Duration
12h Th, 6h Pr
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 the basic principles and mechanisms which, in parallel with the various courses on positive law, make it possible to identify the main sources of law and localize them
The seminar consists of a number of 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? Students will get acquainted with the main legal databases.
- 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.
The seminar is interactive. The students are required to interact and ask questions, especially on their research experiences and the difficulties they have encountered.
Students will be required to carry out limited pratical exercises during the various sessions.
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid 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 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 lecturers will use a ppt presentation during the various sessions.
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/;
- Online archives Belgian legal sources : https://bib.kuleuven.be/rbib/collectie/archieven/
- the "Guide des citations, références et abréviations juridiques" downloadable for free: https://legalworld.wolterskluwer.be/media/4562/guide-des-citations-references-abreviations-juridiques.pdf;
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
written exam ( open-ended questions ) AND oral exam
Additional information:
An assessment is organised during the exam session. This examination will assess the knowledge, the understanding, the application and expertise in legal document research.
Students will be required to carry out limited research queries in order to demonstrate their knowlegde and command of research techniques and strategies.
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)
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
The seminar is held during the second term, in B31. Some meetings may take place 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
Contacts
Monsieur Patrick Wautelet (patrick.wautelet@uliege.be)
Mme Julie Colemans (julie.colemans@uliege.be)