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APPROVEDFaculty of Law

Council’s Decision No. 1T-1130 April 2017

FACULTY OF LAW OF MYKOLAS ROMERIS UNIVERSITYMETHODOLOGICAL GUIDELINES FOR PREPARATION AND DEFENCE OF THE

FINAL THESIS

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. Methodological guidelines for preparation and defence of the final thesis (hereinafter – the Guidelines) of Mykolas Romeris University (hereinafter – the University) Faculty of Law (hereinafter – the Faculty) establish the requirements for the final bachelor and master thesis (hereinafter – the final thesis), their preparation and defence procedure, as well as evaluation criteria and principles.

2. The Guidelines apply to all students, who are preparing the final thesis in the Faculty:2.1. on the topics provided by the Faculty’s Study Programme Committees (hereinafter –

the Committee);2.2. on their own topics, which were approved by the relative Committee and the

Committee constituted that the topic meets the set requirements for the final thesis.3. The Guidelines shall be applied in their entirety to both, bachelor and master thesis,

except:3.1. where it is clearly expressed that such provisions shall be applied only to the

bachelor thesis;3.2. where it is clearly expressed that such provisions shall be applied only to the master

thesis.4. The Guidelines are prepared according to the internal acts of the University regarding

procedure of the Studies.5. In the course of preparation of final thesis, students may also use other scientific,

methodical, educational publications, setting details for the preparation of the final thesis, however, only to the extent that such publications do not contradict with the Guidelines.

II. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR THE FINAL THESIS

Objectives of the Final Thesis

6. Bachelor thesis shall be dedicated to the development of the following abilities:6.1. to recognize and analyse new problems of law, apply knowledge and understanding

while dealing with quantitative and qualitative legal and managerial issues, also to provide solutions to solve problems while selecting appropriate methods;

6.2. to convey knowledge of studies and legal activities for target groups (specialists, other learners, etc.);

6.3. to plan and perform a small-scale research, collect and analyse data (in the area of law science), which is necessary for solving important scientific and professional problems, for cultural and artistic creation, while using fundamental and applied scientific research achievements and methods;

6.4. to raise legal research problems, to set precise research objectives and goals that might be implemented in practice, to achieve them while performing methodically reasoned research;

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6.5. to apply integrated professional and theoretical knowledge in interdisciplinary environment of studies or professional activities.

7. Master thesis shall be dedicated to the development of the following abilities:7.1. to contemplate systematically and to identify problems, to analyse problems and

evaluate them in a complex manner while applying acquired theoretical knowledge, also to provide solutions for problems while selecting appropriate ways and methods;

7.2. to take advantage of scientific research knowledge, to acquire research experience, also to acquire systematic and strategic thinking skills for independent professional activity and scientific research work;

7.3. to apply acquired knowledge and to prepare on their basis new measures, which are necessary for scientific research, studies or innovations;

7.4. to evaluate critically and systematically problems arising in the sphere of law and give suggestions based on theoretical knowledge and interdisciplinary practice;

7.5. to gain sufficient professional knowledge to assess legal problems, choose alternative solutions, prepare evaluations and conclusions.

Relevance and Scientific Novelty of the Final Thesis and Overview of the Research on the Selected Topic

8. The problem analysed in the final thesis must be relevant. Relevance means that there is a specific need to explore a chosen problem, i.e. the research performed is significant to society or a part of it.

9. The final thesis shall be considered to be relevant when:9.1. there is a lack of scientific knowledge about an object of social and legal cognition or

its separate aspects;9.2. there are inconsistencies or contradictions between knowledge, current situation and

activities or methods and measures for implementing specific activities are unknown (for example, a new, complicated legal act has been adopted, there is no existing case-law and practical application is confusing, case-law is inconsistent, etc.);

9.3. there is a need for new approaches or adaptation of legal acts due to past or ongoing social changes;

9.4. certain social legal phenomenon or process have raised concerns for individuals, society or the state (for example, security of an individual), have caused a conflict of interests of social groups (for example, legal status and social guarantees are not harmonized with the requirements and tasks carried out by the institution);

9.5. perception of law has changed, a new paradigm of thinking is emerging, etc.10. The relevance of the final thesis shall be formulated in raising a question and trying

to answer whether it is necessary to discuss the problem, and if so, why it is necessary to discuss the problem now.

11. The problem analysed in the final thesis must be new and one has to specify to what extent the problem has already been analysed. Provisions 12 to 14 shall not be applied to the bachelor thesis.

12. Final thesis, which is based on already conducted research, must provide something new for theory and practice of a particular branch (institute) of science.

13. Scientific novelty can be revealed in several ways:13.1. the chosen research problem is poorly investigated or not investigated at all;13.2. the chosen research problem is further analysed employing specific research methods

and a part of the problem or the problem, which was previously addressed only fragmentary, is being examined; new approach to the previously comprehensively analysed problem is presented;

13.3. new methods are being used for analysis of the problem, new research data, which can confirm, deny or detail already known statements, are being described.

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14. While defining to what extent the problem has been examined, a student must indicate in short whether in Lithuania (or, depending on the topic, in other countries or in general) the chosen problem was researched and if so, to what extent, which main aspects were covered and which were not. While indicating the extent of the analysis on the issue, main scientific literature or main ideas of scholars, which will be used in current research, should be presented. A short detailed summary on already undertaken research should be done. Already undertaken research might be grouped according to the significance, point of view to be supported, nature of questions analysed, etc.

Significance of the Final Thesis

15. The significance of the final thesis means the importance of the scientific research for theory and/or practice and specific area of the science in the field of law.

16. While explaining significance of the thesis, social and notional context of the final thesis should be described, also it should be presented how the results of the research could be implemented (for example, how conclusions and recommendations could help to a legislator to improve existing regulation or assist courts and other institutions in interpretation and application of the legal provisions analysed in the thesis, significance to other scholars, who could use the results of the research for further researches, etc.).

Originality and Self-Sufficiency of the Final Thesis

17. Every thesis must be original and written independently. If the thesis does not meet these requirements, it should not be considered as final thesis as it does not correspond to the concept of final thesis.

