Face-to-face , first and second term, 75 hours of theory.

English and Dutch

HDDR1241B - Reading Dutch legal texts [1 Q. • 30 Th. • Pond. : 2] Stef Feyen
HDDR1241A - Legal English [2 Q. • 45 Th. • Pond. : 3] David Best, Catarina Deraedt

For Reading of Dutch legal texts :
The general learning objective is for the students to be able to understand legal texts (case law, doctrine, legislation, etc.) in Dutch dealing with general themes such as public and private law, the judicial organization and the sources and principles of the law.
The students must also acquire passive knowledge of relevant legal vocabulary in Dutch, and be able to translate extracts from texts treated during class.

For the Bachelor in Law (Evening Programme) :

None

For Legal English:
The course is organized in two parts. The first is aimed at reinforcing students' general language skills and acquiring the basic concepts of UK/US legal terminology through reading comprehension, listening exercises and speaking practice. The second part consists of the study of a selection of areas of the law pertinent to anglophone (Common Law) legal systems and the analysis of legal cases/judgements taken from UK, US and International jurisdictions.

For Reading Dutch legal texts:
The course is based on an orientation test of knowledge of Dutch. This test is compulsory so that students can be assigned to the right group (in other words, with students with a similar level of basic knowledge in Dutch). The orientation test also gives rise to an exemption from frequenting the course if the student obtains 16/20 or more.
The course is composed of eleven chapters, blank test and a list of basic legal vocabulary. Each chapter contains (i) legal texts, and (ii) exercises on the understanding of the content and vocabulary of this text.
Students are required to read and prepare the texts and exercises of the relevant lesson in advance. These are then discussed in class. Active participation from students is hereby required.
The first lessons contain a number of additional grammatical exercises to refresh the general knowledge of Dutch. These can be treated during the monitoring class or are the subject of self-study. This is also the case for the translation exercises at the end of each lesson and for the list of basic legal vocabulary.
A blank test is organized mid-semester .

For Reading of Dutch legal texts :
Lectures, which require an active preparation and participation of the student during class (30 hours, two hours per week in the first semester).

For Legal English:
Lectures, which require active preparation and student participation during class, accompanied by task-based practical activities.

For Legal English:
The evaluation consists of two parts to be carried out by means of:
-A practical collaborative [written] report to be submitted during the term in which the course is taught: this will take the form of a group project (4 members) focused on a UK/US-based etc. legal case/judgement, in English, to be handed in as two separate parts:
> a “Case log”/summary of the case (1-2 pages, to be submitted on 5 April 2019; 10% of the course grade)
> a “Case report” and analysis/written project on the same case (6-8 pages + appendices, to be submitted on 10 May 2019; 40% of the course grade)

-An oral exam (50% of the course grade) carried out by means of:
> Round table/presentation of the project, by two teams at a time
> Debate between the two teams
> “Oral exam”-type questions from the two lecturers on the content of the presentations and their relevance to the course content (lectures).

For Reading Dutch legal texts:
Except in the case of the above-mentioned exemption via the orientation test in Dutch:
The evaluation will be carried out by means of a partial written exam held at the end of the first four-month term. This exam consists of three parts:
1. A series of questions about the vocabulary of texts taught in class and from the list of basic legal vocabulary;
2. A series of questions that aim at understanding a new text. This new text is of the same nature and treats an analogue theme as a text that was dealt with during class;
3. The translation into French of an extract of a text that was dealt with in class.

For Legal English:
Study materials may be made available and bibliographical references given during the year.
For Reading Dutch legal texts:
No recommended reading,

Reading material may be made available via Moodle or via the reprography service.