Droit public

Teacher(s)

Taylor Edwina;

Language

French

Content

Studying Law

• The concept of law and its place in contemporary society
• The sources of law
• The specific features of legal vocabulary and reasoning
• The branches of law (including the specific features of public law as compared to private law)
• Subjects of law
• Learning to use methodological tools (legislation, legal doctrine, case law).

State, Powers and Institutions

• The concept of the State
• The separation of powers
• Democracy and sovereignty
• The Belgian institutional system
• The system of distribution of powers in federal Belgium
• International and European institutions

The Legal Norm

• The concept of a rule of law
• The hierarchy of legal norms
• The Constitution
• Parliamentary action and the law-making process
• The application of the law over time
• The content of the law
• Fundamental rights
• International sources (Council of Europe and European Union)

Oversight

• Litigious and non-litigious processes for the implementation and oversight of the law
• The role of the judge
• The Belgian judicial system

Teaching methods

Lectures and case studies

• Before the lecture: an outline is available on Moodle to help with note-taking
• During the lecture: note-taking and active participation
• At the end of the lecture/chapter: quizzes/questions to test your understanding
• After the lecture: slides are available on Moodle
• There may be additional resources to read, listen to or watch before or after the lecture

Evaluation methods

Written examination at the end of the term.
The examination is taken individually.
Students may use their code (unannotated) during the examination. Only bookmarks (also unannotated) are permitted.
Possession and/or sharing of connected devices and/or their functions is prohibited during the exam.
Furthermore, the rules of the RGEE (and in particular Articles 107 et seq. concerning irregularities) naturally apply.

Other information

Students are encouraged to use a code during lessons and in their independent study.
See, for example, the BAC Code 2026–2027, published by La Charte (https://www.diekeure.be/professional/fr/produit/code-bac-vol-i-generalites-2026-2027/)

Online resources

Online tools, information and exercises on the Moodle platform.

Bibliography

• Behrendt C. et Vrancken M., Principes de droit constitutionnel belge, Bruxelles, La Charte, 2024.
• Delpérée F., Dictionnaire constitutionnel, Collection Centre Montesquieu d’études de l’action publique, n° 48, Bruxelles, Larcier, 2023.
• De Streel A. et Defreyne E., Introduction au droit : fondements du droit belge, européen et international, 3e édition, Collection de la Faculté de droit de l’UNamur, Bruxelles, Larcier-Intersentia, 2025.
• Dumont H. et El Berhoumi M., Droit constitutionnel: approche critique et interdisciplinaire. Tome 1. L’État, Bibliothèque de droit public, Bruxelles, Larcier, 2021.
• Dumont H. et El Berhoumi M., Droit constitutionnel: approche critique et interdisciplinaire, Tome 2. Les structures de l'État. Bibliothèque de droit public, Bruxelles, Larcier intersentia, 2025.
• Hausman J.-M. et Vanderschuren J., Manuel d’introduction au droit. Tour d’horizon en quinze leçons, Bruxelles, Politeia, 2025.
• Lejeune Y., Droit constitutionnel belge: fondements et institutions, Précis de la Faculté de droit et de criminologie de l’Université catholique de Louvain, Bruxelles, Larcier, 2021.
• Mathy I. et Schultz G., Lexique juridique belge, 2e édition, Bruxelles, Larcier-Intersentia, 2025.
• Renders D., Droit administratif général, 4e éd., coll. Centre Montesquieu d’études de l’action publique, Bruxelles, Larcier, 2022.
• Uyttendaele M., Bracke S., Goedertier G., Vande Lanotte J., Gerlache A., Coenen A., La Belgique pour débutants, Bruges, die Keure/La Charte, 2017.
• Verdussen M., Justice constitutionnelle, Précis de la Faculté de droit et de criminologie de l’Université catholique de Louvain, Bruxelles, Larcier-Intersentia, 2024.

Faculty or entity

> PSAD