18. Originality of thesis means that thesis must be a work, expressed as a result of personal intellectual, creative and scientific activity of student. Originality of thesis is closely linked with novelty of thesis. Originality is usually determined by novelty and vice versa. However, novelty of thesis is a criterion basically applied on the chosen topic of research and on chosen tools and methods of research. Meanwhile the criterion of originality of thesis is applied on thesis itself, on the results of research. It could happen that there has been an intention to carry out a scientific research in a new area applying innovative methods of research, however, the accomplished research itself is not original, i.e. there is no author’s contribution to the research and ideas of other authors are mainly cited without making any authentic and independent evaluation of the problem.

19. Thesis written by the students independently, but already used previously for any subject at Mykolas Romeris University, as well as any other university will be considered as non-original thesis. Thesis will not be considered as already used if it contains no more than 20 percent of materials from the previous thesis and detailed references to former work are provided (self-citation is required). All other personal works (for example, publications, etc.) that have never been used for any subject at Mykolas Romeris University as well as any other university, may be used by student in his/her thesis, however, it must be indicated in references what particular parts were taken from previous works.

20. Final thesis must be written independently. Any involvement of any person to the process of writing final thesis is strongly prohibited, excluding the cases when other persons assist in data collection (for example, to carry out a wide range survey) or processing collected data (for example, by applying specialized tools for data analysis – programs). In such cases supporting persons and extent of support must be indicated in the final thesis.

21. Plagiarism in preparation of the final thesis is prohibited. Final thesis shall be deemed plagiarism if:

21.1. final thesis or its parts have been written by verbatim rewriting of another author’s text without specifying the source or specifying it without putting the rewritten text in inverted

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commas. Such final thesis shall be deemed plagiarism if text constitutes more than half a page in the thesis, i.e. 900 characters with spaces;

21.2. final thesis or its parts have been rewritten by paraphrasing the other author’s text without specifying the source. Such final thesis shall be deemed plagiarism if text constitutes more than one page in the thesis, i.e. 1800 characters with spaces;

21.3. data in the text, tables or pictures of the final thesis are provided without specifying their source (except where the data have been collected by the author of the final thesis);

21.4. final thesis had been already submitted and defended in this or another educational establishment in Lithuania or abroad.

22. Final thesis must be written following the requirements of research ethics. The following activities will be considered as a violation of such requirements: falsification of or manipulation by the data of empirical survey; intentional veiling of data repugnant to defeated propositions; deliberate submission of false information on methodology of research; cases of plagiarism and other similar cases.

Extent of the Final Thesis

23. The minimum extent of the bachelor thesis – 2 (two) quires (1 (one) quire consists of 40 000 characters with spaces). The maximum extent of the bachelor thesis should not exceed 3 (three) quires.

24. The minimum extent of the master thesis – 4 (four) quires. The maximum extent of the master thesis should not exceed 5 (five) quires.

25. The introduction, body text, conclusions and recommendations are included while calculating the extent of bachelor or master thesis.

Language of the Final Thesis

26. Final thesis shall be written and defended in the same language as the study programme is provided.

27. Where the study programme is provided in Lithuanian, the Committee may allow the student to write and defend thesis in a foreign language if there is a possibility to ensure efficient process of supervision and defence of the final thesis in a foreign language.

III. SELECTION OF THE TOPIC OF THE FINAL THESIS, RESEARCH PLANNING AND PROGRESS ASSESSMENT

Selection of the Topic of the Final Thesis

28. Students are required to select topics for the final thesis in accordance with the time limits indicated in the Procedure for the Assessment of Learning Outcomes at Mykolas Romeris University (hereinafter – Procedure for the Assessment of Learning Outcomes). For this purpose the Committees provide to the students the list of final thesis topics, supervisors and consultants.

29. It is recommended for the student while selecting the topic to consult with the supervisor and consultant (if the consultant is appointed).

30. If the student wishes to select the topic not from the list suggested by his/her Study programme Committee, he/she is required to submit a request along with the important reasons and to acquire the consents from the Chairman of his/her Study programme Committee and from the Chairman of the Study programme Committee that suggested the selected final thesis topic.

31. Responsible selection of the topic first of all leads to the preconditions for the successful writing of the final thesis. By dedicating time to select the topic of the final thesis student saves much more time that could be lost in performing the research under the irresponsibly chosen topic. It should be noted that student is entitled to propose the topic for the

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final thesis himself/herself rather than select the topic from the lists suggested by the Committees.

32. It is recommended that students would propose their own topics. It is desirable that the student would be personally interested in the topic and it would be beneficial for his/her further career. In addition, it is recommended that students would propose the topics, on which conducted research could be later published as scientific articles or other publications. Relevant problems are selected and the defended statements (thesis) are most commonly proposed by those students who are writing final thesis in the field relevant for them.

33. Students who wish to write the final thesis on the topic proposed by them may consult with the Chairman of the Committee. After confirming the compliance of the topic with the requirements applicable to the final thesis, the Committee appoints the supervisor of the final thesis. At the end of the selection period the Committees publicly announce the lists of students who are allowed to prepare final thesis, the selected topics, appointed supervisors and consultants.

34. Students wishing to change the topic of the final thesis may consult with the Chairman of Committee and submit a request to the Committee along with the important reasons indicated. After consenting to the important reasons and having confirmed the compliance of the topic with the requirements applicable to the final thesis, the Committee appoints the supervisor of the final thesis. New supervisor is entitled to apply all requirements regarding the subject-matter and calendar planning of the research over again.

Research Planning

35. It is recommended while selecting the topic of the final thesis to perform the preliminary literature review and preliminary identification of the legal problems that would be investigated in the final thesis. Especially for the final thesis from such fields where the literature not always may be accessed in Lithuania, as well as not always may be understood by the student, because it is in the foreign language. It should be noted that not all problems of society fall under the field of legal regulation; therefore, identification of the legal problem is important in every topic, in pursuance to develop a legal research (and not a historical, political, economical, sociological and etc.).

36. It is also recommended while performing the preliminary research and preliminary identification of the legal problem, to draft a preliminary programme of the final thesis, indicating the chapters of the final thesis in accordance with the problems analyzed and not in accordance with levels of regulation of those problems.

37. Composition of the research programme, where the chapters of the final thesis are divided in accordance with the problems analyzed, has one additional advantage – it helps student to perform more efficient literature search and analysis by clearly delimiting which part of the literature remains outside the study and does not need to be analyzed. For example, if the research has not been narrowed to the legal problems when searching literature for the topic on the issues of the refugee definition it would seem to a student that all articles and books concerning refugee law should be analyzed. Meanwhile, when searching for the literature on the specific features of the refugee definition it will become clear that in the majority of books and articles these aspects are not analysed at all or are analysed in few pages, which only will be useful for the final thesis.

