Legal Methodology seminar

The Three Documentary Sources of Law (Legislation, Legal Doctrine, and Case Law) 
(Digital) Tools for Legal Research 
References 
Artificial Intelligence and Law (Functioning of AI, Impact of AI on the Work of Legal Professionals) 

 

Assessment Methods

1. Oral Examination (50% of the final grade for the Course Unit)

The oral examination takes place in a computer lab. Students will be given two questions to prepare.
Sample questions will be made available on Moodle prior to the examination.
Following these two questions, which are based on the use of digital research tools, students will be asked additional questions covering the topics addressed in the syllabus during the first semester.

2. Written Examination (50% of the final grade for the Course Unit)

The written examination (4 hours) consists of analysing Belgian legal sources (legislation, legal scholarship, and case law) relating to a given topic.
The assessment requires students to draft part of a legal research paper. This written assignment involves producing a substantial and carefully structured piece of legal writing, including footnotes containing references to the sources consulted. Preparing a draft before writing the final answer is essential in order to produce a well-structured response. This requirement explains the length of the examination.
As the Legal Methodology course runs throughout the academic year, students sit only the oral examination at the end of the first semester (January examination session).
Students who obtain a mark of at least 10/20 in the oral examination at the end of the first semester are required to sit only the written examination at the end of the second semester (June examination session).
Students who do not obtain a mark of at least 10/20 in the oral examination at the end of the first semester are required to sit both the oral and the written examinations at the end of the second semester (June examination session).
Students who do not obtain an overall mark of at least 10/20 for the Course Unit at the end of the second semester (that is, the combined grade for both the oral and written examinations) must, during the third examination session (September examination session), retake whichever examination(s) they did not pass with a mark of at least 10/20.
Failure to sit either examination results in a final grade of A (Absent) for the Course Unit.

Additional Information

At the beginning of the second semester, the teaching assistant responsible for each group will provide a reading portfolio. Students are required to read these materials prior to the examination. The documents included in the reading portfolio may be highlighted but may not be annotated.
Students must supplement the reading portfolio with:

• two doctrinal sources (book chapters or journal articles; maximum 100 A4 pages);
• two judicial decisions (maximum 50 A4 pages).

Students must bring the following materials to the examination:

• their reading portfolio;
• the two additional doctrinal sources and the two additional judicial decisions;
• their Citation Guide.

The attendance requirement provided for in Article 17 of the Faculty Regulations applies. An unjustified absence from more than one small-group session during the academic year results in an overall grade of 0/20 (Absent) for the June examination session. In such cases, both the oral and written examinations must be taken during the final examination session (August–September).

Language of Assessment

French.