Introduction

Law is the set of legal rules which organises life in society. The aim of law studies is to prepare students to be able to meet the legal challenges of today and tomorrow. Globalisation, sustainable development, the digital economy, energy transition, etc.: legal practitioners must deal directly with the political, economic, social and cultural challenges facing contemporary society.

The bachelor's degree in droit - rechten - law is a unique joint degree programme offered by UCLouvain Saint-Louis Bruxelles and KU Leuven.

This programme has three objectives:

1.    through law courses, it provides a comprehensive grounding (leerlijn juridische kennis) in the main branches of law and gives students the ability to understand and use legal reasoning (leerlijn juridische vaardigheden);
2.    through courses in the humanities and social sciences, it enables students to acquire a solid academic grounding in these different fields, which can contribute to a critical understanding of legal issues (including ethical, political and socio-economic issues) (leerlijn hulpwetenschappen).
3.    through courses taught in French, Dutch and English, it gives students first-rate language skills, facilitating their academic and, subsequently, professional mobility, both in Belgium and abroad.

The programme is therefore not limited to a study of legal rules, but also looks at the values which underlie them and how they are put into context.

The teaching methodology combines traditional ‘in-theatre’ lectures with more practical classes which require student participation (including seminars, practical work, tutorials, access to digital legal resources, work ‘shadowing’ to gain practitioner experience, moot court competitions, etc.).

Students take part of their courses at UCLouvain Saint-Louis Bruxelles and the other part at KU Leuven-Campus Brussel (Rue d'Assaut, which is a 10-minute walk from Saint-Louis).

This background is an essential first step to becoming a good practitioner on completion of a master's degree in law, or to gaining access to other master's degrees (e.g. master's degree in criminology).

 

 

 

Your profile

The study of law requires special intellectual skills: the precise use of language, a capacity for reasoning, abstract thinking, analysing and summarising, and a critical mind.

In-depth knowledge of ideas and concepts is essential. A legal practitioner's approach involves defining and classifying concepts. Legal practitioners are expected to have a keen sense of justice and fairness. Extreme rigour in oral and written expression is absolutely essential.

The bachelor's degree in droit - rechten- law also requires active and passive language skills in the three languages of instruction (French, Dutch, English).

Your future job

Lawyers can be found wherever human activity brings together parties who make commitments towards each other (drawing up agreements, negotiating contracts, settling disputes, resolving conflicts and defending interests).

The bachelor's degree in law leads to a master's degree in law, which opens up a wide range of career opportunities. In addition to careers as lawyers, magistrates, notaries or bailiffs, the skills of legal professionals are also widely recognised in the business world and in national and international civil services.

Lawyers have an important and recognised role to play, as companies have to deal with increasingly complex and changing legislation in the area of industrial, commercial and financial operations, in addition to more recent areas such as environmental protection or consumer law. All levels of the civil service make extensive use of lawyers: federal, regional, community, provincial and municipal administrations, as well as public economic, social, cultural and youth services, etc.

Your programme

The features of the programme offered jointly with KU Leuven are as follows:

•    Interdisciplinarity: the bachelor's degree in droit - rechten - law puts the law into context by addressing the disciplines which it is based on (sociology, history, philosophy, political science, etc.).
•    Multilingualism: some courses are taught in Dutch, others in French, others in English, and still others in both French and Dutch.
•    Links with practice: the programme includes many practical exercises and seminars providing a background in written and oral communication. A work ‘shadowing’ internship to gain practitioner experience is offered at the end of the bachelor's degree, as well as a moot court competition.
•    International and internal mobility: the programme benefits from an active network of partners in Belgium and elsewhere. In the second year, students can take part in an Erasmus programme at a partner university. The programme also leads to the award of a joint degree from UCLouvain and KU Leuven, ensuring maximum student mobility in Belgium.
•    Critical thinking: with a view to teaching students about the research process and the objective consideration of the law and its issues, they are asked to produce and present a research paper during a legal theory seminar at the end of their bachelor's degree.