Brussels: The city and the law

6 ECTS credits
150 h study time

Offer 2 with catalog number 4023426ENW for working students in the 2nd semester at a (E) Master - advanced level.

Semester

2nd semester

Enrollment based on exam contract

Impossible

Grading method

Grading (scale from 0 to 20)

Can retake in second session

Yes

Enrollment Requirements

NOTE: registration for this course is only possible for working students. Day students can register for courses whose code ends with an R. At Inschrijven / studentenadministratie@vub.be you must be registered at the VUB as a working student for the current academic year.

Taught in

French

Faculty

Faculty of Law and Criminology

Department

Metajuridica

Educational team

Gloria Gonzalez Fuster (course titular)
Nathan Genicot

Activities and contact hours

12 contact hours Lecture
138 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study

Course Content

The course offers students the opportunity to improve their language skills by enganging in a series of activities in French, around the theme 'Bruxelles: la ville et le droit' ('Brussles: the city and the law'). It is grounded on the idea that languages can serve as both bridges and tools for further development and emancipation. It aims to explore - in French - the many ways in which law is interconnected to, and relevant for, the city of Brussels.

Brussels is a privileged capital for the study of the law. The judiciary, legislative and the executive branches of power coexist. Local, regional, state authorities operate here, but Brussels is also the symbolic and operative centre of the European Union (EU). The city welcomes lawyers, law firms and a vibrant academic legal community, all communicating in a multitude of languages.

Students will attend a series of five guest lectures and an activity where they engage with legal activities in the city (e.g. court hearing, European Parliament (EP)). All these activities will take place in French. Activities allow students to hear a variety of voices, from different types of legal actors, and on different topical subjects.

The content of the course is structured around 5 themes: 1) historical perspectives on Brussels and law (e.g. birth of the "École de Bruxelles", history of the bar); 2) the courts in Brussels (focus on doctrinal developments); 3) (re)inventing the city and its impact on law (e.g. the emergence of the urban commons); 4) the EU legislator and Brussels; and 5) Brussels and the future of digital regulation (e.g. digital rights enforcement, leadership in AI regulation). The areas of law studies will notably include legal history, civil law, publix law, European and international law, human rights, law and technology.

The course aims to provide students with substantive knowledge of legal issues to the city, and in particular tot the city of Brussels, in it's many dimensions (local, regional, national, international), the present and the future. In addition, it aims to familiarize students with French-speaking actors and institutions related to Brussels and law, and in particular the academic community (e.g. the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels Center for Urban Studies (BCUS)), as well as multilingual actors and institutions in which French plays an important role.

Course material

Digital course material (Required) :

Additional info

The study visit may consist of a number of different events to allow students to attend in different groups, and facilitate active participation. The study visit in any case combines the exploration of a relevant place, and receiving information (in French) about the institution visited and related legal issues (orally by the host, that this, the guide or institutional representative), with opportunities for interaction and exchange (e.g. talking during in situ Q&A).

Learning Outcomes

Learning outcomes

At the end of this course, students will be able to:

consult sources in French and follow, understand and summarize presentation in this language; and have improved their ability to study and work in multilingual environments;
independently analyze problems that relate to different areas of law, and they have acquired knowledge in certain areas of law, such as legal history, civil law, European and international law, humand rights, law and technology.
Regarding scientific research in their field, students are familiar with the principles of argumentation. They are able to independently and scientidically handle researcg a legal subject; they have analytical, synthetic and problem-solving skills at an acedemic level;
And students are familiar with the skills and techniques necessary to compose texts clearly and in a coherent structure, in French. They present the results of their research in a logically constructed and written report in French.

Formulated in more detail, it can be stated that:

the students will have improved their legal knowledge while being introduced to a set of concrete legal issues related to the city of Brussels and its legal actors;
and they will have done so while improving their French language skills.

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Other Exam determines 100% of the final mark.

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

Final Evaluation with a relative weight of 100 which comprises 100% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

Five guest lectures, a study visit in Brussels and self-study from the core of the course. Written documentation accompanying the lectures and the study visit constitutes compulsory reading. The study visit contains substantive pedagogical content, in the form of at least an oral presentation on site. The documentation provided in preparation for the study visit, as well as the information provided during the study visut itself, also contitute compulsory study material.

In addition, a selection of audiovisual and written material and activities in the city (e.g. theater performance) will be identified, in orde for students to compose their own study track. The student must study at least 5 of the proposed materials, including at least 1 written document and at least 1 audiovisual source. Self-study of these suggested materials is also a core component of the course.

To succesfully complete the course, students submit a final report demonstrating that they can consult resources in French as well as follow, understand and summarize presentations in that language (Part A). They should also demonstrate that they can put to use the content of such sources to independently analyze problems that overlap with different areas of law, that they are familiar with the principles of argumentation and that they have analytical, synthetic and problem-solving skills at an academic level (Part B), in line with the learning outcomes.

For the second examination period, participation in the study visit will be replaced by another activity (e.g. online material).

The final evaluation consits of the assessment of the final report, drawn up in French. The report consists of: Part A: Summary of the activities (approximately 1,000 words) with a description of the activities followed (lectures and study visit) and a motivated description of the materials selected for study; Part B: Research report (approximately 4,000 words), in the form of a reflective research paper in which the student further develops a theme from the course by connecting different course activities (including the self-study material) and placing them in a broader legal context. Evaluation criteria relate to: understanding of the lectures and of the presentation of the study visit, as well as of the selected self-study material; clarity and coherence of structure; use of appropriate legal terminology in French; originality and quality of the analysis, quality of argumentation.

SECOND SESSION

If the student has not submitted a final report in the first examination period or has failed that examination period, a revised final report must be submitted in the same way as in the firts examination period. The assessment and grading are done in the same way as in the firts examination period.

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