38. It is first of all recommended for the purpose of literature search to get acquainted with the numerous services offered by the University’s library.

39. In accordance with the time limits indicated in the Procedure for the Assessment of Learning Outcomes students have to coordinate the programme of the final thesis preparation and calendar plan with the supervisor. Sample form of the preparation programme and planning calendar is provided in the Annex No. 1. In case student did not follow the preparation programme and planning calendar, during the defence of the final thesis (if a student is allowed

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to defend) supervisor provides information to the Thesis Defence Qualification Commission (hereinafter – Defence Commission).

40. In accordance with the procedure indicated in the preparation programme student preparing final thesis must inform the supervisor about the progress of writing, also take into consideration professional and methodological advices and comments of the supervisor and consultant.

41. If, for the objective reasons, the supervisor of the final thesis is replaced, further guidance of the final thesis is usually performed following the initial plan of the final thesis, time limits, methodological advices of the supervisor and the chosen literature sources.

42. If the student continues his/her studies after a long-term suspension, the final thesis should be prepared in accordance with the relevance and novelty of the topic, literature sources and other circumstances. If key changes are identified or the student has substantially clarified or changed the topic of the final thesis, the supervisor of the changed topic may apply all requirements concerning the subject-matter and calendar planning of the research.

Progress Assessments during Preparation of the Final Thesis

43. All students writing bachelor thesis have to complete the course “Introduction to Research Methodology”, which aims to provide students the competence of research in the field of law, i.e. to provide knowledge about academic writing and research methodology, and develop independent research skills.

44. The results of the course “Introduction to Research Methodology” are evaluated by attesting a student. For this attestation students must submit to the course tutor an introductory part of their bachelor thesis, approved by a supervisor of the bachelor thesis. An introductory part is considered to be approved by the supervisor if the first page of the draft is marked by “approved”, also with supervisor’s name and his/her signature, or there is a separate written approval from a supervisor. Supervisor of the bachelor thesis shall review and evaluate the introductory part within 10 calendar days after submission. If the introductory part needs corrections, the supervisor shall provide the student with particular indications and recommendations regarding the corrections within 10 calendar days after receiving the introductory part. After proper corrections, the supervisor shall confirm that the introductory part was approved.

45. The study results of the course “Introduction to Research Methodology” are evaluated and student is attested if the introductory part of the bachelor thesis is approved by a supervisor and it corresponds to the methodological requirements envisaged in these Guidelines. The course tutor shall review and evaluate the content of the introductory part within 10 calendar days after its submission. If the introductory part does not meet methodological requirements envisaged in these Guidelines, the course tutor shall provide the student with particular indications and recommendations concerning corrections of the introductory part within 10 calendar days after its submission. After proper corrections, the course tutor shall attest the results of the student.

46. All students writing master thesis have to complete the course “Master Thesis” which aims to provide students the competence of research in the field of law, i.e. to provide knowledge about academic writing and research methodology, and develop independent research skills.

47. The results of the course “Master Thesis” are evaluated by attesting a student. For this attestation students must submit to the course tutor an introductory part of their master thesis, approved by a supervisor of the master thesis. An introductory part is considered to be approved by the supervisor if the first page of the draft is marked by “approved”, also with supervisor’s name and his/her signature, or there is a separate written approval from a supervisor. Supervisor of the master thesis shall review and evaluate the introductory part within 10 calendar days after submission. If the introductory part needs corrections, the supervisor shall provide the student with particular indications and recommendations regarding the corrections within 10 calendar

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days after receiving the introductory part. After proper corrections, the supervisor shall confirm that the introductory part was approved.

48. The study results of the course “Master Thesis” are evaluated and student is attested if the introductory part of the master thesis is approved by a supervisor and it corresponds to the methodological requirements envisaged in these Guidelines. The course tutor shall review and evaluate the content of the introductory part within 10 calendar days after its submission. If the introductory part of the master thesis does not meet methodological requirements envisaged in these Guidelines, the course tutor shall provide the student with particular indications and recommendations concerning corrections of the introductory part within 10 calendar days after its submission. After proper corrections, the course tutor shall attest the results of the student.

49. According to the master studies programme plan the second evaluation of the research carried out while preparing master thesis shall be performed. Student shall submit at least 2/3 of his/her final thesis to the supervisor, which shall be assessed using pass/fail evaluation system. The supervisor of the master thesis shall review and evaluate the presented part of the final thesis within 20 calendar days after its submission. If the master thesis needs corrections, the supervisor within 20 calendar days shall provide the student with particular indications and recommendations which shall be implemented by the student in order to get the evaluation “pass” signed by the supervisor.

IV. STRUCTURE OF THE FINAL THESIS

50. Final thesis shall consist of the following sections, arranged in a coherent and cohesive manner: cover page, table of contents, list of abbreviations (if applicable), introduction, body text, conclusions and recommendations, bibliography, abstract, summary and annexes (if applicable).

51. For the cover page the student shall use the standard form in Annex No. 2 to these Guidelines.

52. The titles of the chapters in the table of contents shall appear in capital letters or bold small letters, while the titles of subchapters – in small letters (see Annex No. 3 to these Guidelines).

53. The list of abbreviations is needed when abbreviations of specific terms appear in the text and most of them are used more than 3 (three) times in the text.

54. The introduction should not exceed ¼ of quire (i.e. 16 000 characters with spaces; or not more than 6 pages) and should contain:

54.1. Problem of research. The problem of research of the final thesis should be a particular question, for which student is giving a scientific response. Usually the problem of research is the question that has not been efficiently solved by the law scientists, international community, legislators or courts. Usually several interrelated problems shall be addressed in the final thesis. One problem may be addressed if the research of it shall correspond to the required volume of the final thesis.

54.2. Relevance of the final thesis – see 8−10 paragraphs of these Guidelines.54.3. Scientific novelty and overview of the research on the selected topic – see 11−14

paragraphs of these Guidelines.54.4. Significance of research – see 15 and 16 paragraphs of these Guidelines.54.5. The aim of research. It describes why one seeks answers to the raised question: why

the response or the text itself is needed? Is there specific scientific and (or) practical interests to have this factual issue examined, to what extent this should be done?

