DROI0961-1 : Law and economy

University of Liege | Version française

Study programmes 2012-2013

Last update : 18/06/2013

DROI0961-1

Law and economy

Duration :

30h Th

Number of credits :

Master in Law, Professional Focus in Business Law, 1st year		6

Master in Law, Professional Focus in Business Law, 2nd year		6

Master in Law, Professional Focus in Public and Administrative Law, 1st year		6

Master in Law, Professional Focus in Public and Administrative Law, 2nd year		6

Master in Law, Professional Focus in Private Law, 1st year		6

Master in Law, Professional Focus in Private Law, 2nd year		6

Master in Law, Professional Focus in Interuniversity Mobility, 1st year		6

Master in Law, Professional focus in Criminal Law, 1st year		6

Master in Law, Professional focus in Criminal Law, 2nd year		6

Master in Law, Professional Focus in Labour Law, 1st year		6

Master in Law, Professional Focus in Labour Law, 2nd year		6

Lecturer :

Anne-Lise Sibony

Language(s) of instruction :

French language

Organisation and examination :

Teaching in the second semester

Course contents :

This course is an opportunity for students to get acquainted with a perspective on the law, which is distinct from traditional legal scholarship. Economic analysis of law (also known as "Law and Economics") is a school of thought, which originally developed in the United States and is less common in Europe. The defining feature of this school consists in analysing law and legal processes through the lens of an economic questioning, asking in particular whether a rule or a legal institution is efficient, a question not traditionally asked by lawyers. In this sense, economic analysis of law constitutes an external perspective: it judges the law from the outside. This course offers an introduction to Law and Economics, but also invites students to critically discuss the propositions of authors from this school. Students will be invited to analyse particular propositions and ask themselves whether they are acceptable in a legal perspective. They will analyse if, when and by whom they can be used in real life legal contexts. In so doing, students will reflect upon the ways in which the external perspective of Law and Economics may be used within the legal sphere.

Learning outcomes of the course :

This course pursues both subject-specific goals and horizontal skill development objectives. Regarding the subject-matter of the course, students will, at the end of the course know the basics of law and economics. They will have read a few classic texts, will know how to characterise this approach and will be familiar, inter alia, with economic analysis of tort, contract. They will also have a view on how economic analysis can be used in actual legal contexts: whether at the rulemaking stage or at trial level. From a methological perspective, the course aims at developping students' abilities to appraise legal discourses critically. The course therefore also aims at developing students' argumentative and critical thinking skills.

Prerequisites and co-requisites/ Recommended optional programme components :

Basic knowledge of contracts and torts

Planned learning activities and teaching methods :

For this course, students will have to read for each class and be ready to discuss the readings. They will be asked to look for examples linked with the topics under discussion in various fields of law (studied in other classes). They will have to write a research paper and will be asked to keep a learning journal for this course.

Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning) :

Face-to-face (seminar)