Duration
Number of credits
| Master in management, professional focus in law | 3 crédits |
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
French language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the second semester
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
The methodology seminar focuses on one part of legal methodology: legal documentary research. The seminar enables students to acquaint themselves with legal rules in parallel with courses on positive law. It does not cover the elaboration process of legal rules and of their implementation, nor on the methodology of legal interpretation and its application.
The term 'seminar' used here is to be understood as comprising a group of higher education students carrying out practical research under the supervision of a lecturer (as well as the the course taught to this group) [http://cnrtl.fr/definition/s%C3%A9minaire].
The seminar consists of four 2-hour classes taught from a theoretical as well as a practical approach.
Three main questions are the common thread of the methodology of legal documentary research:
- What does legal research aim at? The distinction between legislation, doctrine and jurisprudence is explained with the view to define the aim of research.
- How is research to be conducted? What are its tools and process? Demonstrations of how to use the Library catalogue and discovery tool (https://lib.uliege.be/) and legal databases as well major reference works are given in class.
- How to make rigorous source citations in legal research? This involves understanding how to cite information resources.
Students are also required to carry out personal research so as to, for the three legal sources concerned, define the research object, understand the research tools and acquaint themselves with the research processes as with the formatting of citations.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
At the end of the seminar, students will be able to:
- develop and express a research issue (determination of a research topic and situation in a disciplinary subdivision, formulation of research equations using "verbos" -keywords- and suitable expressions, etc.);
- identify and render the research topic and know how to describe the suitable research tools;
- be familiar with the different types of documentary and legal resources and be able to situate themselves among them;
- identify the type of primary and secondary legal resources (legislation, case law, doctrine published in a periodical or monograph) when reading a reference;
- autonomously find a legal document on the basis of a known reference;
- independently search relevant scientific literature on a given legal topic, using the main legal research tools;
- correctly cite and reference their sources in law and the result of their research.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
There are no prerequisites.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
Student attendance is compulsory (attendance is taken each session).
The seminar is interactive and is taught in one of the computer rooms. The students are required to interact and ask questions, especially on their search experiences and the difficulties they have encountered.
During the theoretical part, students are asked not to use the computers available for them and to focus their attention on the presentation and demonstrations that will be given especially on the use of computer tools.
During the practical part, the students will be able to use the computers, especially to illustrate their questions and anything they might not have understood. In order to use the computers, the students must have their ULiège login and password on them so they can connect to the internet.
Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning)
Face-to-face seminar (see above: "Planned learning activities and teaching methods").
Recommended or required readings
There are no course notes. The reference book (mandatory reading) which is subject to examination is the following : C. NISSEN, F. DESSEILLES et A. ZIANS, Méthodologie juridique. Méthodologie de la recherche documentaire, 6e éd., Bruxelles, Larcier, 2016. This book is available at the Léon Graulich Library and on-line (on campus): http://primo.lib.ulg.ac.be/32ULG_VU1:blended:32ULG_ALMA21105178800002321
The lecturer will use a electronic presentation during the theoretical part. These slides aren't essential to the students but they can ask to have access to them if they so wish.
For citations, references and abbreviations, in addition to the aforementioned handbook, students should refer to the following documents and websites::
- the "Afkortingenlijst Belgische juridische tijdschriften" from KULeuven: https://www.law.kuleuven.be/apps/rechtsaf/;
- the "Guide d'utilisation de la feuille de style ULiège - Droit (French)" https://lib.uliege.be/sites/default/files/guidedelafeuilledestyle.pdf and a reference management software (https://www.zotero.org/; http://www.bib.umontreal.ca/lgb/zotero/default.htm et https://paris-sorbonne.libguides.com/zotero-gerer-sa-biblio-et-ses-pdf);
- the "Guide des citations, références et abréviations juridiques" downloadable for free: https://legalworld.wolterskluwer.be/media/4562/guide-des-citations-references-abreviations-juridiques.pdf;
Assessment methods and criteria
An assessment is organised at the end of the term in the form of an oral examination. This examination will assess the knowledge, the understanding, the application and expertise in legal document research.
The aforementioned handbook (see "Recommended or required readings") and the lessons given during the sessions are considered as subjects for examination (knowledge).
The mark given at the end of the seminar and after the assessment also takes into account the attendance of students in seminar sessions, involvement and commitment.
Work placement(s)
Organizational remarks
The seminar is held during the second term, at Sart-Tilman, in the Constant room in the Léon Graulich library (B31, https://lib.uliege.be/fr/libraries/graulich).
Location and access road:
https://www.campus.uliege.be/cms/c_1824964/fr/b31-faculte-de-droit-de-science-politique-et-de-criminologie-et-faculte-des-sciences-sociales
The sessions are spaced out (no more than one session per week) to give students the time to assimilate the subject studied during the theoretical part and to make a few legal searches by themselves, if need be.
Students can ask their questions during the sessions, via e-mail (see Contacts under) or directly at the office of the scientific officers within the Léon Graulich Library (-1/46).
Contacts
Mr François Desseilles - fdesseilles@uliege.be
Adaptation of teaching commitments following the COVID-19 pandemic for the May-June 2020 session
Teaching methods implemented : distance-learning
- the slides of the second part of the seminar which could not be held in the classroom were sent to the students;
- the planned live demonstrations have been replaced by self-learning by the student using the examples of research processes described in the manual (step-by-step explanations);
- the Léon Graulich Library has provided access to the private legal databases of all Belgian publishers that have extended "off-campus" connections during the confinement period, allowing students to repeat the steps explained in the handbook directly within the private legal databases (the other tools being freely available on the Internet);
- a helpline was proposed to the students;
- the handbook is available online: http://primo.lib.ulg.ac.be/32ULG_VU1:blended:32ULG_ALMA21105178800002321
Assessment subjects
Taking into account the specific situation and considering the purpose of the seminar, the evaluation will focus on the use of the knowledge gained from learning the above-mentioned textbook (cf. "Recommended or required readings") and therefore on the student's research skills.
The slides of the second part of the seminar are a summary of the subject matter detailed in the manual.
Assessment methods
Preparation of a bibliography on a subject related to the specialisation of the Master's degree which will include references to different types of documents (sources of law) and which will illustrate the research tools and processes used via screenshots.
Contacts
fdesseilles@uliege.be