Article 8

1. Upon receipt of the request from the doctoral candidate, as meant in Article 4, the Board of Deans shall appoint at least one professor as supervisor, with due observance of Article 9.1 Paragraph 3 of the Act.
2. Eligible candidates for the position of supervisor include professors, extraordinary professors, or ecclesiastical professors at a university.
3. If a professor from a university abroad is appointed as supervisor, an additional professor from a Dutch university shall be appointed as primary supervisor.
4. If a professor who has been appointed as supervisor is honourably discharged, acceptance of the dissertation must take place within five years after discharge.
5. If the dissertation has not been accepted within five years after honourable discharge of the supervisor, the appointment shall be terminated and the Board of Deans, having consulted the doctoral candidate, shall appoint a new supervisor, unless - in the case of more than one supervisor having been appointed - it considers a new appointment unnecessary.

Article 9

If the research on which the dissertation is based takes place under the supervision of a particular professor, the latter shall as a rule be appointed as supervisor.

Article 10

1. The primary supervisor is ultimately responsible for the supervision of the doctoral candidate during the writing of the latter’s dissertation.
2. Unless stated otherwise, the term “supervisor” in this document refers to the primary supervisor.
3. The supervisor shall judge a manuscript presented to him/her on the basis of the points stipulated in Article 11.

Article 11

1. The supervisor shall not decide on the request by a doctoral candidate for assessment of a thesis submitted until he/she has ascertained that the doctoral candidate has met the requirements stipulated in Article 6.
2. In his/her assessment of the thesis, the supervisor shall in any event consider the following points:
   a. the importance of the topic;
   b. the importance and clear definition of the problem;
   c. the originality of the approach;
   d. the quality of scholarship in the organization, analysis and processing of the material;
   e. the consistency in the methodology used in the analysis;
   f. how the analysis of the material has yielded new insights and new ideas;
   g. a critical confrontation between the conclusions of the doctoral candidate and existing theories and views;
   h. a creative approach to the field of science dealt with in the dissertation;
   i. balance in the structure of the dissertation and clarity of style;
   j. self-imposed restriction in the volume of the text.
3. The supervisor shall also assess whether the thesis meets the requirements set forth in Articles 22 to 25 inclusive.

Article 12

1. The supervisor shall decide within two months after receipt of the final version of the manuscript whether it will be submitted to the Assessment Committee. The decision shall be either to submit the manuscript for assessment or to refuse submission for assessment. The reasons for refusal shall be explained.
2. The supervisor may, if and insofar as the doctoral candidate agrees, postpone his or her decision.
3. If the deadline referred to in Paragraph 1 is exceeded, the doctoral candidate may ask the Board of Deans to direct the supervisor to submit his/her decision on the thesis submitted by a certain date. The Board of Deans shall take a decision within 30 days after receipt of such a request.
4. The supervisor shall inform the doctoral candidate in writing of his/her decision on the thesis submitted for assessment, sending copies of the assessment to any co-supervisor, the Dean and the Board of Deans.

Article 13

1. If the supervisor has refused to submit the thesis for assessment, the doctoral candidate may request the Board of Deans to appoint another supervisor.
2. The Board of Deans shall take a decision with regard to a request as meant in Paragraph 1, after consulting both the doctoral candidate and the supervisor.

Article 14

1. If several supervisors and co-supervisors have been appointed, they shall determine by mutual agreement, having consulted the doctoral candidate and in accordance with Article 10, Paragraph 1, on the division of tasks, which may be laid down in writing.
2. If several supervisors and co-supervisors have been appointed, they shall take a joint decision on the submission of the thesis for assessment, as meant in Article 12, Paragraph 1. Should they be unable to reach agreement, they shall inform the Board of Deans accordingly. The Board of Deans shall then take a decision, having consulted both the supervisors and the doctoral candidate.