Duration
30h Th
Number of credits
| Master in law (120 ECTS) | 3 crédits | |||
| Master in management, professional focus in law | 3 crédits |
Lecturer
Substitute(s)
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 aim of this course is an introduction to how the public service for justice works in Belgium. The approach is a purely descriptive one of the legal institutions, the study of the competence of the kingdom's various jurisdictions and the applicable procedure involved during lectures on civil procedure and criminal procedure law, taught later in the cycle of studies.
In the first part of the course, the basic elements of the judiciary in the broad sense are studied: function of the act of judging, distinctive features of the public service for justice, constitutional status of the judiciary and general principles established by the legal code.
The second part includes a detailed description of the jurisdictions of the judiciary, the justice of the peace at the Court of Cassation.
Finally, the third part of the course is devoted to the study of the status of the various players in the legal world: sitting judge, public prosecutor, public auditor and legal expert, clerk, bailiff and lawyer.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
The aim of this course is to provide students with sufficient knowledge of how the justice system works in Belgium.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
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Planned learning activities and teaching methods
This course is organised in the form of seminars.
Students must have read a certain number of pages of the reference book before every session, during which they will be able to interact with the lesson contents.
Teaching is based on a book published by Larcier (see below). Ultimately, students will be asked to do some reading and research alone.
Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning)
This is a face-to-face course in the second semester.
Recommended or required readings
The book that is essential to the course is entitled "Les institutions judiciaires : organisation et éléments de compétence." Co-written by Professor G. de Leval and F. Georges, the course leader, it is the first volume of a "Précis de droit judiciare", published in its second edition in Novembre 2014 by Larcier. Additionnal documentation will be provided to the students.
In addition, it is necessary to have an updated version of the Belgian Judicial Code.
Assessment methods and criteria
The assessment will be in the form of an oral exam during the May-June and August-September exam sessions.
The exam relates to the material discussed in the abovementioned book and during lectures. The aim is to verify both the students' knowledge and their understanding of this material.
In accordance with the process of reflection practised within the Department of Law relating to the skills acquired by the students, special attention will be paid to the level of accuracy expected of the students in their understanding and use of legal language.
Work placement(s)
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Organizational remarks
The legal code is available to students as well as all the legal texts referred to in the book entitled "Les institutions judiciaires". Students are allowed to highlight, underline and use post-its. Notes are forbidden, only references to articles are allowed.
Contacts
Students may address any course-related questions to Mrs. Charlotte Musch, lecturer, assistant at the university and lawyer at the Liège bar (c.musch@ulg.ac.be - 04/366.30.04).
Question and answer sessions are organised for the students. They will be announced during lectures and via the MyULg portal.