54.6. The objectives of research. They specify the aim of the research and reflect the steps and measures for the achievement of the aim. The following formulation of the objective may be offered: to identify, to assess, to present, to prepare, etc. It is enough to indicate 3-5 well-formulated objectives. The results of solution of each objective will have to be reflected in the conclusions of the work (and recommendations).

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54.7. Research methodology. Used research methods should be specified, interrelating them to the final thesis, i.e. revealing how these methods were actually used in this final thesis (for example, it is not enough to indicate that the document analysis method was used, it is necessary to point out that, for example, this method was used for exploring contracts related with a specific problem or other legal acts in a given area).

54.8. Structure of research. The chosen structure of the final thesis should be presented in brief (1-3 paragraphs), indicating the chapters and their key aspects.

54.9. Defence statements. A defence statement of the final thesis shall be a solution of the problem presented by the student, which shall be a basis for more specific findings and recommendations. A lack of a proper defence statement is the main problem of majority of final theses. Thesis that aims to the highest evaluation results should contain a properly formulated scientific problem as well as defence statements. Therefore, comprehensive description of a certain field of law shall not be sufficient. A valuable defence statement should be novel, not self-evident and practically useful.

55. The body text. In most cases it is feasible and recommended to divide the body text of the legal research into a general part (addressing legal regulation on the research topic as well as basic concepts of the research) and a special part (analysing legal issues indicated in the objectives of the research).

The general part consists of theoretical materials systemized by the student from scientific articles, monographs, academic publications. The general part should demonstrate student’s erudition, his/her intellectual prowess as well as his/her ability to apply theories in order to solve real-life problems. For example, while writing about the importance of an appeal institute, student should not limit his/her analysis just to the characteristics of an appeal as a legal phenomenon (i.e. legal acts) but, above all, he/she should also reveal the social nature of that particular legal phenomenon on the basis of the legal doctrine. The general part must provide assumptions and starting points (developed on the basis of an empirical data collected by the student) for the future analysis and considerations of practical problems (for example, to provide arguments in support of the appeal as an integral part of the right to a legal defence).

In the special part student by using research methods should assess the current situation of the researched problem (for example, to determine the effectiveness of the appeal by using official data submitted by the courts), explain the underlying reasons that caused the problem (determining factors), determine criteria that are important to analyze and understand the problem, and provide analysis of the problem using through the perspective of objectives of the thesis. Analysis of the research data should serve as a starting point for the preparation of final conclusions of the research as well as for the formulation of recommendations on how to solve the problems.

Moreover, research must be analytical by nature. In order to achieve that, it is recommended that the introduction and the general part (which, as a rule, are mainly descriptive by nature) shall comprise no more that 40 percent of the research, whereas the special part and the conclusions / recommendations (which, as a rule, are mainly analytical by nature) shall comprise not less than 60 percent of the research work.

Each chapter should have a specific title that would clearly reflect to the objective addressed in a chapter (i.e., the title of the chapter cannot have an abstract name such as “The theoretical part”, “The practical part”, “Analysis”, and so on).

If chapter contains subchapters, there should be at least two of them (i.e., a chapter can be divided into at least two sub-units, for example, if Chapter 2 has a subchapter 2.1. it must also have a subchapter 2.2.)

A title of any chapter or subchapter of the thesis cannot coincide with a title of the thesis (otherwise, it would mean that all other parts of the thesis are redundant and unnecessary).

It is recommended to start each chapter of the thesis with a brief introduction, indicating what will be analysed within the chapter and reasons for such analysis. At the end of each chapter there should be a short sum up briefly overviewing results of the chapter (on a new

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paragraph and beginning by “In conclusion, ...”). Such sum ups serve as the basis for formulation of the conclusions / recommendations.

56. Conclusions contain results of the thesis summarised using analytical method. The conclusions must reveal whether student has solved the problem formulated in the introduction and whether he/she has reached objectives of research, i.e. conclusions should reflect the possible solutions to the problems of research. Conclusions should be specific and logically related to different parts of the thesis as well as to objectives of research, i.e. they should be consistent and reflect the contents of the thesis. Conclusions cannot contain any new information that has not been analyzed in the thesis. Conclusions should be formulated consistently in accordance with objectives of research, which had been achieved in the body text of the thesis. Conclusions should not contain well known facts or basic truths (such as: “civil law constitutes a part of a private law” or “the principle of law stating that any law or other act contrary to the Constitution is void, is a constitutional principle”). It is recommended to provide one or two conclusions for each objective of research, which can be proven using arguments. Conclusions should be numbered and presented in 1-2 pages.

57. Recommendations should be logically related to and follow from the conclusions of research. The recommendations have to be specific and based on the conducted research. Recommendations should be numbered and should not exceed two pages in length. Recommendations should not contain general phrases, for example, to improve, to develop, etc. It is recommended to provide specific solutions (options) to the problem that has been researched. Should recommendations include legislative suggestions, they should indicate which specific article / provision needs to be changed / deleted / supplemented and how. If the recommendations contain large draft of legislation, it should be set out in Annexes.

58. List of bibliography shall be prepared in accordance with the requirements of Chicago Manual of Style, which can ordinarily be found in the following web page of library of the University: http://www.mruni.eu/en/university/library/duomenu_bazes/bibliographic_management_programs/citation-styles/

59. Abstract. It contains a brief presentation on contents, objectives and results of research. Volume of the abstract should not exceed 1-2 paragraphs. There should be up to 5 keywords provided at the end of the abstract.

60. Summary. It is a brief description of the thesis. The summary must contain a title of the thesis and must reflect the aim, objectives, structure, contents and main results of research as well as demonstrate the ability of student to briefly present the main aspects of research. Volume of the summary shall be at least 2,000 symbols with spaces (half to one page long).

61. Annexes (tables, graphs etc.). This part consists of annexes exceeding 1 page (tables, graphs, charts, diagrams, pictures, etc.), as well as smaller annexes that form a group or for the reasons of relevance should be presented all together. Otherwise individual annexes shall be used in the body text of research and shall not be repeated in the section of Annexes. Annexes should be numbered, using phrase “Annex” and indicating the respective number of the annex. In this part the annexes should be enclosed in the same sequence in which they are mentioned in the thesis.

