Disciplinary Code
Disciplinary Code for Students of the Prague University of Economics and Business
On 18 July 2017, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports registered under Section 36(2) of Act No. 111/1998 Coll., on Higher Education Institutions and on Amendments and Additions to Other Acts (Act on Higher Education Institutions), under no. MSMT-19508/2017 Disciplinary Regulations for Students of the Prague University of Economics and Business.
The amendment to the Disciplinary Code for Students of the Prague University of Economics and Business was registered by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports pursuant to Section 36(2) of the Higher Education Act on July 23, 2025, under No. MSMT-18146/2025-2.
Preamble
This Disciplinary Code for Students of the Prague University of Economics and Business (hereinafter referred to as “VŠE”)” is an internal regulation of VSE pursuant to Act No. 111/1998 Coll. on Higher Education Institutions and on Amendments and Additions to of Other Acts (the “Act on Higher Education Institutions “)“ (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”)” and the Statute of VSE, which regulates the manner of proceedings of the Disciplinary Committee of the VSE and the procedure for hearing disciplinary offences of students of the VSE if they are not enrolled in any of its faculties, and the imposition of sanctions.
Article 1
Disciplinary offence and sanctions
(1) A disciplinary offence is a culpable violation of the obligations laid down by law or the internal regulations of the VSE.
(2) A disciplinary offence cannot be dealt with if a period of one year has elapsed since the offence was committed or since a final criminal conviction. The one-year time limit is interrupted by the notification of the initiation of disciplinary proceedings; the interruption of the time limit starts a new one-year time limit. The period of time during which the individual is not a student and the period during which the matter has been the subject of administrative proceedings shall not be included in the time limits
(3) A student may be subject to any of the following sanctions for a disciplinary offence
- warning,
- suspension from studies with the imposition of a time limit and conditions for certification,
- expulsion from studies.
(4) When imposing a sanction, the nature of the conduct by which the disciplinary offence was committed, the circumstances under which it occurred, the consequences caused, the degree of culpability, the previous behaviour of the student who committed the disciplinary offence and the efforts shown to remedy its consequences shall be taken into account.
(5) In the case of suspension from studies, the time limit and conditions for certification shall be determined according to the degree of seriousness of the disciplinary offence. It shall always be considered a breach of the conditions of certification if the student commits a further disciplinary offence during the period of certification, except for a less serious disciplinary offence committed through negligence.
(6) If the student complies with the conditions for certification in the case of a suspension within the period for certification, the Rector shall decide that the student has certified; otherwise, the Rector shall decide, even within the period for certification, that the sanction of suspension shall be carried out. If the Rector does not make a decision under the previous sentence within two months of the expiry of the certification period, the student shall be deemed to have certified.
(7) A student may only be expelled from studies for the deliberate commission of a disciplinary offence.
(8) A student who has been admitted to study as a result of his or her fraudulent conduct shall be expelled from the course of study.
Article 2
Disciplinary Committee of the VSE
(1) The composition of the Disciplinary Committee of VSE (hereinafter referred to as the “Committee), the method of appointment and dismissal of its members and the length of their term of office shall be determined by the Statute of the VSE.
(2) The Chairperson of the Disciplinary Committee shall preside over the proceedings of the Committee and shall be responsible for its conduct, or in his or her absence, a member of the Committee whom the Chairperson has delegated to preside over the proceedings. If the office of the chairperson is vacant, the Rector shall convene a meeting of the Committee, the agenda of which shall include the election of the Chairperson of the Committee, and shall delegate a member of the Committee to chair the meeting until the election of the Chairperson.
(3) The meetings of the Committee shall not be public.
(4) The Committee shall have the capacity to deliberate if a majority of its members are present. A resolution of the Committee shall be adopted by a majority of the members present.
(5) A member of the Committee who may reasonably be presumed, in view of his or her relationship to the case, to the parties or to their representatives, to have such an interest in the outcome of the proceedings as to cast doubt on his or her impartiality shall be excluded from all acts in the disciplinary proceedings in the performance of which he or she might influence the outcome of the proceedings.
