Introduction to Belgian Law

6 ECTS credits
150 h study time

Offer 2 with catalog number 1016033AER for all students in the 2nd semester at a (A) Bachelor - preliminary level.

Semester

2nd semester

Enrollment based on exam contract

Possible

Grading method

Grading (scale from 0 to 20)

Can retake in second session

Yes

Taught in

Dutch

Faculty

Faculty of Law and Criminology

Department

Publiek recht

Educational team

Geert Debersaques (course titular)

Activities and contact hours

39 contact hours Lecture
115 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study

Course Content

This course aims to familiarise non-lawyers with and give them an insight into the basic principles and concepts of Belgian law and the various branches of Belgian law.

A first topic that is dealt with is the law and its sources: what are the characteristics of the law and legal rules, which subdivisions can be made, what is the hierarchy of norms of substantive law and what does it look like.

Then an introduction is given to the main branches of (Belgian) law, whereby these branches of law are further explained and some basic principles and rules of the main branches are explained, theoretically and practically ("law on action"). For example, in the case of constitutional law, in addition to the general characteristics of the Belgian state and an overview of the various institutions, their bodies and their functions, the constitutional rights and freedoms, the organisation of the judiciary, the administrative courts, etc. are also explained and clarified.

Finally, the international and European institutions and their competences are discussed.

The course is illustrated with examples from legal practice, drawing in particular on the holder's practical experience as a magistrate and/or actual cases.

2. The lectures take place in "hybrid" form: distance learning (by means of video recordings) and face-to-face (on campus) teaching with video recordings. If an on-campus class takes place and could not be recorded (human error, technical defect, unavailability of compatible devices, etc.), the class will be deemed to have been given: an oncampus class always takes precedence.

Lesson recordings are limited to the recorded lesson itself and do not provide additional information etc.

Response and contact moments between students and the professor: questions regarding the material can be asked only before or after the physical lecture on campus. and up to and including the last physical lesson.

No questions on the material can be asked by e-mail, teams or any other channel. If the professor is 'out of office', he is not available. After the last class, there is no opportunity to ask further questions.

Course material

Handbook (Required) : Inleiding tot het recht, M. De Jonckheere en G. Debersaques, laatste versie, Brugge, Die Keure, 9789048642854
Digital course material (Required) : Powerpoint presentations., G. Debersaques, Canvas
Digital course material (Required) : Recordings of the lectures., G. Debersaques, Canvas
Digital course material (Required) : Additional documents posted by the professor online in modules via canvas and which he indicates are part of the material (e.g. topical example, explanatory explanation of concepts, etc.)., Canvas-modules, canvas-modules

Additional info

Additional information on course material:

Students must keep track of any changes to the handbook that were communicated during the HOC. Law is a living matter. This means that the changes communicated during the lessons take precedence over texts in the manual that state otherwise.
The latest version of the required handbook is communicated via Canvas. The use of an older version does not guarantee the correctness of the material. An older version is therefore NOT supported.
Material from the handbook that may be omitted will be delineated via Canvas and/or during the HOC.

Learning Outcomes

General competencies

This course aims to familiarise students with the basic principles and concepts of Belgian law and the various (Belgian) branches of law.

Concretely, the students are expected to:

be able to describe the concept of law, to show and distinguish the meaning, scope and interrelation of the different sources of law and have an insight into the hierarchy of norms and the temporal working of the law;
be able to identify the different legal procedures and competent legal bodies and demonstrate an understanding of the different State institutions;
be able to correctly situate and interpret the basic principles of the different areas of law studied and use the legal terminology correctly, bearing in mind the importance of terminological nuances.

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Oral Exam determines 20% of the final mark.
Written Exam determines 80% of the final mark.

Within the Oral Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

Oral Exam with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 20% of the final mark.

Within the Written Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

Written Ex with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 80% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

Written exam will take part in small groups. You'll get 5 questions.

The Oral part of the exam follows the written exam immediately.

Examples of examniation questions can be found on Canvas.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark

The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context