62. Honesty Declaration shall conform to a form provided in the Annex No. 4 to these Guidelines and shall be included as the last page of the thesis.

63. For the purposes of self-assessment tables on the structure of the thesis and introduction are provided (Annexes No. 5 and No. 6 to these Guidelines), where the structural parts are listed in the sequence they should appear in the final thesis. It is recommended to save tables provided in Annexes No. 5 and No. 6 in a separate folder or to print them out and, before handing the final thesis to a supervisor, to perform a thorough self-assessment, making sure that the thesis contains all compulsory parts (by putting a plus or minus symbol in the last column of each table). Should any minuses (missing parts) be established during the self-assessment, the

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http://www.mruni.eu/en/university/library/duomenu_bazes/bibliographic_management_programs/citation-styles/


text of the thesis has to be supplemented by any such missing part or the student has to consult with the supervisor regarding to the necessity of such particular part(-s).

V. REQUIREMENTS FOR THE TEXT OF THE FINAL THESIS

General Requirements for the Text of the Final Thesis

64. Thesis should be written in a scientific style, which is characterized by the use of unambiguous words, specific terminology and international words, consistency, accuracy, use of impersonal grammatical structures that emphasises objectively unbiased nature of the research (for example, “Analysis of the legislation allows to conclude...”; “It is recommended to change the article of the law... “).

65. Thoughts in the text have to follow in a clear, logical and thorough manner. Conclusions have to follow from the thoughts that are presented in the text.

66. Names composed of several words; compound terms may be replaced by an alphabetical abbreviation corresponding to the first letters of the abbreviated words (for example, Mykolas Romeris University – MRU). Titles of institutions, laws, organizations, etc. should be written out in full the first time they are mentioned, followed by the abbreviations in the brackets; afterwards the abbreviations should be used in the text of the final thesis.

67. General abbreviations as following are acceptable: “for example – e.g.; and others – et al.; etc.”

68. Units of measurement should be expressed in Arabic numerals, for example, 20%. 69. Final thesis should not contain style errors: excessively long sentences; imprecise terms

taken from old sources; recurrent thoughts and deviations from the topic; repetitive use of international words; double negations; excess of abbreviations; emotions and rhetorical questions that damage the scientific style of the thesis; incorrect order of words distorting a thought; improper selection and use of words; incorrect placement of semantic accents in a sentence, etc.

Formatting Rules for the Final Thesis

70. The value of the final thesis depends on formatting, logical structure and distribution of text as well as layout of annexes.

71. The text of the final thesis shall be printed on a size A4 white sheet of writing paper, using typeface Times New Roman; font style – regular; font size – 12 (12 pt), 1.5 line spacing. It shall be printed only on one side of the sheet, leaving 3 cm margin from the left, 1.5 cm margin from the right, 2 cm margin from the top and 2 cm margin from the bottom. Page numbers shall be written on the bottom of the page in the right hand corner. Numbering shall start from the cover page, however, the number shall appear only from the second page.

72. Final thesis shall begin with the cover page that should comply with the form attached as Annex No. 2 to these Guidelines. All information therein shall be arranged with center text alignment, except for scientific degrees, academic titles, names, surnames of supervisor and consultant (if appointed) of the thesis, which shall be with right text alignment.

73. The following titles of structural parts of the final thesis: table of contents, list of abbreviations, introduction, conclusions, recommendations, list of bibliography, abstract, summary should be written in centre alignment in bold font style and in capital letters. Each of the abovementioned parts of the final thesis should begin in a new page.

74. The body text of the final thesis shall be comprised of chapters and subchapters. Titles of chapters shall be written in bold font style and in capital letters. Titles of subchapters shall be written by capitalizing all words, except for “short” words, those with less than five letters, which should be written in lower-case letters. There should be a space of an empty row before and after titles of chapters and subchapters. Full stop punctuation shall not be written at the end of such titles.

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75. Each chapter of the final thesis shall begin in a new page, however, the subchapters shall be written continuously. Chapters and subchapters shall be numbered with Arabic numerals, for example, 1.1 – meaning first subchapter of the first chapter. Text following the title shall start in the same page as the respective title and it is not allowed to end the page with the title.

76. The smallest part of the body text that does not have a title is a paragraph, which contains a statement and arguments. The first word of a paragraph shall be written 1.5 cm from the left line margin of the text.

77. Words and sentences may be formatted if it is meaningful, aims at drawing attention as well as making thesis easier to read.

78. Words in Latin and other foreign languages shall be written in font: Times New Roman, font style: italic.

79. In the table of contents the titles of all the structural components of the final thesis, including chapters, shall be written in capital letters or lower-case letters in bold. Titles of subchapters shall be written by capitalizing all words, except for “short” words, those with less than five letters, which should be written in lower-case letters. The table of contents should also contain page number that indicates in which page of the final thesis a respective structural component begins.

80. In the final thesis data may be presented employing visual tools: tables, graphs, charts, schemes, diagrams and other visual tools, which illustrate and complement the text of the final thesis. A continuous numeration system of visual tools shall be employed using Arabic numerals, for example, Table No. 1, Table No. 2 and etc.; Chart No. 1, Chart No. 2 and etc. If the final thesis contains only one table or another visual tool, the numeration system shall not be employed, for example, Table, Figure, Graph, Diagram.

81. Each visual tool shall have a clearly formulated title, describing contents of such tool. The number and a title of a visual tool shall be written on the top of the page, in the middle. A source shall be indicated using footnotes and in accordance with the requirements of Chicago Manual of Style, which may ordinarily be found in the following web page of the library of the University: http://www.mruni.eu/en/university/library/duomenu_bazes/bibliographic_management_programs/citation-styles/.

82. Information or contents provided in one type of a visual tool cannot be repeated in another visual tool, for example, information provided in a table cannot be repeated in a diagram.

83. If contents of a visual tool are analysed in the text of the final thesis, but the visual tool is presented in an annex, a number of annex containing the visual tool followed by a number of the visual tool shall be provided in the text in brackets, for example, (Annex No. 2 Table 1) or (Annex No. 5 Chart 2).

84. At the bottom of the last page of the final thesis the author shall clearly write in handwriting his/her name, surname and e-mail address. Two printed copies of the final thesis, bound in spiral with hard or soft cover paperback, should be submitted (after the thesis defence one copy shall be returned to the author).