(6) A party to the proceedings may object to the bias of a member of the Committee as soon as he or she becomes aware of it. The objection shall be disregarded if the party to the proceedings has demonstrable knowledge of the ground for disqualification but fails to raise the objection without undue delay. The objection shall be decided without delay by resolution of the Disciplinary Committee, provided that the member whose bias is objected to shall not vote. If the Disciplinary Committee is not competent to deliberate, the Rector shall decide on the objection.
(7) A member of the Committee who becomes aware of circumstances indicating that he or she has been expelled shall immediately inform the Chairperson of the Committee; if the Chairperson is a member of the Board, he or she shall immediately inform the Rector. The Disciplinary Committee shall decide without delay by resolution whether the member of the Committee is expelled, provided that the member whose bias is alleged shall not vote. If the Disciplinary Committee is not competent to deliberate, the Rector shall decide on the objection.
(8) A record of the vote shall be made on the resolution on the proposed sanction or other procedure for dealing with the disciplinary offence under consideration. This record shall be signed by all members of the Committee present.
(9) Minutes of the proceedings of the Committee shall be taken and shall be signed by the Chairman of the Committee or, in his absence, by a member of the Committee who has been delegated by the Chairman to conduct the proceedings pursuant to subsection (2).
(10) Within five working days of the end of the meeting of the Committee, the Chairperson of the Committee shall forward to the Rector the minutes of the meeting and the record of the vote on the proposal of a sanction or other procedure for dealing with the disciplinary offence under consideration.
(11) The members of the Committee shall be obliged to maintain confidentiality of the facts which have come to their knowledge in connection with the disciplinary proceedings and which, in the interest of ensuring the proper exercise of public administration or in the interest of other persons, require to remain confidential. Members of the Board shall be exempt from this obligation only on the grounds laid down by a special law or if the person concerned consents.
Article 3
Initiation of disciplinary proceedings
(1) Disciplinary proceedings shall be initiated by the Committee on the proposal of the Rector.
(2) The Rector’s proposal shall include in particular
- a description of the act,
- a justification as to why the act is considered a disciplinary offence,
- the proposed evidence.
(3) If the proposal does not contain the elements referred to in paragraph (2), the chairman of the Committee shall invite the Rector to remedy the defects in his proposal. If the Rector fails to remedy the defects in the proposal within a reasonable time, such defective proposal shall not be considered. The right of the Rector to submit a new proposal shall not be affected.
(4) An oral hearing shall be held on the disciplinary offence. Without undue delay after receipt of the Rector’s proposal, the Chairperson of the Committee, or a member of the Committee designated by the Chairperson, shall convene a hearing of the Committee in a manner that ensures that all members of the Committe are duly invited.
(5) Disciplinary proceedings shall be initiated on the date of delivery of the proposal to initiate disciplinary proceedings to the student.
(6) The student must be invited to the hearing; unless there is a risk of delay, the student must be invited at least five days in advance of the hearing. The invitation shall state the date, time and place where the hearing will take place.
(7) If the student has a representative, the invitation shall also be served on him or her.
Article 4
Hearing of a disciplinary offence
(1) The oral hearing shall be held in the presence of the student suspected of having committed the disciplinary offence. The student may be represented by a representative. The student shall be obliged to appear on time at the designated place; if he or she cannot do so for serious reasons, he or she shall immediately apologise to the chairman of the Committee, stating the reasons. The apology shall normally be in writing and must be delivered to the Chairman of the Committee no later than the day of the Committee meeting. The Committee shall decide on the validity of the apology.
(2) In the absence of the student or his or her representative, a disciplinary offence may be heard if the student or his or her representative fails to appear at the hearing without proper excuse, although he or she has been invited to attend in accordance with Article 3(6) and (7).
(3) The Committee shall be required to ascertain the facts, in particular the nature of the conduct by which the disciplinary offence was committed, the circumstances in which it occurred and the consequences caused.
(4) The Chairman of the Committee may invite witnesses to the Committee’s deliberations, or other persons who may assist in the objective assessment of the disciplinary offence under consideration.
(5) The student has the right to be present, except when a vote is being taken, at the proceedings of the Committee; to propose and present evidence, to comment on any material for the proceedings, to inspect written documents and, except for the minutes of the vote, to inspect and take extracts from the minutes of the proceedings of the Committee.
