The graduation opened with the ceremony to present the honorary degree, the first awarded by the Faculty of Law. After a few words of welcome by Dr. Javier Junceda, the Dean of the Faculty of Law, Rocío Goiricelaya, the Academic Officer, read out the Board’s resolution to award an honorary degree to Dr. Ramón Durán Rivacoba.

Dr. Ramón Durán Rivacoba is the Head of the Department of Civil Law at the Universidad de Oviedo and also holds an honorary degree from the Faculty of Law at the Universidad de Piura (Peru). He has held teaching posts at several universities and directed nearly twenty theses. He served two terms as Dean of the Faculty of Law at the Universidad de Oviedo and is currently the University Ombudsman.

Dr. Junceda highlighted some of Dr. Durán Rivacoba’s accomplishments, praised his “universal spirit and open-minded approach in different situations”, and said that his academic career confirms he is “a model university professor”.

Dr. Durán Rivacoba started his keynote address by speaking directly to the graduates. He congratulated them and said, “You are now embarking on a productive period in your lives”, which will call for “commitment and conviction because fortune favours the bold”. He also reminded them, “From now on, you are servants of justice as a value and a virtue”.

Speaking of his own professional and academic career, Dr. Durán Rivacoba underlined the importance of his involvement with private universities. “The best universities are obviously often in the private sector”, he said.

The topic of the new honorary professor’s keynote address for the graduation ceremony was the change in legislation on the minimum marriage age. Dr. Durán Rivacoba used articles from the Civil Code to discuss the most recent changes in this area and how they might be used to disguise arranged marriages. In his opinion, the answer is legal independence. He also questioned some of the Civil Code’s new wording on the topic, such as “validation”, which he said was not appropriate in the context of marriage.

Following the keynote address, the student representatives of the degree and diploma programmes shared fond memories of their years at the UIC.

The last speaker was Dr. Junceda, who once again thanked Dr. Durán Rivacoba for being the faculty’s first honorary professor and the keynote speaker for the graduation ceremony. He also congratulated the new graduates and pointed out that the UIC prepares its students for every aspect of life and does not merely focus on technical training. He said that universities should progressively move towards this type of education. He went on to say that by fulfilling its aim of providing all the knowledge, skills and abilities society currently demands, the UIC helps students become supportive, independent, committed and discerning, to treat others with respect, and to view work as an opportunity to help others.

The ceremony closed with the traditional singing of Gaudeamus Igitur.