Citation Rules

85. Thoughts of other authors used in the final thesis shall be employed by quoting or paraphrasing.

86. Quotation (a word-for-word repetition of written or spoken language) must be enclosed with quotation marks. If part of another author’s thoughts is omitted, the words omitted in a quote shall be marked with ellipsis in square brackets (i.e. […]). If the quoted text is not taken from the original source but is re-quoted, both the original source and used source have to be indicated in the bibliographic reference (footnote). In such case the original source shall be indicated first followed by the used source in brackets that start with a phrase “cited from:”.

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87. A block format quotation shall be used for quotations longer than 6 lines or 100 words or more. A block quotation uses no quotation marks, indents the complete quote 2.5 centimetres from the left margin, always starts on a new line, single-spacing and shall be introduced with a colon.

Example:

Abstract Expressionism was developed in direct response to the political atmosphere of the 1940s and 1950s. Barnett Newman states that the artists of his time: felt the moral crisis of a world in shambles, a world devastated by [...] fierce world war, and it was impossible at the time to paint the kind of paintings that we were doing – flowers, reclining nudes, and people playing the cello… This was our moral crisis in relation to what to paint.4

4 H. Harvard Arnason, History of Modern Art, 5th ed. (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2003), 410.

88. A paraphrase or a summary is a restatement of the meaning of a text or passage using other words. A paraphrase usually restates no more than a couple sentences, while a summary condenses larger chunks of material. It is important to reword the information completely and not just substitute a few words from the original. The author must also be careful not to change the original meaning in rewording. Paraphrases and summaries are not set off with quotation marks, but must be cited with a superscript number at the end of the restated information.

89. If author of the final thesis wants to insert his/her own comments in the paraphrased or quoted text, such comments shall be written in the brackets adding text “(authors note)”.

90. Sources in the text of the final thesis shall be presented and list of bibliography shall be composed in accordance to the requirements of Chicago Manual of Style, which can ordinarily be found in the following web page of library of the University: http://www.mruni.eu/en/university/library/duomenu_bazes/bibliographic_management_programs/citation-styles/.

VI. SUBMISSION AND DEFENCE OF THE FINAL THESIS

91. Only whose students, who by the Order of the Rector of the University are allowed to defend their final thesis, may submit their final thesis following the rules described below in this chapter. The Order of the Rector of the University grants a permission to defend final thesis only for those students, who have no academic debts and have not submitted a request to suspend their studies.

92. Student submits the prepared final thesis to the supervisor at least one month before the beginning of the term for the defence of the final thesis, which is indicated in the schedule of studies. Declaration specified in the Appendix No. 4 to these Guidelines, by which the student confirms that the final thesis was written in an independent and honest manner, should be attached to the final thesis. If the student fails to submit the final thesis to the supervisor within a period specified in this paragraph, the supervisor has a right to refuse permission to defend such final thesis.

93. The supervisor shall review the final thesis within 10 calendar days after submission of the final thesis and to inform the student whether it is approved. If the final thesis does not meet the requirements defined in these Guidelines and the supervisor refuses to approve it, supervisor shall provide the student with particular indications and recommendations regarding the corrections of the final thesis within 10 calendar days after receiving the final thesis. If the student succeeds with proper implementation of indications and recommendations no later than 15 calendar days prior to the defence of the final thesis, the supervisor grants an approval of the

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thesis. If the supervisor’s indications and recommendations are not properly carried out by the above mentioned deadline, the final thesis cannot be approved and defended.

94. Upon supervisor’s approval of the prepared final thesis, a student must upload it to the University’s information system “Studies” (hereinafter – information system “Studies”) no later than 10 working days prior to the defence and the supervisor has to authorise the defence of the thesis in the information system “Studies”. If the supervisor does not grant a permission to defend the final thesis, the student may apply to a Chairman of a relevant Committee, who decides whether a permission to defend the final thesis should be granted. In case the Chairman of the Committee refuses to grant permission, the student may suspend studies for a period no longer than one year. The student, who did not expressed the intension to suspend studies by the end of the semester, shall be expelled from the University on the ground of failing to defend the final thesis.

95. Not later than 10 working days prior to the defence of the final thesis, the student shall submit to the Committee two bound copies of the final thesis, signed by the author and the supervisor together with the signed by the author Declaration, provided in the Appendix No. 4 to these Guidelines. The final thesis submitted to the Committee shall be registered indicating the date of the submission.

96. If the student uploaded the final thesis to the information system “Studies” or submitted to the Committee in breach with the terms defined in Chapter V of these Guidelines, the student is not allowed to defend the final thesis, except in those cases where a Chairman of Defence Commission decides to grant a permission based on the student’s reasoned request.

97. Thesis shall be defended in the open meeting of the Defence Commission. Commission shall be established by the Order of the Rector of the University. The composition of the Commission is announced on webpages of the institutes of the Faculty of Law. The least number of members of the Commission taking part in the defence of the final theses shall be 3.

98. Two weeks before the beginning of the defence of the final theses, the Committees shall draw schedules approved by the dean for the meetings of the Defence Commission, indicating the procedure and place of defence. Approved schedules are announced on webpages of the institutes of the Faculty of Law.

99. Not later than 7 working days before the defence of the final thesis the Committee based on the recommendation of the Chairman of the Defence Commission shall appoint a reviewer of the final thesis and upload corresponding information to the information system “Studies”.

100. Not later than 2 calendar days before the defence the reviewer shall upload a review with either positive or negative evaluation of the final thesis to the information system “Studies”. The form of review is provided in the Appendix No. 7 to these Guidelines. If the reviewer in the column “Evaluation” indicates that the final thesis does not meet or only partially meets certain requirements, he or she is supposed to provide a rationale for such assessment in the column “Remarks”. An online access to the review is granted to the student, the supervisor and members of the Defence Commission.

101. Only the final thesis which has successfully passed a formal verification of plagiarism shall be authorised for the defence. The formal verification of plagiarism is carried out after the final thesis has been uploaded to the information system “Studies” and the supervisor has granted a permission to defend the final thesis. If plagiarism is identified during the formal verification, the author shall be informed. If plagiarism is identified during the formal verification or the defence, the student, who has provided the thesis, shall be expelled from the University after the investigation.

