Duration
30h Th
Number of credits
| Master in global transition and sustainability management | 5 crédits | |||
| Extra courses intended for exchange students (Erasmus, ...) | 5 crédits |
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
English 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
Taught in English over ten three-hour sessions, the course follows a three-part progression, moving from the general institutional framework toward its sectoral applications and, from there, toward the economic actors called upon to comply with it.
The first part, over three sessions, builds the conceptual and institutional foundation required by students coming from a range of disciplinary backgrounds: it introduces the notion of sustainable development, then situates its architecture within international law and governance, through the multilateral institutional functioning that structures them.
The second part, likewise over three sessions, moves to the level of sectoral regimes and confronts students with three major thematic issues arising within this same field of international law and governance: the carbon market established in the wake of the Paris Agreement as an instrument of climate governance, the regime governing access to and benefit-sharing from the use of biodiversity established under the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the relationship between the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (the BBNJ Agreement) and international law of the sea in ocean-related matters. This list is not exhaustive; the themes addressed may vary from year to year, depending on current international developments or on invited experts.
The third part, over four sessions, shifts the analysis toward economic actors and the room for manoeuvre available to them under these regimes of international law and governance: the WTO framework is examined in light of sustainability concerns, the circular economy is presented as one possible response to the dynamics of hyperconsumption, and corporate social responsibility is examined, and debated, as a vector of transition. The tenth session closes the course with a cross-cutting synthesis of the three regimes studied and prepares students for the examination.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
By the end of the course, students, whatever their undergraduate background, will be able to give an account of the institutional architecture of international law and governance in matters of sustainability; to critically analyse how the sectoral regimes examined in the course, whether relating to climate, biodiversity, or oceans, shape the constraints and the room for manoeuvre available to economic and public actors; and to draw on this knowledge to construct, when faced with a practical case, an argument that brings together legal requirements and strategic decision-making.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Active command of English, the language of instruction, is required. No prior legal training is assumed: since the programme admits students from a range of disciplinary backgrounds, including management, law, the sciences, the humanities, and engineering, the first part of the course provides each student with the necessary conceptual foundation.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
The course relies on an active pedagogy with a strong interactive and practical dimension, suited to a disciplinarily diverse student body called upon to translate legal frameworks into strategic and operational choices. Student participation takes several forms: in-class discussion; practical exercises carried out individually, in pairs, or in small groups, then peer-assessed using a grading rubric provided for that purpose. Certain sessions are designed as flipped classrooms and incorporate role-play exercises, group work, and the use of interactive tools such as Wooclap. Guest experts, invited in particular for the second part of the course, allow certain sectoral themes to be adjusted to reflect developments in the current academic year.
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Face-to-face course
Course materials and recommended or required readings
Platform(s) used for course materials:
- eCampus
Further information:
This course does not rely on a syllabus. Students have access to a set of online readings via eCampus, comprising books made available through the library's electronic access and articles posted on the platform, selected to remain accessible to readers without specialist legal training.
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
written exam ( open-ended questions ) AND oral exam
Further information:
The first-session examination takes the form of a written case study to be resolved, with open access to course materials, assessing the ability to apply the frameworks of international law and governance covered in the course to a concrete professional situation. In the second session, depending on the number of students enrolled, it may take the form of an oral examination.
Work placement(s)
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
This is a new course, taught for the first time as part of the new sustainability-focused master's programme at HEC Liège (Master in Global Transition and Sustainability Management). Together with the course Governing States for Transitions, it forms the module Geopolitics, Governance and Law (10 ECTS) within the programme's first teaching block, Understanding Transitions. Since the composition of the second part of the course is expected to evolve according to current developments and the availability of guest experts, the present description reflects its configuration for the current academic year.
Contacts
Christine Frison (christine.frison@uliege.be), Aurélien Hucq (aurelien.hucq@ulb.be).