Duration
60h Th, 15h Pr
Number of credits
| Bachelor in human and social sciences | 6 crédits |
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
French language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the first semester, review in January
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
The course focuses on constitutional law and political institutions, and is specifically aimed at students studying for a Bachelors in political science. The course is presented by two teachers, who are either lawyers or political specialists and who will both look at complementary aspects of the subject.
The part of the course relating to Constitutional law will be taught by Prof. Ann Lawrence Durviaux (45 hours). This will provide students with a precise and in-depth description of the rules of law which govern the operation of the State, as well as its relationship to individuals (including the issue of fundamental rights) and to other States. The learning objectives are set out chapter by chapter by highlighting key, structural concepts which students need to know.
The part of the course relating to Political Institutions, taught by Prof. Geoffrey Grandjean (30 hours) aims to understand and analyse, based on the rules of constitutional law, the power relationships between the various actors in the Belgian political system. More specifically, two main themes will dominate the course. First, students will be progressively taught to understand and analyse the institutionalisation of the State (its construction, its modes of government, its organisation and the balance of power), based on belgian constitutional norms. Secondly, students will be introduced to the main principles of decision manking and of political negotiation in Belgium (in terms of the federal State and federated entities).
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
By the end of the course, students will be able to understand how Belgian political institutions operate, while being able to identify the power relationships between political actors. These outcomes will be reflected in the ability to :
- understand the constitutional, legislative and regulatory norms which govern the operation of the State, its relationships with individuals and with other States.
- analyse documents, particularly jurisprudence and scientific literature ;
- understand how these rules structure political negotiations ;
- study and analyse political behaviour between various political actors.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Students must have followed the part on Constitutional Law to be able to follow the course on Political Institutions.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
The learning activities and teaching methods will be based around the following:
- lectures based on a number of scientific articles ;
- conferences given by invited speakers ;
- reading and analyses of documents distributed to students. To do so, before each class, students will be requested to read certain documents. In particular, these documents will include extracts of case law.
- exercises similar to the assessment will be communicated to students and will be discussed in resolution sessions at the end of the lesson, with Professor Ann Lawrence Durviaux's assistants.
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Face-to-face.
Recommended or required readings
Course materials for the part relating to Constitutional Law :
- Slides, supporting material for the oral presentations ;
- Written material covering the oral classes given by Professor Durviaux ;
- The documentation pack: normative sources ;
- The documentation pack: jurisprudence sources ;
- The multiple choice questionnaire and questionnaires to prepare for the assessment.
Course materials for the part relating to Political institutions :
Grandjean Geoffrey, Institutions politiques. Partie 1. Construction de l'État, organisation des pouvoirs et négociation politiques, Syllabus, 2020, 327 p., disponible à l'adresse suivante : http://hdl.handle.net/2268/249932.
Grandjean Geoffrey, Le principe d'égalité dans l'organisation de la société. Émile de Laveleye, un intellectuel au service de la Cité, Bruxelles, Larcier, Collection de la Faculté de droit de l'Université de Liège, 2020, 350 p.
Any session :
- In-person
written exam ( multiple-choice questionnaire, open-ended questions )
- Remote
written exam
- If evaluation in "hybrid"
preferred remote
Additional information:
The assessment consists of a written exam.
For the part relating to Constitutional Law, the exam will consist of a multiple choice questionnaire on general knowledge of the subject (set out for each chapter); generally, all the subjects in bold in the written course notes must be understood.
For the part on Political Institutions, the students will have to answer multiple choice questions.
Work placement(s)
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
The course takes place every year.
The course is given in Block 1 of the Bachelors in Political Science. It amounts to 75 hours and is presented by Profs. Ann Lawrence Durviaux and Geoffrey Grandjean.
The course is given as part of the Bachelors in Human Sciences, amounting to 30 hours and presented by Prof. Ann Lawrence Durviaux.
Monitoring methods are explained in the first class.
Contacts
Pr. Dr Ann Lawrence Durviaux
Professeur ordinaire
Pr. Dr Geoffrey Grandjean
Chargé de cours
Faculté de Droit, de Science politique et de Criminologie
Place des orateurs, 3
4000 Liège
Boîte 11
Bureau r. 16
Tel./ +32 (0)4/366.96.60
Mail : AL.Durviaux@uliege.be et Geoffrey.Grandjean@ulg.ac.be