Saint-Louis University - Bruxelles
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DROI1311 - General commercial law (+ exercise sessions without casus)


USL-B


Credits : 5

Lecturers :
Teaching assistant :
Mode of delivery :
Face-to-face , second term, 60 hours of theory and 6 hours of tutorials without cases.

Timetable :
Second term
Tuesday from 13:30 to 15:30 at 43 Botanique 1
Thursday from 13:30 to 15:30 at 43 Botanique 1

Language of instruction :
This course is taught in French.
The course material also includes some documents in Dutch studied in class.

Learning outcomes :
This course provides the students with a general training in commercial law.

The mastery of the concepts, their application to concrete situations and the development of a discerning mind are the main objectives.

Prerequisites :
Co-requisites :
None

Course contents :
The course is divided into four parts:

Book I. General theory of marketability

Chapter 1. General points
Chapter 2. The sources of commercial law
Chapter 3. Commercial acts
• Section 1. The legal enumeration of commercial acts
• Section 2. The doctrinal attempts of defining the commercial act
• Section 3. From the commercial act to the trader
• Section 4. The importance of the distinction between commercial act and civil act
• Section 5. Mixed acts

Book II. The actors of commercial law

Chapter 1. The trader
• Section 1. The acquisition and the loss of the status of trader
• Section 2. The required legal capacity to be a trader
• Section 3. The rights and responsibilities of a trader
Chapter 2. Trading companies
• Section 1. General points;
• Section 2. The specific conditions of a partnership agreement;
• Section 3. The classification of companies;
• Section 4. The legal personality of trading companies;
• Section 5. The formation of trading companies
• Section 6. The identification of a trading company
• Section 7. The different forms of trading companies: example of the limited company
• Section 8. The transformation of companies
• Section 9. The dissolution of companies
• Section 10. The liquidation of companies

Book III. The trade police

Chapter 1. Trade Practices and Consumer Protection
• Section 1. The law of 14 July 1991 on trade practices and consumer information and protection
• Section 2. The law of 11 March 2003 on certain legal aspects of information (e-commerce)
• Section 3. The law of 8 December 1992 on Privacy Protection in relation to the Processing of Personal Data
Chapter 2. The general principles of competition law

Book IV. The specificities of the contractual relations of the trader

Chapter 1. The main exemptions from the common law of contracts justified by the trader status of one (or more) co-contracting party(ies)
• Section 1. Evidence in commercial matters
• Section 2. Solidarity between traders
• Section 3. The main commercial uses
• Section 4. The law of 2 August 2002 regarding the fight against late payment in commercial transactions
• Section 5. The specific rules that govern the negative prescription in transactions between a trader and a non-trader
Chapter 2. Commercial contracts
• Section 1. Commercial sale
• Section 2. Transfer and pledge of business assets
• Section 3. Commercial lease
• Section 4. Financial lease
• Section 5. Factoring
• Section 6. Commercial intermediaries (commission contract, commercial agency contract, concession sales agreement and franchise agreement).

Planned learning activities and teaching methods :
The lecture is completed by tutorials taught in small groups and supervised by the probationary lecturer.

The teaching staff pays special attention to creating a synergy between lectures and tutorials.

Assessment methods and criteria :
The final assessment is a written examination and will include knowledge questions as well as reflection questions and if necessary, the solving of a concrete case.

The students will only be assessed on the subject matter that has been addressed during the lecture. It is possible that certain documents handed out by the professor during the sessions can be used as material for examination questions.

During the entire examination, the students may have at their disposal their Civil Code, as well as other legal texts and jurisprudence authorised by the teacher.

However, the authorised documents may not contain any notes or cross references other than a reference to a law or a jurisprudential decision.

Highlighting, underlining and post-its (if they do not include any unauthorised notes as mentioned here above) are also authorised.

Recommended or required reading :
Orientational bibliographical references will be given in the syllabus.

Other information :
The lecture is completed by:
- The syllabus provided to students during the term
- The regulations studied in class or to which reference is made in the syllabus
- The jurisprudence commented in class

The course outline will also be provided for certain sections of the course.

Teachers will specify their requirements in this regard during the lecture.