Private international law, notarial aspects

Duration

20h Th

Number of credits

Lecturer

Patrick Wautelet

Language(s) of instruction

French language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the second semester

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

This course is an advanced class during which selected questions of private international law will be studied in details. The questions addressed will be directly related to the activities of notaries. The course is open to those who have already followed an introductory course in private international law - preferably in Belgian private international law. The course will be divided in several themes. For each theme, issues of cross-border jurisdiction, applicable law and recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments and authentic acts will be addressed. Before addressing these specific themes, a general introduction will sketch out the main rules applicable to cross-border activity of notaries (such as jurisdiction, language of drafting of deeds, enforcement of foreign notarial deeds, etc.). Specific attention will be devoted to the two fundamental issues of notarial private international law, i.e. financial relationships between spouses and the law of successions and estates. Among the other themes which may be studied, the following will be considered : the law of cross-border divorce, the law of gifts, the legal consequences of notarial deeds abroad, buying and selling real estate abroad, etc.

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

The course aims to allow students to acquire the necessary tools to solve cross-border issues arising in notarial activities. Specific attention will be devoted to the need to take into account the objective of legal certainty inherent in the notarial activity. Attention will also be paid to the need to take into account the solution afforded to a cross-border situation by other States concerned.
Learning outcomes:
- ability to uncover in a real life case the private international law issues; 
- understanding of the main rules of contemporary private international law (from a Belgian and European perspective);
- ability to distinguish between the various sources of contemporary private international law, how they are interrelated and what is their respective scope of application;
- understanding of the mechanism aimed at determining the applicable law to cross-border situations, including the various mechanisms limiting or impacting the basic mechanism;
- ability to take into account the specific position of the notary in cross-border situations (arising out of the need for the notary to guarantee legal certainty).

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

A working knowledge of the basic principles of private international law, with special emphasis on the rules applicable in Belgium (and in particular the rules of the Code of private international law adopted in 2004) and the various European instruments (specifically Regulations 1215/2012 and 2019/1111) is required to attend the course.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

The course will be taught using first short lectures by the instuctor on the general principles. Each lecture will be followed by a collective work session during which the students will work on quizzes, solve cases or draft documents - this is order to make sure the principles have been understood and to allow the students to go further in their understanding of the rules. Students will be invited to participate actively during the class meetings, in particular drawing on the experience gained during their practical traineeships. Attendance of class meetings is strongly recommended.

Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)

Face-to-face course


Additional information:

The course will be taught in two ways : short lectures on the general principles will be followed by collective work sessions during which the students will actively solve cases, answer quizzes or draft documents. Particular attention will be devoted to the study of contract provisions used in practice. Students will be invited to participate actively during the class meetings, in particular drawing on the experience gained during their practical traineeships. Attendance of class meetings is strongly recommended.

Recommended or required readings

For each topic studied, a handout will be made available (either a text, an outline or a power point presentation). Students are invited to use actively all relevant statutory materials (such as the Belgian Code of Private International Law and the various European Regulations), which will be made available to them.

Exam(s) in session

May-June exam session

- In-person

written exam ( multiple-choice questionnaire, open-ended questions )

August-September exam session

- In-person

written exam ( multiple-choice questionnaire, open-ended questions )


Additional information:

tudents will in principle be required to write an exam. The exam will consist of one or several practical cases which will draw on various domains of the notaries' activity. The exam may also include short quizzes and other types of questions. The precise modalities will be announced during the first meeting. Special assessment modalities may be used if suitable given that the course is taught as a seminar. Students can in any case use all relevant statutory materials and other sources such as commentaries and case law to solve the exam.

Work placement(s)

Organisational remarks and main changes to the course

Contacts

Queries and observations may be sent to patrick.wautelet@uliege.be or addressed to the lecturer during or after each meeting.

Association of one or more MOOCs

Items online