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

1. 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.

3. Responses and contact moments from students with the professor: Questions about the course material can be asked before or after the lesson (in case of physical HOC), or via the vub-email address of the professor. Canvas also communicates the times when via an online meeting tool made available by the VUB (e.g. Teams => to be determined in Canvas) questions can be put to the course professor in a one-on-one online conversation (via chat or video).

4. The professor is also available via his vub email address.

Course material

Handbook (Required) : Inleiding tot het recht, M. De Jonckheere en G. Debersaques, laatste versie (meegedeeld via canvas), Brugge, Die Keure, 9789048642854, 2021
Digital course material (Required) : Powerpointpresentaties, G. Debersaques, Canvas
Digital course material (Required) : Lesopnames, G. Debersaques, Canvas
Digital course material (Required) : bijkomende documenten door titularis online geplaatst in modules via canvas en waarvan hij aanduidt dat die tot de stof behoren (bv. actueel voorbeeld, verklarende uiteenzetting van begrippen enz.)., 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 Exam 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.

Examples of examination questions:

What is the relationship between law and authority?
Discuss the procedure for amending the constitution.
What types of laws can be distinguished?
What is the difference between a legislative proposal and a draft law?
What is a lawful Royal Decree?
What is interpretation, how is it done and what is the difference between judicial and authentic interpretation?
What is a constituent?
What is the line in the law of succession?

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

Examples of examniation questions:

What is "double predisposition"; "Judgment and sentence"? "ex nunc and ex tunc? What is legal doctrine? What is equity?

Other examples will be available on the PowerPoint.

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