Duration
30h Th
Number of credits
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 aim of this course is to provide an introduction to the Judiciary in Belgium. The approach is resolutely intended to be descriptive of the organs of justice, the aspects related to the jurisdictions of the courts and civil procedure being the subject of another bachelor's degree course in law.
In the first part of the course, the fundamental features of the Judiciary in the broad sense are studied: the nature and function of the act of judging, the characteristics of the public service of justice, the constitutional status of the judiciary and the general principles enshrined in the Judicial Code. There is also a study by the Public Prosecutor's Office, because of the practical usefulness of this knowledge for students who only have to follow this part of a more general course.
The second part describes in detail the organisation of the courts of the judicial system.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
The course aims at providing students with a sufficient knowledge of the Belgian judicial system.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
None
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
Teaching is ex cathedra, except for practical exercises, during which students are expected to take an active role.
The teaching is based on a book published by Larcier (see below).
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Face-to-face course
Further information:
Lectures and tutorials take place during the first quarter of the year. Some important chapters of the course may be reviewed by experienced students.
As the course is aimed at an audience of mainly first-time students, a number of sessions will be recorded by podcast, in particular because of timetable conflicts, for pedagogical purposes. It is up to the students to make appropriate use of this.
Course materials and recommended or required readings
Platform(s) used for course materials:
- MyULiège
Further information:
The course's teaching is based on Institutions judiciaires, 4th Edition, Larcier-Intersentia, 2024, by Fr. Georges and G. de Leval.
The use of the belgian Judicial Code is required.
Articles of the code may be underlined but not annotated. The Judicial Code may not be filled in with post-it notes.
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
written exam ( multiple-choice questionnaire, open-ended questions )
Additional information:
Assessment will be by a written exam.
This examination will include multiple choice and true/false questions, questions on the understanding of the subject matter, a practical exercise and a reflective question based on a topical issue.
The examination will be based on the subject matter set out in the book Institutions judiciaires, published by Editions Larcier, as well as on the developments of the oral course. It aims to verify both knowledge and understanding of the subject matter.
Students are required to have an up-to-date judicial code at the time of the examination, the articles of which may only be underlined. Post-it notes or other additions are not permitted.
Work placement(s)
None
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
Contacts
Questions on the course may be asked to Mrs Barbara Sias (barbara.sias@uliege.be).
Besides, sessions specially dedicated to specific questions will be organised and announced in advance.
Except in exceptional cases, the course holder does not reply to students' emails, unless he or she is a course delegate.