Teacher(s)
Language
French
Learning outcomes
At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to : | |
| Law of obligations is a fundamental discipline, which will serve as a basis for many subsequent courses, among which: contract law, labour law, commercial law… The students should therefore understand the concepts and the legal regime that they fall under. The notions studied during the lecture, which proceeds through definitions and illustrations, will be used during the exercise sessions, in which the students will be confronted with a more inductive approach, starting from a casus. By the end of the course, the students will be able to apply the studied concepts to concrete situations |
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Content
Most of the subject is situated in books 1, 5 and 8 of the (new) Civil Code, adopted during the 2019-2024 legislature.
After a definition of the notion of obligation in the legal sense of the term (introduction), the course addresses the sources of obligations, as well as the general regime of obligations: the modalities of obligations, obligations with multiple objects or subjects, the transmission of obligations, the performance and non-performance of the obligation, the measures to safeguard the creditor's rights and the causes of extinguishment of obligations. It ends with the examination of the proof of the obligation. Some limited aspects of the new Book 6 of the Civil Code, which came into force on January 1, 2025, will be addressed during the course, in particular those relating to the immunity of enforcement agents and the combination of responsibilities.
After a definition of the notion of obligation in the legal sense of the term (introduction), the course addresses the sources of obligations, as well as the general regime of obligations: the modalities of obligations, obligations with multiple objects or subjects, the transmission of obligations, the performance and non-performance of the obligation, the measures to safeguard the creditor's rights and the causes of extinguishment of obligations. It ends with the examination of the proof of the obligation. Some limited aspects of the new Book 6 of the Civil Code, which came into force on January 1, 2025, will be addressed during the course, in particular those relating to the immunity of enforcement agents and the combination of responsibilities.
Teaching methods
The course takes place in the form of a lecture. Nevertheless the subjet matter is illustrated through document analyses and/or case law decisions.
Practical work is organized by group of students, to allow the teacher to accompany the integration of each student with the basic concepts and their application to situations from practice.
The practical work takes the form of five sessions of one hour and a half and one session of two hours organized in the second semester of the academic year.
Active participation of students is also expected. The practical work tends, in fact, to allow students to develop their ability to express themselves orally on a legal subject, during discussions with the assistant and between fellow students. This active participation (which is the subject of a rating – 1 point out of 20) requires adequate preparation of the announced sessions as well as statements of casus.
Each student is required to write a written work, preceded by a state of the question (2 points out of 20), allowing them to assess the understanding and practical implementation of the material taught during the lecture. Each student is also required to present their work orally (2 points out of 20). The precise instructions are given in the specifications relating to the practical work.
Teachers reserve the right to prohibit the use of any electronic device during practical work sessions (computer, tablet, smartphone, etc.).
Practical work is organized by group of students, to allow the teacher to accompany the integration of each student with the basic concepts and their application to situations from practice.
The practical work takes the form of five sessions of one hour and a half and one session of two hours organized in the second semester of the academic year.
Active participation of students is also expected. The practical work tends, in fact, to allow students to develop their ability to express themselves orally on a legal subject, during discussions with the assistant and between fellow students. This active participation (which is the subject of a rating – 1 point out of 20) requires adequate preparation of the announced sessions as well as statements of casus.
Each student is required to write a written work, preceded by a state of the question (2 points out of 20), allowing them to assess the understanding and practical implementation of the material taught during the lecture. Each student is also required to present their work orally (2 points out of 20). The precise instructions are given in the specifications relating to the practical work.
Teachers reserve the right to prohibit the use of any electronic device during practical work sessions (computer, tablet, smartphone, etc.).
Evaluation methods
The final grade of the Teaching Unit is established on the basis of the grade awarded for the exam on the lecture (75% of the final grade) and the grade awarded for the practical work (25% of the final grade).
I.
The lecture exam is conducted in oral form. It covers the syllabus, as well as the developments presented during the course, including the commentary on the selected case law decisions.
Throughout the exam, the student can and must consult the legal and regulatory texts. In the authorized codes and pices of legislation, students are only allowed to:
- underlining or highlighting words or sentences;
- surrounding words (not isolated letters or groups of letters);
- making cross-references from one article to another, accompanied by the title of the corresponding standard, if necessary.
The use of sticky notes and other movable dividers is permitted, but only the title and date of the standard-setting instruments listed on the page marked, may be indicated on them.
Any practice not expressly permitted is prohibited.
Please note: any annotation, even a single word, that exceeds the limits indicated here will be considered fraud. The student will then see their mark reduced to 0/20 (cf. article 107s et seq. of the General Regulations for Studies and Examinations).
II.
As part of the practical work, the student must write a paper intended to assess the originality and quality of the intellectual approach, the rigour both in terms of content and form, the proper use and referencing of sources as well as the respect of constraints.
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is not prohibited in the context of practical work, but should be limited to occasional support for the student in carrying out certain tasks such as linguistic revision of the text, translation of a fragment of text, etc. This AI support in no way exempts the student from carrying out the research and writing tasks requested by themselves, which assumes that they demonstrate discernment and critical thinking and that he or she scrupulously references his or her speech by referring to the use of ChatGPT or any other form of AI.
It is required that the student respects all the principles specific to academic work, personal and real work, among others, in accordance with what is specified in the specifications of the practical work which remain fully applicable.
