Face-to-face , second term, 15 hours of theory.

The course is taught in French.

The seminar in legal theory, a ‘treasure' of the law faculty since its inception in 1974, allows you to develop a personal research project within the wider theoretical framework established during the course of Introduction critique à la pensée juridique contemporaine. Although the research project to be carried out is personal, the seminar also encompasses a group dynamic that encourages interaction throughout the year amongst a small group of students as well as between the students and the professor.
More specifically, at the end of the seminar, you should :
- have opened your mind to the fundamental questions on law and legal theory and to a critical reflection thereof;
- have acquired the ability to understand texts in legal theory, and to summarise and discuss them;
- have studied a legal (theoretical) issue thoroughly and critically, through personal research , and have produced a critical analysis based on legal sources and other disciplines, ideally from an interdisciplinary perspective.

For the Bachelor in Law (Evening Programme) :

None

The seminar is structured as follows
- an introductory session;
- four lectures on one or more texts chosen and distributed by the professor, on various general subjects of legal theory or on more targeted themes - always with a conceptual, critical and even interdisciplinary approach, covering, as far as possible, different branches of law.
- two sessions allowing you, if you wish, to discuss your individual work with the professor;
- the submission of a written work of 10 to 15 pages (5000 to 7500 words), on the last Friday of the term or the day before the second session, at 23:59. For the year 2022-23, the deadlines are Saturday 20 May for the first session and Tuesday 15 August for the second session; the date and time of submission on moodle is authentic and, in case you upload your work after the closure of the buildings, the printed version of your essay must be deposited at the Administration Facultaire without delay, i.e. on the first working day following the deadline mentioned above.

The documents to be read are made available to you on moodle.
They are the object of a reading note, 1 or 2 pages long, in which you must summarise the key ideas of the proposed text(s): this is a working document necessary for the debates in class, which can be presented in a schematic way. In this note, you are also asked to extract 2 issues or key ideas that particularly appeal to you. This note is a condition for admission to the course and must therefore be submitted on moodle before the start of the class.
For the final assignment, you will have to question the relevance - or not - of a proverb, saying or other adage of "popular wisdom" in the legal field. The ambition here is to exercise your personal reflection at a meta-level in relation to positive law, in particular by linking a non-legal register with the law.

The assessment of the essay is mainly based on the structure of the argument, the formulation of the issue and its relevance, interdisciplinarity, critical thinking, quality of research, general understanding of the issue and the literature, written expression and methodology.

You will also be assessed, more marginally, on the basis of your participation in class and your reading notes.

The reading file will be provided by the professor during the year.

No pre-correction of papers is offered. However, you can meet with the professor during the course ; it is recommended that these discussions be based on a text (outline, chapter, etc.).