Saint-Louis University - Bruxelles
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ESPO1175 - Private Law



Credits : 3

Lecturer :
Mode of delivery :
Face-to-face , second term, 30 hours of theory.

Timetable :
Second term
Tuesday from 16:00 to 18:00 at 43 Botanique 1

Language of instruction :
The course is taught in French.
Bibliographical references or jurisprudential decisions examined in class are also mainly in French.

Learning outcomes :
As this is an introductory course, it aims essentially at bringing the students to understand and master fundamental institutions of private law through the following notions: subject of law, legal obligation, debt-claim, substantive law, civil liability, contract, etc.

By the end of the course, the students should be able to define and compare the concepts of private law studied in class.

They should also understand the jurisprudential decisions studied in class, that is to say, be able to connect these with the subject matter taught in the course and be able to apply the principles studied in class to simple concrete situations notably through the analysis of documents taken from practice.

Prerequisites :
None

Co-requisites :
None

Course contents :
The course is divided into different parts designed to provide the students with an introduction to the fundamental mechanisms of private law:

- Introduction: the introduction section provides the general framework of the subject by explaining the notions of law (objective) and rights (subjective). It then focuses on the classic distinction between “private law” and “public law”, as well as the sources of private law.

- The subject of law: who is entitled to play the game of law and therefore likely to hold individual rights? What is a natural person and a legal person (notion, characteristic elements)? What scope should we give to the notion of legal capacity? To the notion of estate?

- Legal obligation: what is an obligation from a legal point of view and what are its sources? What are the main rules that govern the contractual relations regime that a subject of law establishes with another? When are we responsible in civil law?

- Property and real rights: what prerogatives does the subject of law dispose of against what surrounds him?
- Intellectual rights: are the products of creation and/or human invention subject to protection? What is a patent, trademark, copyright and which protectionist regime grants them the right?

- The proof: who has to prove in case of dispute? What should he prove? And what are the types of evidence that are admissible in law?

- Classifications and limitations of subjective rights: what are the different categories of subjective rights that a subject of law can hold? Does the subject of law enjoy absolute freedom in the implementation of these rights? Or are there limits? If so, which?

- Application of private law in time and space. What rules govern the choice of law applicable to a particular situation in the event of legislative change? What rules determine the judge's authority and the applicable law when a situation can be linked to several national laws?

Planned learning activities and teaching methods :
The course is taught as a lecture, however this does not mean the subject matter is not illustrated by means of readings and analysis of jurisprudential decisions.

The beginning of each session will be devoted to a systematic review of the main notions studied in the previous session.

Assessment methods and criteria :
1. Material subject to assessment
The subject matter is that covered by the lecture completed by the syllabus for the parts that have been studied in class. Students repeating their year will make sure to keep up to date: the evaluation covers, of course, the subject matter that has been addressed during the academic year in which it takes place.

2. The assessment is a written examination (3hours). It includes questions of knowledge, comprehension and, if necessary, the solving of a concrete case or the commentary of a decision of jurisprudence studied in class.

3. Authorised documents and references
During the entire duration of the examination, the students may use:
- their code, that includes the legislative texts related to the subject matter studied in class (see infra “supports”).
- where appropriate, when the material requires it, loose sheets containing texts of law in addition to the code.

The student is, however, not allowed to bring codes incorporating summaries of jurisprudence. Nor can he attend the examination with court rulings or documents from practice, regardless of whether or not they were studied during the course.

These authorised documents may contain:
- underlining or highlighting (fluorescent); certain words can also be circled;
- contain a cross reference to:
a (other) legislative or statutory clause (e.g. “see art. 1134” or “see law of 12 December 2010”;
a key word, used by the student for classification purposes, to facilitate the search for the relevant provisions (such as the reproduction of the code title or the title of a particular law studied in class).

No references in terms of content of the subject matter or structure of the course are allowed.
Post-it notes - or other similar bookmarks - are allowed provided they meet the same requirements.

These instructions are explained by teachers during the first and last lecture.

A check of all documents is carried out at the beginning of the examination.
Any non-compliance with the above mentioned instructions will be brought to the attention of the president of the jury (see spec. article 28 of the General Examination Regulations), regardless of the intent or good / bad faith of the student. It is, indeed, the duty of each student to personally ensure compliance with these instructions.

4. Consultation of examination copies

- June session
One (and only one) session of consultation of examination copies is held in the week following the announcement of the results of the June session. No other session will be held, either individually or collectively.
- September session
One (and only one) session of consultation of examination copies is organised during the two first weeks of the academic year. No other session will be held, either individually or collectively.

Recommended or required reading :
The syllabus provides references to a deliberately restricted bibliography. The aim is to enable the students who wish so to have some fundamental references on the subject matter.

Other information :
Support:
- The syllabus to be completed by personal notes
- The casebook available at the reprography service of the University
- The legal and regulatory texts: students are invited to have these texts (or code) with them during the lecture.