The student is asked to:
Article 17, § 3, of the said Regulation states that "The justification for absences or failure to submit the actual work (...) must be made no later than the day following the end of the impediment, failing which it is inadmissible. It is the subject of a notification to the faculty administration in accordance with Article 103 of the RGEE". According to the latter provision (para. 1), the student "shall submit to the faculty administration the original of any supporting documents, i.e. a medical certificate or any other document the probative value of which is left to the sovereign discretion of the president of the jury. However, when this day is a Saturday, a Sunday, 27 September or a public holiday, the day on which the documents are handed over shall be postponed to the next day that is not one of them".
In terms of consequences, unjustified absence from more than one session or unjustified failure to submit any real written work (status of the issue and final work) within the allotted time is sanctioned by an overall mark equal to 0A/20. Any disputes in this regard will be made exclusively by means of a subsequent appeal lodged against the decision of the selection board adopted during the deliberation relating to the session concerned (cf. Art. 155 et seq. of the RGEE).
I.
The lecture exam is conducted in oral form. It covers the syllabus, as well as the developments presented during the course, including the commentary on the selected case law decisions.
Throughout the exam, the student can and must consult the legal and regulatory texts. In the authorized codes and pices of legislation, students are only allowed to:
- underlining or highlighting words or sentences;
- surrounding words (not isolated letters or groups of letters);
- making cross-references from one article to another, accompanied by the title of the corresponding standard, if necessary.
The use of sticky notes and other movable dividers is permitted, but only the title and date of the standard-setting instruments listed on the page marked, may be indicated on them.
Any practice not expressly permitted is prohibited.
Please note: any annotation, even a single word, that exceeds the limits indicated here will be considered fraud. The student will then see their mark reduced to 0/20 (cf. article 107s et seq. of the General Regulations for Studies and Examinations).
II.
As part of the practical work, the student must write a paper intended to assess the originality and quality of the intellectual approach, the rigour both in terms of content and form, the proper use and referencing of sources as well as the respect of constraints.
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is not prohibited in the context of practical work, but should be limited to occasional support for the student in carrying out certain tasks such as linguistic revision of the text, translation of a fragment of text, etc. This AI support in no way exempts the student from carrying out the research and writing tasks requested by themselves, which assumes that they demonstrate discernment and critical thinking and that he or she scrupulously references his or her speech by referring to the use of ChatGPT or any other form of AI.
It is required that the student respects all the principles specific to academic work, personal and real work, among others, in accordance with what is specified in the specifications of the practical work which remain fully applicable.
The student is asked to:
- respect the principles defended in this area by the Faculty (cf. the document "Responsible use of generative artificial intelligence");
- complete and sign the integrity commitment when submitting each assignment. If the signed commitment is not submitted, the mark for the written work is reduced by two points.
Article 17, § 3, of the said Regulation states that "The justification for absences or failure to submit the actual work (...) must be made no later than the day following the end of the impediment, failing which it is inadmissible. It is the subject of a notification to the faculty administration in accordance with Article 103 of the RGEE". According to the latter provision (para. 1), the student "shall submit to the faculty administration the original of any supporting documents, i.e. a medical certificate or any other document the probative value of which is left to the sovereign discretion of the president of the jury. However, when this day is a Saturday, a Sunday, 27 September or a public holiday, the day on which the documents are handed over shall be postponed to the next day that is not one of them".
In terms of consequences, unjustified absence from more than one session or unjustified failure to submit any real written work (status of the issue and final work) within the allotted time is sanctioned by an overall mark equal to 0A/20. Any disputes in this regard will be made exclusively by means of a subsequent appeal lodged against the decision of the selection board adopted during the deliberation relating to the session concerned (cf. Art. 155 et seq. of the RGEE).
Other information
The course materials are as follows:
Students are invited to consult Moodle regularly.
- syllabi (to be completed with personal notes);
- the reports of case law decisions commented on during the course;
- legal and regulatory texts (which it is imperative to use regularly and frequently during the semester in order to become familiar with their handling);
- the syllabus serving as a support for the practical work and containing the specifications
Students are invited to consult Moodle regularly.
Bibliography
Le syllabus renvoie à différents ouvrages, articles ou notes « pour en savoir plus ». Ces références peuvent être complétées par :
- CLAEYS I. et TANGHE T., Nieuw algemeen contractenrecht, 2e éd., Antwerpen, Intersentia, 2025.
- DERVAL T., JAFFERALI R. et KOHL B., La réforme du droit des obligations – Présentation générale des livres 1er et 5 du nouveau Code civil, Coll. Conférence du Jeune Barreau de Bruxelles, Bruxelles, Larcier, 2023.
- GEORGE F., COLSON P., CATALDO A., FOSSEPREZ B. et THUNIS X., Manuel de droit des obligations. Théorie du contrat et régime général de l’obligation, Bruxelles, Larcier-Intersentia, 2024
- VAN OMMESLAGHE P., Traité de droit civil belge, Tome II : Les obligations, Volumes 1 à 3, Bruylant, 2013.
- VANSWEEVELT T. et WEYTS B. (dir.), Handboek verbintenissenrecht, Anvers, Intersentia, 2019, et 2e éd., 2023
- WÉRY P., Droit des obligations, Vol. 1 : Théorie générale du contrat, 3ème éd., Larcier, 2021 & Vol. 2 : Les sources des obligations extracontractuelles – Le régime général des obligations, Bruxelles, Larcier, 2016.
- WÉRY P., Livre 5 du Code civil : les obligations, Bruxelles, Larcier-Intersentia, 2024
Faculty or entity
