DROI2353-1

Duration

30h Th

Number of credits

	Master in law, professional focus in management	3 crédits
	Master in law (120 ECTS)	6 crédits
	Extra courses intended for exchange students (Erasmus, ...)	6 crédits
	Master in management, professional focus in law	3 crédits

Lecturer

Patrick Wautelet

Language(s) of instruction

English language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the first semester, review in January

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

This course offers an introduction to the law of private international relations. It will mainly focus on cross-border commercial operations. This course will consider the following problems:

Which court or legal authority has the power to decide the dispute ('jurisdiction')?
What law will likely be applied to resolve the dispute (choice of law issues in contract, tort, and other matters)?
When will courts and other authorities recognize legislative or judicial determinations made outside Belgium?
When will courts provide assistance to foreign legal proceedings?

The course will mainly focus on rules applicable within the EU, with limited attention to other developments (such as the rules adopted by national legislators to deal with private international law issues)

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- identify the relevant issues arising in a cross-border relationship;
- outline the various steps to be taken in providing an answer to the issues arising in the framework of a cross-border relationship;
- evaluate the strength and weakness of arguments made in the course of legal proceedings relating to cross-border issues;
- identify the contractual mechanisms which could be used to prevent cross-border difficulties from arising;
- formulate a basic strategy in corss-border litigation.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

A good knowlegde of any national private law and a good knowledge of the English language. Students whose command of the English language is insufficient should talk to the instructor before registering. This course requires prior training in law and may not be suitable for students in other fields (economics, politics, etc.). Students without any previous training in law should talk to the instructor before registering.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

The course will be taught in lecture style. Students wil also be given short assignments from time to time. Specific attention will be devoted to discussion of cases decided by national or international courts, in order to illlustrate the rules studied. Students are expected to read assigned cases in order to participate in class discussions.

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

There will mainly be lectures by the instructor, with emphasis on the concepts and key questions. 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. Students will also be asked to solve short assignments at regular intervals. Failure to solve those assignments may result in the inadmissibility to take part in the final examination.

Assessment methods and criteria

Students will be required to participate in a moot court. The moot court will include a written and an oral stage. The written stage will require students to write submissions presenting their main arguments. During the second stage, students will present theirn arguments before a moot court.
Students will participate in the moot court in teams comprising three students.
The moot court case and the practical modalities of the moot court differ depending on whether the students earn 3 or 6 credits for the course.
Further details will be announced during the weekly meeting.

Work placement(s)

Organizational remarks

Students attending the regular law degree offered by the law school and students attending the joint law and business master degree (http://www.droit.ulg.ac.be/cms/c_280088/master-en-droit-et-gestion) may register for this course without prior authorization. Registration of students attending other programs (including Erasmus and Socrates programs) may be considered, upon discretion of the lecturer. An interview with the lecturer may be required if necessary.

Contacts

Questions and observations may be sent to patrick.wautelet@uliege.be or may be asked after each class meeting.

Items online

voy. la version anglaise
voy. la version anglaise

Private International Law