(6) After deliberating on the matter, the Committee shall resolve on a motion that the Rector
- decide that the student has committed a disciplinary offence, and at the same time the Committee shall propose the imposition of a sanction in accordance with Article 1, Paragraph 1 3,
- Decide that the student has committed a disciplinary offence and at the same time propose that the Committee waive the imposition of the sanction; or
- discontinue the disciplinary proceedings.
(7) The Committee shall resolve on a proposal that the Rector discontinue the disciplinary proceedings if
- it becomes apparent that the disciplinary offence is not a disciplinary offence,
- it cannot be proved that the student committed the disciplinary offence, or
- the person suspected of having committed the disciplinary offence has ceased his or her studies.
(8) The Committe shall communicate the order under paragraph (6) to the student and the student’s representative if they are present at the hearing.
Article 5
Decision on a disciplinary offence
(1) The Rector, on the basis of a proposal from the Committee, shall decide on the disciplinary offence without undue delay.
(2) Before issuing a decision, the Rector shall invite the student to comment on the grounds for the decision on the disciplinary offence and shall set a reasonable time limit for the student to do so.
(3) If the Committee decides on a proposal under section 4(6)(a), except for a sanction for a disciplinary offence referred to in section 1(8), the Rector may
- impose the sanction proposed by the Committee,
- impose a more lenient sanction, or
- refrain from imposing a sanction if the hearing of the disciplinary offence itself will lead to a remedy.
(4) The Rector shall decide in accordance with the proposal of the Committee if the Committee agrees on the proposal
- under Article 4(6)(a) in a matter referred to in Article 1(8), or
- under Article 4(6)(b) or (c).
(5) The decision must be in writing and served on the student. The decision shall contain a statement of the finding of a disciplinary offence and the imposition of a sanction, or a statement of the finding of a disciplinary offence and the waiver of a sanction, or a statement of the discontinuance of the disciplinary proceedings. It shall also contain a statement of reasons and a notice of appeal. If the student is represented by a representative in the proceedings, the decision shall be served on both the student and the representative, provided that service on the student shall have no effect on the running of time limits.
Article 6
Appeal procedure
(1) The Rector shall decide on an appeal by a student against the Rector’s decision in a disciplinary offence. The Rector shall review the conformity of the appealed decision and the procedure preceding the decision with the legal provisions and the internal regulations of the VSE. The suspensive effect of the appeal cannot be excluded.
(2) Following the Rector’s decision, the authorities of the VSE or its units shall, if necessary, take such measures as are necessary to ensure that the rights of the student are restored and the consequences caused by the defective decision are eliminated or at least mitigated.
Article 7
Final provisions
(1) This Disciplinary Code for Students of the VSE shall be interpreted in the light of the relevant provisions of the law, the Statute of the VSE and other internal regulations of the VSE.
(2) Proceedings which have not been concluded on the date of entry into force of this Disciplinary Code for Students of the VSE shall be completed in accordance with this Disciplinary Code for Students of the VSE Members of the Disciplinary Committee of the VSE appointed in accordance with the former Disciplinary Code for Students of the VSE shall be deemed to be appointed in accordance with this Disciplinary Code for Students of the VSE for the term of office specified at the time of their appointment in accordance with the former Disciplinary Code.
(3) The Disciplinary Code for Students in programmes implemented by the VSE dated 13 June 2014 registered by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic under no. MSMT-22009/2014 is hereby repealed.
(4) This Disciplinary Code for Students of the VSE were approved pursuant to Section 9 (1) (b) of the Act by the Academic Senate of the VSE on 19 June 2017.
(5) This Disciplinary Code for Students of the VSE shall enter into force pursuant to Section 36(4) of the Act on the date of registration by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.
(6) This Disciplinary Code for Students of the VSE shall enter into force on 1 September 2017.
(7) The amendment to the Disciplinary Code for Students of the Prague University of Economics and Business approved by the Academic Senate of the VSE on 19 May 2025 comes into force and effect pursuant to Section 36(4) of the Higher Education Act on the date of registration by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.
doc. Ing. Tomáš Pavelka, Ph.D.
Chairman of the Academic Senate VŠE in Prague
doc. Ing. Petr Dvořák, Ph.D.
Rector of VŠE in Prague