Legal terminology and text analysis course in English

Duration

30h Th

Number of credits

Lecturer

François van der Mensbrugghe

Language(s) of instruction

French 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

The aim of the Legal English course is to introduce law students to a broad range of legal texts that will assist them in their academic and professional undertakings. The method of the course goes beyond mere translation and the memorizing of lists of vocabulary. It is meant to provide an introductory understanding of the legal culture of the English-speaking world so that students may convey their understanding in a non-English speaking context. In order to achieve this objective, students are invited to read a vast array of texts taken from the Common law (and specifically the English and American legal environments). Besides judicial decisions and statutory instruments, the material comprises academic writings as well as law reports taken from leading English newspapers. In addition to the reading material itself, the course provides a vast number of exercises and a thorough glossary of legal terms specifically suited for the course and accessible on-line (E-reading).

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

By the end of this course, students should be able to:
1). convey the meaning of a Common Law judgment in their native language;
2). write a short note in Legal English; 3). command the structure of the court system in the United States and the United Kingdom, in addition to understanding the main features of Civil Procedure in both countries; 4). discuss and analyze several key areas of contemporary legal debate (current and developing trends) in the English-speaking world.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

Students are kindly requested to have a "reasonable" command of the English language. Those students who feel they have a "below average" command of English are kindly invited to make this known at the outset of the course.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

In the main, the course involves reading a significant number of legal texts in English. All texts will be made available online (E-reading). Exercises will also be given (some of which may involve writing in English).

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

Given during the second semester, classes take place on Tuesday evenings, from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm (zone Vingt-Août, salle G. Kurth, bâtiment "A2-Faculté de Philosophie et Lettres").
The first class will take place on Tuesday, September 17, 2019.

Recommended or required readings

The texts will be made available online (E-reading).
Besides the texts themselves, the entire course is based on extensive usage of a Powerpoint presentation, available on the website of the course.

Assessment methods and criteria

The form of the exam is a two and a half hour written examination comprising:

• six comprehension questions (answers in French)
• a commentary ("case brief") of a judgment in English, analyzed in class (answer in French);
• the translation and commentary ("case brief") of a judgment in English, that was not analyzed in class (translation from the English into French, case brief in French);
• a short essay question based on the understanding of several texts (answer in French).

Work placement(s)

Organizational remarks

See above, Mode of delivery.

Contacts

fvdmensbrugghe@uliege.be
The office of Professor van der Mensbrugghe is located on the ground floor of the Law School - level "0" (office R.35).

Adaptation of teaching commitments following the COVID-19 pandemic for the May-June 2020 session

Teaching methods implemented : distance-learning

Attending class in person is obviously preferable to online learning. Considering the class is given during the first semester, one naturally hopes the Covid 19 epidemic will be resolved by September 2020, with a normal resumption of teaching. Should this not be the case, online teaching will take over on the university's computer platforms, with corresponding reading material and exercises.

Assessment subjects

The exam will cover the material seen in class (either through online teaching or given to students in person): see above.

Assessment methods

Students may have to sit their exam online in the event that the Covid-19 pandemic continues. This will of course depend on decisions taken by governmental and academic authorities in the fall of 2020. The exact form of the exam will be conveyed to students in due course.

Contacts

fvdmensbrugghe@uliege.be

Adaptation of teaching commitments following the COVID-19 pandemic for the Aug-Sept 2020 session

Assessment subjects

Assessment methods

Contacts

Items online