IN exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sections 30(5) and 31(6) of the Education Act (Cap. 327), the Chancellor of the University of Malta has promulgated the following bye-laws made by the Board of the Faculty in virtue of the powers conferred upon it by section 37(1) of the said Act and which have been approved by the Senate of the University of Malta as required by section 37(2) of the said Act:

Citation and interpretation

1. (1) These bye-laws may be cited as the Bye-laws of 1997 for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy - Ph.D. - in the Faculty of Laws.

(2) In these bye-laws unless the context otherwise requires ­

"the Board" means the Board of the Faculty of Laws;

"the Degree" means the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy - Ph.D.

Applicability

2. These bye-laws shall be applicable from July 1995 onwards.

Registration

3. In addition to the requirements laid down in the Regulations for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), a candidate registered for the Degree in the Faculty of Laws shall satisfy the following bye-laws.

4. Before registering for the Degree, a candidate shall normally be required to register in the first instance forthe Master of Philosophy degree (M.Phil.) in the Faculty of Laws. Only in exceptional circumstances shall a candidate be considered for direct registration to the Degree.

5. The upgrading of the registration from Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) to Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) shall not be permitted before the expiry of twelve months of full-time study or twenty-four months of part-time study, as the case may be, after the registration for the Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) degree, and then only on the recommendation of the candidate's supervisor and with the approval of the Board.

Thesis

6. The candidate shall accompany his application by a research proposal of approximately 1,500 words in length. The research proposal should indicate the precise area of research and in particular what is novel about the proposed research.

7. In recommending a supervisor, the Board shall ensure that the supervisor has the required expertise in the particular field of knowledge.

8. Any changes to the title of the thesis shall first be approved by the Board on the written recommendation of the supervisor, and then be submitted for the approval of the Senate.

9. The length of the thesis shall not exceed 100,000 words, exclusive of bibliographies, appendices and glossaries.

10. A student shall be required to submit four copies of the thesis, either typewritten or printed, and adequately bound for the purpose of the oral examination. The student shall be required to take to the oral examination another copy of the thesis similarly bound and paginated.

11. The thesis should comply with the format and presentation rules for Ph.D. theses approved by the Board.