Duration
45h Th, 15h Lect.
Number of credits
| Bachelor in law | 5 crédits | |||
| Master in law, professional focus in law and management | 5 crédits | |||
| Certificate in teaching of philosophy and citizenship (not organised in 2022-2023) | 5 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 aim of the course of legal theory is to present some of the most stimulating answers to the seemingly simple question: what is Law? This apparent simplicity masks the formidable difficulty of any attempt to describe with accuracy the legal phenomenon and its irreducible specificities. Moreover, the multiplicity and disparity of the answers that have been given to this question constitute a stimulating challenge for students learning law: what exactly is the object of their studies? In order to show both the importance and the difficulty of this question and, more broadly, of any somewhat abstract reflection on the law, the teaching is divided into three main parts.
The first part presents the work that most fully sets out the conception of the Liège school of legal theory in this area: Le cap des Tempêtes. Essai de microscopie du droit by Lucien François.
In a second part, other theories, among the most fundamental of those that the twentieth century has bequeathed to us, are synthesized, in order to put them in resonance with the model presented in the first part and to compare the divergent answers brought to the question of the nature of law: the theories of Santi Romano, Herbert Hart, Hans Kelsen, Carl Schmitt and Michel Villey will thus be successively exposed.
In the third and final part, which will be different each year, we shall endeavour to show, with reference to a practical case or a concrete legal debate, the interest of legal theory in measuring all the consequences and, consequently, the insufficiency of positive law to be able to reason rigorously. For the 2023-2024 academic year, the third part will be devoted to a reflection on the legal mechanisms used during the Covid health crisis, based on Federico D'Ambrosio and Géraldine Brausch's documentary, Entre-temps. Le silence des lucioles (Belgium, 2023).
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Learning outcomes of the learning unit
To encourage students to have an objective view the field of law while avoiding the pitfalls and pretences that the law, as an instrument of power and knowledge, uses for the needs of its supposed efficiency. More concretely, to encourage students to cultivate virtues as precision, rigour, logic and correct use of the language without which there can be no good lawyer.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Students must have successfully completed the courses in "Introduction to legal philosophy" and in "Introduction to public law" in the first block of their bachelor's degree.
A sufficient command of the French language and non-formal logic is required.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
"Ex cathedra" course. Course attendance is strongly recommended.
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Face-to-face course
Additional information:
Face-to-face course organised in the second quadrimester.
In addition to rehearsals led by a student monitor, question-and-answer sessions will be held every other week to enable students who so wish to improve their understanding of the material and prepare as well as possible for the exams.
E-mails relating to the subject will only be answered until the end of the second quadrimester (for the first session) and until 15 July (for the second session).
Recommended or required readings
Nicolas THIRION, Théories du droit. Droit, pouvoir, savoir, Bruxelles, Larcier, 2011
Compulsory reading: Lucien FRANCOIS, Le cap des Tempêtes. Essai de microscopie du droit, 2nd ed., Bruxelles-Paris, Bruylant-LGDJ, 2012
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
written exam ( multiple-choice questionnaire ) AND oral exam
Additional information:
Examination arrangements depend on the total number of students enrolled.
If this number is less than 300, the assessment will consist of an oral examination with two questions. Preparation time: 20 minutes. Length of oral: appr. 20 minutes. The book by Lucien François may be highlighted, with post-it notes and words or short sentences in the margin of the printed text which must be used exclusively to refer from one chapter of the book to another (no reference may be made to other theories analysed in the course), as well as a brief summary (no more than 15 lines) before each chapter of the book. Further information and guidance on assessment will be given during the oral.
If this number is equal to or greater than 300, the exam will be divided into two parts.
Part 1: MCQ organised at the beginning of the session, designed to test, in addition to the minimum knowledge required, a sufficient command of the French language and of non-formal logic, as well as an ability for elementary reasoning. Access to the second part of the examination is conditional on a minimum mark of 8/20 in the MCQ (including decimals). In the event of a lower mark, this constitutes the final mark for the examination.
Part 2 (if you score 8/20 or more on the MCQ): oral exam. Two questions. Preparation time: 20 minutes. Length of oral: 20 minutes. The book by Lucien François may be highlighted, with post-it notes and words or short sentences in the margin of the printed text which must be used exclusively to refer from one chapter of the book to another (no reference may be made to other theories), as well as a brief summary (no more than 15 lines) before each chapter of the book. Further information and advice on assessment will be given during the oral. In the event that the student is allowed to take part 2, the mark obtained corresponds to two thirds of the final mark, while the result of part 1 constitutes the remaining third.
Work placement(s)
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
Given the difficulty of the course, which can no longer be organised on an annual basis due to an absurd decree, students are strongly advised to start the compulsory reading of Lucien François' work in the first term and, during the second term, not to hesitate to take part in the question-and-answer sessions and the rehearsals wirg the student monitor.
Contacts
Economic Law and Legal Theory unit (e-mail: nicolas.thirion@uliege.be)..