Saint-Louis University - Bruxelles
|

ECGE1220 - Commercial law


USL-B


Credits : 5

Lecturers :
Mode of delivery :
Face-to-face , first term, 45 hours of theory.

Timetable :
First term
Thursday from 13:30 to 15:00 at 119 Marais 2100
Friday from 15:45 to 17:15 at 119 Marais 1100

Language of instruction :
Language of instruction
The course is taught in French. Bibliographic references and case-law studied in class are also mainly in French.


Learning outcomes :
This course is designed for students who are not enrolled in Law faculty. That is the reason why it does not aim to present down to the smallest detail the legal mechanisms and rules addressed during the sessions.

This course aims to bring the students to master the fundamental institutions of economic law: the notion of enterprise (as a natural person or corporation); balance between liberty of commerce, market organisation, state interventionism; review of key techniques of economic law (commercial contracts, market practices, insolvency).

These different notions are subject to strict definitions. They will be illustrated by examples taken from socio-economic reality and “everyday life” of legal qualification work. They will be reviewed through jurisprudential implementation. We will make links between economic law on the one side and economic analysis on the other side.

By the end of the course the students should be able to define and compare the concepts studied in class, they should also have a “prudential” approach to the legal control of economic activities.


Prerequisites :
For the Bachelor : Business Engineering :

For the Bachelor in Economics and Management :


Co-requisites :
None

Course contents :
The course is structured in different chapters designed to provide the students with an introduction to the fundamental mechanisms of economic law.

A first section identifies, defines and follows the “actor” of economic law: the enterprise - whether acting as a natural person, a corporation or a public operator.

A second part is devoted to market mechanisms. After having studied the actor, we will present the “playing field”. This can be characterised by the principle of free trade and liberty of commerce, but also by the organisation and preservation of the market and a set of provisions that derogate to or adjust the freedom principle mentioned above (access to the profession, market practices, competition regulation, etc.).

The third section will be devoted to the synthetic review of the main techniques characteristic of economic law: specific tools, i.e. commercial contracts.

The fourth section will be devoted to the insolvency rules.


Planned learning activities and teaching methods :
This course is a lecture, which will also be illustrated by readings and the critical analysis of case-law. Practical exercises will also be solved.

Assessment methods and criteria :
The exam is written. Each professor marks the questions related to the subject that he has personally taught.

One of the questions is an application exercise of the same type as those presented in class.

During the exam, the student may have at his / her disposal the selection of relevant legal texts provided by the professors, without any annotation.


Recommended or required reading :
Each part of the syllabus refers to an intentionally restricted bibliography.

Besides, the students are invited to purchase the selection of relevant legal texts provided by the professors, containing the legal provisions relevant for the notions explained in class.


Other information :
- Syllabus (to be completed with personal notes): it is not exhaustive, but it includes a course summary with the main concepts;
- Selection of relevant legal texts provided by the professors.