Learning outcomes

Students enrolled on the Master of Laws programme with a staggered timetable aim to become good lawyers.

Become: You are not born a lawyer, you "become" one. And when you think you are, you stop becoming one. So, if you already have a bachelor's degree in law, your first aim is to continue and complete your legal training. By broadening and deepening your knowledge, you aim to acquire an operational grasp of the rules, principles and concepts governing all legal disciplines in the light of the roots and issues revealed by the other human sciences. Having integrated the international (especially European), and even foreign, extensions of the various legal subjects, you are constantly striving to renew your knowledge through a critical approach geared towards others and innovation. Your mastery is nurtured and amplified by the experience of numerous real-life situations, by active teaching methods, and even by the experience of a study period abroad or a work placement.

Lawyer: As a holder of a Master's degree in law, you will be able to diagnose all types of legal problems independently and work towards their peaceful resolution. In the areas covered by your specialisms and options, this skill will tend towards excellence. Based on in-depth research, the exercise of this fundamental task of linking law to fact will also take on the most rigorous stylistic forms (written and oral) in the French language. You will also be able to carry on a regular professional conversation in another language (especially Dutch and/or English).

Good: As a holder of a Master's degree in law, you know that the law, while a value in itself, does not exist in isolation and disembodied from economic, social and political reality. You understand and accept the non-legal dimensions that underpin all legal choices. This is why, with a critical and open mind, you are determined never to abandon an ethical and moral vision of law and justice, leading you to question relentlessly the meaning and relevance of the rules that you create, apply or combat in the light of and in the name of the common good.

On successful completion of this programme, each student is able to :

1. COMPREHENSIVE

1.1. Use and critically enrich the knowledge and skills acquired on completion of the Bachelor of Law programme, from an interdisciplinary, comparative and professional perspective.

2. MASTERING AND APPLYING

2.1. Have a current knowledge and general command of the principles, rules, theories, doctrines and case law that give substance to the various branches of law, in particular tax law, company law (in-depth commercial law) and accounting law, private international law, public international law, company law, family property law, social security law and securities law.
2.2. Knowing and understanding the influence of certain European and international standards and institutions on these different branches of law.
2.3. Knowing a few essential features of these same branches of law in the light of a few foreign systems and mastering the techniques and reflexes of comparative law research in order to deepen this knowledge.
2.4. Research, read and understand written legal documents in Dutch, English and German. Be able to follow a university course in one of these languages.
2.5. In one or other branch of law, be able to diagnose a complex legal problem independently and creatively, identifying its difficulties in minute detail, eliminating peripheral elements and providing well-argued solutions based on thorough research, presented in a clear summary underpinned by thorough, coherent and credible legal reasoning.
2.6. Be able to move from the abstraction of the rule of law to the concrete facts, and vice versa.

3. EXPLAIN AND CONVINCE

3.1. During a discussion (individual colloquium, group conversation, argumentative speech, written or oral consultation, etc.), be able to move from the abstraction of the rule of law to concrete facts, and vice versa.
3.2. Express aloud, in a lively and structured manner, the content of knowledge, the results of research or a legal analysis in clear, precise French appropriate to the context and the qualities of the speaker (presentation, interview, conversation, plea, etc.) and be able to do the same in writing within the deadline set.
3.3. Be able to produce, orally and in writing, a legal study supported by relevant illustrations.
3.4. Take part in a routine conversation on a legal issue of moderate difficulty in a language other than French (particularly Dutch or English).
3.5. Respect the rules governing scientific production (literal quotations, references, bibliography, etc.) in all forms of communication.

4. THINK AND PARTICIPATE

4.1. To update and perfect their knowledge of the various branches of law independently, and thus forge a solid general legal culture.
4.2. Identify, mobilise and express the links, bridges and extensions between the various branches of law in order to analyse a factual situation.
4.3. From an interdisciplinary perspective, know, understand and apply concepts and theories from other human sciences (in particular political economy, philosophy, psychology, sociology, history and ethics) in order to understand the role, scope and limits of law and justice.
4.4. Make the most of the opening resulting from :
- either an internship in legal practice and, on this occasion, developing the ability to contextualise standards, institutions and the people called upon to apply them;
- or the interdisciplinary business creation programme;
- or an exchange stay;
- or courses given in the faculty by foreign professors;
- or a pre-existing professional activity.
4.5. Be able to form and express a personal opinion on a legal controversy or an issue he/she has identified.
4.6. On the basis of an analysis of human, family, economic or social situations and mechanisms covered by the law, consider the appropriateness of legal solutions and ways of improving them, and act accordingly.

5. ASKING QUESTIONS, GETTING INVOLVED AND GETTING ORGANISED

5.1. Understand the relative nature, in time and space, of a legal solution, and question the relevance of the choices it conveys.
5.2. Be able to form and express a personal opinion on a legal controversy or a problem they have identified.
5.3. On the basis of an analysis of human, family, economic or social situations and mechanisms covered by the law, consider the appropriateness of legal solutions and ways of improving them, and act accordingly.
5.4. Identify and promote the ethical and social values underpinning law and justice, and guard against any form of instrumentalisation.

6. ORGANISING AND ADAPTING
Organising your work, adapting to new contexts and developing positively within them, with a view to continuous development.

6.1. S’organiser, planifier son travail et respecter les délais.
6.2. Identify and integrate, independently, the new knowledge and skills required to rapidly grasp new contexts and/or situations, identify his/her limits and call on appropriate external resources if necessary.
6.3. Integrate a logic of self-assessment, continuous learning and development, which is essential if he/she is to evolve positively in his/her future professional environment.