2017-2018 / DROI1334-1

European civil procedure

Duration

15h Th

Number of credits

 Master in law (120 ECTS)3 crédits 

Lecturer

Aude Berthe

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 involves the analysis of European civil procedure, i.e. the main instruments adopted by the European Union that form 'European procedural law' (circulation of court decisions, obtaining enforceable titles, common procedures, obtaining evidence of proof abroad, transboundary notification and reporting, etc.).

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

The principle of the free movement of goods, services, capital and people encourages the mobility of European citizens and, in particular, the development of trade activities within the entire European Union. Situations with transboundary implications are therefore increasingly frequent, especially in a country like Belgium, owing to its central location in Europe and its small size. The aim of the Civil Procedure course is to enable students to acquire knowledge about the different instruments relating to European civil procedure. By the end of the course, students should be able to identify and solve relevant procedural issues in the event of a 'European dispute'.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

Command of the bases of Belgian civil procedural law and private international law.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

There are two parts to the course. The first few classes will take the form of lectures, focusing on a general presentation of the European legal area. Students will be encouraged to interact. In the last few sessions of the course, students are required to actively participate. During the first part of the course, students will receive a court decision or a case study which they have to comment on or solve. They will be asked to send a plan of their reflections by e-mail by a certain date. They will then have to present it to an audience during one of the classes. Hence, the last few classes will be devoted to oral presentations, during which the lecturer will introduce further questions and provide extra information.

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

The course is taught face-to-face. It will take place during the second term on Fridays, from 10:30 to 12:30.

Recommended or required readings

The relevant documents are available on the MyULg portal.  Students will be provided with an outline of the course, as well as a bibliography and a documentation file containing the relevant texts and examples from case law regarding the rules studied.

Assessment methods and criteria

Students will be assessed on the basis of two presentations: -          the presentation mentioned above in the 'Mode of delivery' section (50 % of the overall mark);  -          an oral exam relating to the whole subject during which students are allowed to refer to any of the documentation (50 % of the overall mark). Any students who don't do their oral presentation in the course of the year on the required date, will receive a fail for the first exam session. They will be asked to send in the plan of their reflections by 15 August at the latest, within the framework of the second exam session, and will have to defend it orally on a set date for the oral exam. The same rule applies to students who failed the test during the first exam session.

Work placement(s)

Organizational remarks

Contacts

Students can contact the lecturer by e-mail: aude.berthe@ulg.ac.be