102. The defence of the final thesis shall take place at a time defined in the schedule for the meeting of the Defence Commission. Students, whose final thesis is going to be defended at the meeting on a relevant day, should take part in this meeting from the very beginning. In case a PowerPoint presentation is going to be used, it is recommended to arrive 15 minutes before the

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beginning of the meeting in order to save this presentation on the computer of the University which is attached to the projector in the room where the meeting takes place.

103. Voice and video recording equipment belonging to the University may be used during the defence. The student, who requires the use of voice or video recording during the defence, not later than two working days before the defence should submit a written request to a relevant institute of the Faculty of Law regarding the preparation of equipment for video or voice recording. Such records made during the defence can be used for examination of appeals. The audience should be informed about the use of voice or video recording equipment at the beginning of the meeting of the Defence Commission.

104. During the defence student shall briefly (up to 10 minutes) present his/her thesis, highlighting the problems, introducing conclusions and recommendations and providing their rationale. During the defence the members of the Defence Commission have a right to ask questions, to express their observations and comments regarding issues discussed, as well as to submit requests and suggestions.

105. For the preparation of the PowerPoint presentation it is recommended to use as simple as possible and bright background. A goal of the PowerPoint presentation is an illustration of an oral presentation with neat textual and visual information.

106. After student finishes the presentation of the final thesis, the reviewer presents a review. If the reviewer does not take part in the meeting, the review should be presented by one of the members of the Defence Commission. After the presentation of the review, the author answers to the comments made in the review. Then the student responds to the questions asked by the members of the Defence Commission and other persons participating in the defence meeting. The supervisor speaks at the end of the defence. If the supervisor is not able to participate in the meeting, he or she submits written opinion to the Chairman of the Defence Commission.

107. If the review of the final thesis made by the reviewer is negative, presence of the supervisor and the reviewer during the defence is mandatory.

108. A part of the meeting of the Defence Commission, where the final thesis defended that day are being discussed and evaluated, is closed, i.e. students shall not be present in it. The final grade for the final thesis shall be set by the Commission in accordance with the rules of Chapter VI of these Guidelines. The grade is announced publicly on the day of the defence and is uploaded to the record of the defence on the information system “Studies”.

VI. EVALUATION OF THE THESIS

109. Final thesis and the defence shall be assessed by the members of the Defence Commission, supervisors and reviewers. The final grade shall be calculated by deriving the mean of the grades of the supervisor, reviewer and the members of the Commission in the order described below and shall be recorded in the protocol of defence, as well as on the cover page of the final thesis and shall be uploaded to the record of defence in the information system “Studies”.

110. Criterion and weighted coefficients of the final thesis and its assessment shall be as follows:

110.1. Preparation of work, scientific level (substantiation of the relevance and significance of the selected research, formulation of the topic, clarity of the research goal, objectives and defence statements, student’s knowledge of the latest research works, appropriateness of the research methods, significance and statistical reliability of the data, level of interpretation of the results of the research, conformity of the conclusions with the objectives and their validity); integrity, completeness of the content (it shall be assessed whether all compulsory structural elements of the thesis are in place, appropriateness of the scope of the work and balance of the scope of structural parts, conformity of the titles of chapters with the content); quality of execution (quality of the prints, visual material, scholarliness, logic, accuracy

14

and laconic of the language, appropriate presentation of the tables, pictures of the results, questionnaires, lists of interlocutors, statistical data, accuracy of citing sources of literature, quality of the presentation of the bibliographical description). Weighted coefficient – 60 percent.

110.2. Quality of the defence (ability of student to present the final thesis, quality of presentation, ability to answer the questions). Weighted coefficient – 40 percent.

111. Final thesis according to the aspects described in the paragraph 110.1 shall be evaluated by the supervisor, the reviewer and the Defence Commission. The evaluation shall be determined by calculating the mean of the grades given by the members of the Defence Commission, the supervisor and reviewer. If the supervisor or the reviewer is a member of the Defence Commission, the final thesis according to the aspects described in the section 110.1 shall be evaluated by him/her as the supervisor or the reviewer only, i.e., he/she shall not evaluate final thesis as a member of the Defence Commission. If the reviewer or the supervisor did not take part in the defence meeting, they should inform the Chairman of the Defence Commission about the grade that is given for the final thesis in advance.

112. The quality of the defence shall be evaluated by the members of the Defence Commission. The evaluation shall be determined by calculating the mean of grades given by the members of the Commission.

113. The final grade shall be calculated on the basis of evaluations given in accordance with paragraphs 111 and 112 by adding weighted coefficients described in paragraphs 110.1 and 110.2. The chart provided in the Appendix No. 8 to these Guidelines shall be used for the calculation of the final grade.

114. If any of the grade means indicated in paragraphs 111 and 112 of these Guidelines is less than 5, the final grade for the thesis shall be negative.

115. The Defence Commission may recommend the student who failed to defend his/her final thesis to correct the thesis or to prepare a new one on different topic in accordance with the requirements formulated in paragraphs 28–34 (without applying terms limiting the selection of the topic for the thesis). The recommendation of the Defence Commission shall be included in the protocol of the defence. A final decision shall be made by the Committee.

116. An appeal against the evaluation of the final thesis shall be submitted in accordance with the Appeal Regulations of Mykolas Romeris University approved by the Resolution 1SN-7 of the Senate of the University on 15 October 2013.

VII. UPLOAD OF DEFENDED FINAL THESIS IN THE INFORMATION SYSTEM OF ELECTRONIC THESES AND DISSERTATIONS

117. Defended final theses shall be uploaded in the Electronic Theses and Dissertations Information System (ETD IS) in accordance with the regulation on the procedure for the preparation of electronic documents of master’s final theses, doctoral dissertations of Mykolas Romeris University, their summaries, submission for uploading and uploading in the eLABa repositories.

118. Final theses shall be uploaded in the Information System of Electronic Theses and Dissertations in accordance with instruction which is published on the website of Mykolas Romeris University.

