History of the institutions and of law II (contemporary period)

Teacher(s)

Oulad Ben Taib Hajar; Renglet Antoine;

Language

French

Main themes

Political institutions and electoral law, religions, secularism and education, languages and community identities, economic and social structures, European and international relations, immigration and foreign nationals' rights, colonization and colonial law, women's rights and civil law. 

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

The course (UE) aims to provide the following general learning outcomes, as identified by the Faculty's reference framework:  Development of a solid background in non-legal humanities and social sciences, enabling students to interpret legal phenomena from a resolutely interdisciplinary perspective;  Development of critical thinking skills;  Ability to construct reasoned arguments;  Introduction to the development of independent, coherent, and relevant thinking in the legal context in which it is applied.  More specifically, at the end of this EU, students will be able or should be able to understand the major themes of contemporary Belgian history covered in the course. They should be able to explain them by identifying the causes and consequences of their evolution, while establishing links between historical facts and legal changes. They will also be able to connect the different topics covered, according to a thematic or chronological logic.  Students will also be able to demonstrate that they understand the evolution of certain rules of Belgian positive law—particularly in the areas of elections, language use, freedom of education, fundamental rights (including gender equality), social law, and colonial law—by placing them in their historical and political context.  Through engaging activities, they will have developed these skills and will be able to search for relevant information, compare sources, and clearly and pedagogically reproduce the knowledge they have acquired, whether in an oral presentation or a written contribution, such as writing a Wikipedia entry.  Finally, students will have explored the topics covered in greater depth, in particular with the help of the bibliographical references provided at the beginning of each lesson.

Content

The course covers the history of institutions and law in contemporary Belgium, covering in principle the period from 1795 to the present day. It addresses institutional and legal history since the end of the Ancien Régime, covering the French period in order to better understand the evolution of the topics addressed and their legacies. Particular attention is paid to the role of certain political, social, and economic actors, as well as to extranational influences, in order to highlight the evolution of Belgian institutions and law over the last two and a half centuries.
The emphasis is on political institutions in the broad sense, going beyond the strict framework of public law to also include social, economic, cultural, educational, trade union institutions, etc. In other words, everything that establishes a link between the private and public spheres. This relationship itself has evolved over time, and these transformations will be explained. The history of these institutions will be studied in parallel with that of the legal rules whose evolution is closely linked to their institutional development, in particular the political and judicial frameworks, including criminal law. The course is structured in nine lessons:

1. Political frameworks: history of political parties and electoral law;
2. Judicial frameworks: criminal institutions and policies;
3. Religious and philosophical frameworks: history of religions, secularism, and education law;
4. Linguistic frameworks: history of the Flemish and Walloon movements and language law;
5. Economic and social frameworks: history of trade unions and employers' associations and social law;
6. European and international relations: history of international organizations and public international law;
7. Foreigners in contemporary Belgium: history of demographic changes and immigration law;
8. Belgium and the Congo: history of colonization and colonial law;
9. Women’s rights: history of family relations, feminism, and civil law.

Teaching methods

The course is partly lectured, and partly composed of the learning activities carried out by the students. Oral presentations made by students during the course are an integral part of the examination material.
Teachers also ensure that they offer at least one other activity related to the subject of the course (conference, study day, visit, exhibition, theatre,...).

Evaluation methods

The assessment is worth a total of 60 points.
Twenty points are awarded for an engaging activity, either individual or in a group, supervised by teachers. This activity may take the form of a written assignment (such as a Wikipedia entry) or an oral presentation. If the written assignment is failed, it can be retaken in the second session. If the oral presentation is failed, it can be replaced by a written assignment in the second session. If no new submission is made, the mark from the first session will be retained.
Forty points are awarded for a written exam. The assessment criteria focus on in-depth, cross-disciplinary knowledge of the subject matter, as well as the acquisition of contextualized legal practice. The language of assessment is French.

Other information

Course notes are the main support of the course, but can be usefully supplemented by the syllabus, a collection of legislation and the course's Moodle site, on which most of the documents seen during the course are posted.

Online resources

Moodle

Bibliography

Une large bibliographie est fournie dans le syllabus.

Faculty or entity

> DRTB