Article 28

1. 1. The degree ceremony shall take place before a Supervisory Committee instituted by the Board of Deans.
2. 2. The Supervisory Committee shall preferably comprise:
   a. the members of the Assessment Committee, as stipulated in Article 19, Paragraph 1;
   b. the supervisor and any co-supervisor;
   c. one or more professors and members with doctorates, appointed by the Board of Deans as members of the Supervisory Committee, at the proposal of the supervisor;
   d. those members stipulated under a, b, and c shall take part in the deliberations, stipulated in Article 31, Paragraph 3. The Board of Deans shall ensure that of the members taking part in the deliberations, as stipulated in Article 31, Paragraph 3, the majority consists of professors, excluding the Chairman and the supervisor. Of these professors, a majority must be appointed at the university. Recognized experts without doctoral degrees in the area of the dissertation topic may also, with the special permission of the Board of Deans, oppose the dissertation.
3. The Rector shall be the Chairman of the Committee. He may be replaced by one of his predecessors or a (former) Dean.
4. At the proposal of the Chairman, one of the members of the Supervisory Committee shall be appointed as committee secretary.

Article 29

1. All members of the Supervisory Committee are authorized to make objections in order to oppose the thesis. The supervisor shall ensure that at least three members of the Supervisory Committee are prepared to make objections. The supervisor himself/herself shall not present any objections.
2. Before commencement of the degree ceremony, in a closed meeting of the Supervisory Committee, the Chairman shall propose the sequence and the average time to be given for the objections (a written proposal for the sequence of the opposition opinions must be communicated to the Rector one week before the date of the ceremony).
3. In cases as stipulated in Article 7, the defence shall be by each doctoral candidate separately where possible on the same day, so that one can follow the other.

Article 30

1. The degree ceremony shall take place during an public session, in general in the auditorium of the university.
2. The language to be used during the degree ceremony is Dutch or English. Opposition and defence can only be carried out in another language by way of exception and with permission of the Rector.
3. A separate protocol contains regulations regarding clothing, precedence in the procession of the members of the Supervisory Committee and other opposing speakers, the doctoral candidate and his/her assistants, the mode in which they are to be addressed and also further directives for formulations pursuant to Article 33.

Article 31

1. After the opening address, the Chairman shall request the doctoral candidate to give a summary of his/her dissertation in 10-15 minutes (possibly with the use of visual aids). Subsequently, the Chairman gives the floor to opposing speakers and to the doctoral candidate to reply to each opposing speech.
2. The Chairman regulates the sequence in such a way that the doctoral candidate has the opportunity to answer after each opposing speaker.
3. In principle, the session shall be terminated approximately one hour after commencement. The beadle will use the words Hora est to indicate that the time for opposition and defence has elapsed. The doctoral committee then withdraws for private deliberation.

Article 32

1. In the deliberations, as stipulated in Article 31, Paragraph 3, the members of the Supervisory Committee will pass their judgement on the research underlying the degree, on the dissertation and on the defence.
2. After the supervisor and any co-supervisor(s) have also given their opinions, the committee decides whether or not to award the degree of Doctor.
3. If any of the members of the Supervisory Committee requires such, a separate vote shall be taken on the decision. Each member of the committee has one vote (See Article 28, Paragraph 2). If the votes are balanced, the doctorate shall be awarded.
4. If the doctorate is to be awarded, all members of the Supervisory Committee shall sign the certificate; the Chairman and the Secretary of the committee as well as the supervisor, shall add their capacity. The distinction, as stipulated in Article 21, is appended to the certificate.

Article 33

1. After conclusion of the internal deliberations, the Chairman reopens the session of the Supervisory Committee and announces the decision.
2. If the doctorate is awarded, the supervisor at the charge of the Chairman shall invest the doctoral candidate with the insignia and hand over the diploma referred to in Article 32, Paragraph 4. If the distinction cum laude is attached to the doctorate, the supervisor shall announce such.
3. Thereafter, the supervisor, or, with permission of the Chairman of the committee, the co-supervisor, gives an assessment of the dissertation and possibly of the scholarly qualities of the graduate. He/she may also add some personal comments at this point.