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| DROI2339-1 | Private international law - general course
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| Duration : | 60h Th |
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| Credits/ECTS : |
| Master in Law, Professional Focus in Business Law, 2nd year | | First semester | | 5 |
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| Master in Law, Professional Focus in Public and Administrative Law, 2nd year | | First semester | | 5 |
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| Master in Law, Professional Focus in Private Law, 2nd year | | First semester | | 5 |
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| Master in Law, Professional focus in Criminal Law, 2nd year | | First semester | | 5 |
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| Master in Law, Professional Focus in Labour Law, 2nd year | | First semester | | 5 |
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| Holder(s) : | Patrick Wautelet |
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| Language : | French language |
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| Course contents : | The main themes addressed in this course are (cross-border) jurisdiction of courts, conflict of laws and recognition and enforcement of judgments. These classic issues will be presented in two stages. In a first stage, attention will be devoted to the theoretical basis of the discipline : why should a court of country A consider the application of the laws of country B? Why should a judgment issued by a court of country B be given effect by the courts of country A? These issues will be studied so as to give students the tools required to understand and analyse a private international law problem. Specific attention will be given to the interaction between the various rules (international, European and national).
In a second stage, the fundamental questions will be illustrated by reference to the various practical contexts in which they can arise. In a first part, attention will be focused on family law questions such as marriage, divorce, alimony and financial relationships between spouses. In a second part, one will turn to the business law issues, such as contracts, torts, property and companies.
The instructor will make available a collection of materials (mainly texts of international conventions, European regulations and Belgian statutory materials). A detailed handout of each lecture will also be available. |
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| Course objective : | The course aims to give students a broad overview of the questions that can arise in private international disputes or situations. The focus will be on analytical thinking and problem-solving approach and not so much on detailed knowlegde of all applicable rules.
The course will be taught in lecture style, with, however, some input from the classroom. No preparation or reading is required for the lectures, although they could certainly help, especially if the student's command of the French language is limited. |
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| Prerequisites : | A basic knowlegde of one's national private law and a good knowlegde of the French language. Students whose command of the French language is insufficient should talk to the instructor before registering. |
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| Workshops : | Due to the number of students registered for this class, no additional session shall be organized in order to apply the rules learned to practical cases. However, the study of the so-called special part of private international law, shall mainly be based on practical cases, which shall be provided to students beforehand and will be examined closely during meetings with the students. |
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| Organization : | There will mainly be lectures by the teacher, with emphasis on the concepts and key questions, and not on the details. During the lectures, practical cases will be dealt with to illustrate the rules studied. Questions will be fielded to the students and active participation is warmly encouraged, even though the size of the class may not allow for a real socractic dialogue. Students are warmly encouraged to read the materials before each class meeting. This is especially valuable for the students whose command of the French language is limited. |
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| Written notes : | The teacher will make available a handout composed of various texts which cover most questions studied. The handout is a work in progress. Students will also receive a set of materials, composed of national and international legislation. All these documents should be used as a help and not serve as an excuse not to attend classes... Attendance of class meetings is imperative. |
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| Assessment : | Students will be evaluated during a 20-min oral examination with the instructor. The exmination will be conducted in French. Students will be given a short case to solve, and 20 min. to prepare their examination (with the help of relevant statutory materials). The aim of the examination is to evaluate whether the student has mastered the reasoning underlying the main rules of private international law, rather than merely memorized the rules. |
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| Contacts : | Questions and observations may be sent to patrick.wautelet@ulg.ac.be or may be asked after each class meeting. |
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