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Annex No. 1MYKOLAS ROMERIS UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF LAW...................INSTITUTE

........................................... (Programme / specialization, group, student’s name, surname)

................................ (Supervisor’s position, name, surname)

................................ (Consultant’s position, name, surname)

Preparation programme and time planningDD/MM/YYYY

Vilnius

OF BACHELOR/MASTER THESIS

„.......................................................................“(topic)

Main research literature and legal problems are coordinated with a supervisor until………………Initial version of the introduction of the research and main literature for special research part as well as legal problems are coordinated with a supervisor until………………Initial version of the general part of the research (which addresses the question of legal regulation of the researched topic as well as the basic concepts) is coordinated with a supervisor until………………Initial version of the first half of the special part (which addresses legal problems of the researched topic indicated in the objectives of the research) is coordinated with a supervisor until………………Initial version of the second half of the special part (which addresses legal problems of the researched topic indicated in the objectives of the research) and conclusions of the research as well as recommendations are coordinated with a supervisor until………………The final thesis is submitted and coordinated with a supervisor by receiving permission of defence until…………

16


FACULTY OF LAW[ ] INSTITUTE

STUDENT’S NAME AND SURNAME(TITLE OF THE STUDY PROGRAMME)

TOPIC

Bachelor / master thesis

Supervisor – Academic title

DegreeName, surname

Consultant (if appointed) –Academic title

DegreeName, surname

Vilnius, 20[ ]

17

Annex No. 3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………….......... 3LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.................................................................................................... 61. (TITLE OF A CHAPTER)………………..…………………………...………………….... 7

1.1. (title of a subchapter (level 2))…….…………………………………………….......... 81.1.1. (title of a subchapter (level 3))………………………………..……..………..... 91.1.2. (title of a subchapter (level 3))………………………………..………..……..... 18

1.2 (title of a subchapter (level 2))………………………………………………..……...... 231.2.1. (title of a subchapter (level 3))……………………………………………......... 251.2.2. (title of a subchapter (level 3))…………………………………..…………....... 28

2. (TITLE OF A CHAPTER)………………………………...……………………….............. 312.1. (title of a subchapter (level 2))……………………………………..………………..... 322.2. (title of a subchapter (level 2))……………………………………..………………..... 37

3. (TITLE OF A CHAPTER)……………………………………...………………….............. 403.1. (title of a subchapter (level 2))……………………………………..………………..... 413.2. (title of a subchapter (level 2))…………………………………………..…………..... 47

CONCLUSIONS………………………………………………………………...…………..... 53RECOMMENDATIONS………………………………………………………………..…..... 55LIST OF BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………….............. 57ABSTRACT........................................................................................……………..…............ 71SUMMARY...............................................………………………………………..………...... 72ANNEXES…………………………………………………………………………….....….... 73HONESTY DECALARATION ................................................................................................ 80

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Annex No. 4Form approved on 20 November 2012 by the decision No. 1SN-10

of the Senate of Mykolas Romeris University

HONESTY DECLARATION DD/MM/YYYY

Vilnius

I, ______________________________________________________________, student of (name, surname)

Mykolas Romeris University (hereinafter referred to University),

(Faculty /Institute, Programme title)

confirm that the Bachelor / Master thesis titled

“__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________:

1. Is carried out independently and honestly;2. Was not presented and defended in another educational institution in Lithuania or

abroad;3. Was written in respect of the academic integrity and after becoming acquainted with

methodological guidelines for thesis preparation. I am informed of the fact that student can be expelled from the University for the breach of

the fair competition principle, plagiarism, corresponding to the breach of the academic ethics.

_____________________ _____________________________ (signature) (name, surname)

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Annex No. 5

STRUCTURE OF THE FINAL THESIS

Structure of final thesis(title of thesis parts)

Obligatory/Optional/

Recommended

Recommended volume

Self-check (+ or - )

Cover page Required 1 p.

Table of Contents Required 1-2 pp.

List of Abbreviations Required 1-2 pp.

Introduction Required Up to 6 pp.

Body text Required Introduction and the general part should constitute up to 40 percent of a research; the special part and the Conclusions, Recommendations should constitute up to 60 percent of a research.

Conclusions Required Up to 2 pp.

Recommendations Recommended Up to 2 pp.

List of bibliography Required Unlimited

Abstract Required 1-2 paragraphs

Summary Required Not less than 2000 characters and not more than 4000 characters with spaces.

Annexes (tables, charts, etc.)

Optional Unlimited

Signed Honesty declaration

Required 1 p.

20

Annex No. 6

STRUCTURE OF THE INTRODUCTION OF THE FINAL THESIS

Structure of the introduction of final thesis

(title of a part)

Bachelor thesis Master thesis Self-check (+ or - )

Researched problem Required Required

Relevance of the final thesis

Required Required

Novelty of the final thesis Optional Required

Level of the analysis of a researched problem of the final thesis

Required Required

Significance of the final thesis

Required Required

Originality of the final thesis

Required Required

Aim of research Required Required

Objectives of research Required Required

Research methodology Required Required

Structure of research Required Required

Defence statements Optional Required

Additional specific information provided in coordination with a supervisor

Optional Optional

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FACULTY OF LAW...................INSTITUTE

........................................... (Reviewer’s position, name, surname)

..................................Thesis Defence Qualification Commission

REVIEW OFDD/MM/YYYY

Vilnius

................................(Student’s name, surname)

FINAL THESIS

“.......................................................................“(topic)

Nr. Evaluation criteria Evaluation Remarks

1. Formulation of the aim of the final thesis

AppropriatePartially appropriateInappropriate

2. Formulation of the objectives of the final thesis


3. The aim and objectives of the final thesis are fully realized

YesPartially No

4. Formulation of defence statements (applicable only to Master thesis)


5. Evaluation of the degree of the analysis of the researched problem in other research papers and novelty of the final thesis (applicable only to Master thesis)


6. Relevance of the researched problem(s)

RelevantPartially relevantNot relevant

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7. Are the chosen research methods appropriate?


8. Is the chosen structure of the thesis appropriate?

YesPartially No

9. Is bibliography used in the thesis relevant?

YesVery littleNo

10. Does the title of the thesis correspond to the content?

YesPartiallyNo

11. Are the rules of citation and composition of the reference list followed?

YesPartially No

12. Conclusions and recommendations are drawn logically, they are clear, well-founded and could be applied in practice

YesPartially No

13. Author’s language of the final thesis, sequence of reasoning and consistency, literacy, orderliness correspond to the requirements applicable to the research thesis of this type

YesPartially No

Additional remarks of the reviewer:

1) .............. 2) ..............

Final conclusion of the reviewer:

Final thesis is evaluated positively / negatively.______________________________(Reviewer’s name, surname, signature)

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web view86. quotation (a word-for-word repetition of written or spoken language) must be enclosed...

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