Study Programmes 2016-2017
DROI1103-1  
History of law
Duration :
45h Th
Number of credits :
Bachelor in law4
Extra courses intended for exchange students (Erasmus, ...)4
Lecturer :
Wim Decock
Language(s) of instruction :
French language
Organisation and examination :
Teaching in the second semester
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite :
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents :
The course is subdivided into two parts.
The first classes deal with the different currents of thought that have shaped the European legal tradition. They also draw attention to the shifts in constitutional values that underly certain changes in the history of private law. Particular attention will be paid to the persistence of Roman law throughout the centuries as the common basis of law in regions across Europe (ius commune), even if the simultaneous rise in national legal traditions (ius particulare), often based on customs will also be considered. In this first part, dealing primarily with what is known to be "external legal history", the public law dimension of the historical evolution of private law will be highlighted, for instance to explain the change in private law rules after the French Revolution, and to see the continuity and discontinuity between the laws of the ancien régime and the Codes.
The second part of the course starts from specific questions deriving from specific fields in private law such as contract, property, torts, family and successions. It deals with what is known to be "internal legal history". Selected issues from the history of commercial law will also be dealt with, since, historically speaking, there are a lot of connections with the development of private law. Finally, questions concerning the enforcement of subjective rights will be addressed, especially in light of the revival of alternative dispute resolution.  
Plan of the course:
  • The multiple lives of Roman private law: the reception of Roman legal categories from the medieval ius commune to the new ius commune
  • The rise of national identities and states and the "rediscovery" of customary laws
  • Constitutional values and private law: from a system based on collective privileges to the principle of non-discrimination among individual citizens
  • Codifications and the rise of a liberal paradigm in private law (France, Belgium, German): a metter of identity
  • Autonomy of the will and contractual fairness: the search for equilibrium in exchange from the moral philosophers to consumer contract law
  • Private property: its medieval origins, its consecration in art. 544 CC, and the ideological wars in the 20th century
  • Marriage and succession law through the prism of time: the sanction of disinheritance for marrying without parental consent in the ancien régime 
  • Commercial law between autonomy and regulation: the different lives of the lex mercatoria and public economic privileges
  • Enforcing rights: the development of procedural law and the return to alternative modes of conflict resolution
Learning outcomes of the learning unit :
The course offers an introduction to the historical foundations of modern private law, from the renaissance of Roman law in the late middle ages through the twentieth century. In addition to its propedeutic aspirations, the course primarily aims at learning students how to approach legal questions from a historical perspective, so as to see the roots of certain norms while being able to understand them in a critical way.
Some suggestions for studying the anthology of text:
Rather than learning those texts by heart, it is better to see them as working instruments that help you reflect on the course matter. The use of the anthology will be required at the exam. In other words, only the material seen in class (ppt, annotations) is meant to be learnt by heart. The efforts and time required for reading the anthology should not be underestimated. The analysis of those texts comprises at least three stages of reading: (a) an exploratory stage, (b) a stage of concentrated reading; (c) a stage of consolidation. During the first stage, limit yourself to reading the introduction and conclusion of the text, and merely skim through the body of the text. Attentive reading of the entire text is something to do during the second stage. Make sure that you can follow every step in the argument and underline those words or sentences that are important. If necessary, use a dictionary. Glossing the text, however, is forbidden. The last stage should help you to consolidate your understanding of the text by reading it again in its entirety. Make sure you see the links with other texts or the material presented in class, since many similar questions are treated in more than one text/class.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills :
No prerequisites, even if basic knowledge of Roman law is an asset.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods :
Ex cathedra teaching, combined with self-study of an anthology of texts which is a full part of the course. By way of compensation, about ten hours of ex cathedra lectures will make way for autonomous reading of texts.
Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning) :
Face-to-face and self-study
Recommended or required readings :
There is no syllabus in the strict sense of the word, but ppt-slides and an anthology of texts will be provided to the students. Taking notes during the course is necessary. The anthology of texts will be available for sale at Liège University Press. The ppt-slides will be put online. 
Assessment methods and criteria :
Written exam, consisting of two essay questions that should enable students to show their capacity to establish links between the different learning units and to develop autonomous, critical thinking about the relevant subjects. The student is expected to demonstrate knowledge both of what has been discussed in class (ppt, annotations) and of the texts in the anthology. The use of the anthology of texts will be allowed during the exam, although it shall not include annotations of any kind. Apart from the essay questions (which should be addressed in about 2 to 3 pages each), the exam will consist of five open questions that examine the student's factual knowledge (which should be addressed in about 5 to 10 lines) and five questions about different texts in the anthology (which should be addressed in about 5 to 10 lines). The final grade will proceed from a global evaluation of the answers to the separate parts of the exam.
Work placement(s) :
Organizational remarks :
Lectures during the second semester.
Contacts :
Mr. Wim DECOCK: wim.decock@ulg.ac.be
Items online :
Legal History - Anthology of Texts
The twenty texts collected in this anthology are fully part of the course on Legal History (DROI1103-1), even if ten texts, namely those followed by (*) remain optional. The twenty texts have been carefully selected from the state of the art in international legal historical scholarship. The anthology is complementary to the material presented in class (powerpoint, notes). While the latter give a general overview of a certain topic, the texts presented here have another aim. They further develop a certain aspect of a general theme, or they present the topic from another angle, or they allow the student to get insight into the methodological complexities of legal historical research. The texts will give students an idea of the sustained research efforts that lie behind the knowledge transmitted in class, which varies according to the changing insights delivered by scientific research. In this manner, students are invited to think critically and form their own opinion - capabilities which will be assessed at the exam, especially through essay questions, but also through questions that directly concern some of the texts in this anthology.  

Practical remark: the anthology will be available at Liège University Press.