faculties, will ensure that no conflict of interest arises between individual bodies, in particular as regards the Rector, Vice-Rectors, deans, members of associate professorship commissions in the case of the procedure for the granting of associate professorship, members of commissions in the case of the full professorship appointment procedure, and external examiners of dissertations.

4. The fee under Articles 8 and 18 does not apply to the associate professorship and the full professorship appointment procedure which were started before this regulation became effective.  

5. The Code of Procedure for Granting Associate Professorship and Full Professorship of Charles University in Prague registered by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports on 11 June 1999, as amended, is hereby repealed.

6. This Code was approved by the Academic Senate of the University on 25 November 2016.

7. This Code comes into force on the date of registration by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.²

8. This Code becomes effective on the first day of the calendar month following the date of coming into force.

Transitional provision relating to the 1st Amendment to the Code of Procedure for the Granting of Associate Professorship and Full Professorship of Charles University

Procedures for the granting of associate professorship commenced before the date of effect of the Amendment are to be finished in compliance with the Code of Procedure for the Granting of Associate Professorship and Full Professorship of Charles University effective before the effect of the Amendment therein.

Force and Effect

In accordance with section 9 (1) (b) (iii) of Act No. 111/1998 Sb., to regulate higher education institutions and to change and amend other laws (“the Higher Education Act”), as amended, the Academic Senate of Charles University approved the changes in the Code of Procedure for the Granting of Associate Professorship and Full Professorship of Charles University on 21 June 2019.

In accordance with section 36 (4) of the Higher Education Act, the changes in the Code of Procedure for the Granting of Associate Professorship and Full Professorship of Charles University come into legal force on the date of registration by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.

The Amendment to the Code of Procedure for the Granting of Associate Professorship and Full Professorship of Charles University comes into legal effect on 1 October 2019.