Advanced aspects of Family Law

Teacher(s)

Schamps Geneviève; Willems Geoffrey;

Language

French

Main themes

The in-depth, bilingual study of human and family law will be structured into three sub-themes.
The legal status of the person: status of the embryo, assisted procreation, sexual identity, protection of vulnerable persons, end of life.
The legal regulation of couple relationships: specificity of marriage, recognition of homosexual couples, protection of de facto couples, patrimonial and alimentary solidarity within the couple, (coherent?) articulation of the different legal statuses of the couple, etc.
The legal regulation of parental relationships: "anonymous" or "discreet" childbirth, co-maternity, surrogate motherhood, status of step-parent, status of foster parent, homoparent and homoparental status, egalitarian accommodation, equality of inheritance, etc.
All these topics are expressly addressed from the perspective not only of Belgian law, but also, to a large extent, from the perspective of comparative and international family law.

Aims

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	The specific objective of the course is the theoretical and critical study of the legal rules applicable in different areas of personal and family property law. It returns to certain themes seen within the framework of the courses in personal and family law (Bac 3) and family property law (Master 1) by deepening them from the privileged angle of comparative and international law. This course is part of a coherent option of three courses. The holders of the option courses form a teaching team: they consult each other on the contents and methods of each course to ensure complementarity. The course is based on participatory teaching methods (project-based or problem-based learning, commentary on jurisprudence or doctrines, debates with guests, field studies) allowing the student to develop a critical, prospective and inventive outlook independently. The student is encouraged to participate in the course and to be involved in learning, which has both an individual and a collective dimension. In this perspective, the teachers of the different options consult within the Faculty about the pedagogical devices implemented. The contribution of this EU to the development and mastery of the competences and achievements of the program(s) is accessible at the end of this sheet, in the section "Programs/training courses offering this teaching unit (EU)".

Content

The in-depth, bilingual study of human and family law will be structured into three sub-themes.

• The legal status of the person: status of the embryo, assisted procreation, sexual identity, protection of vulnerable persons, end of life.
• The legal regulation of couple relationships: specificity of marriage, recognition of homosexual couples, protection of de facto couples, patrimonial and alimentary solidarity within the couple, (coherent?) articulation of the different legal statuses of the couple, etc.
• The legal regulation of parental relationships: "anonymous" or "discreet" childbirth, co-maternity, surrogate motherhood, status of step-parent, status of foster parent, homoparent and homoparental status, egalitarian accommodation, equality of inheritance, etc.

All these topics are expressly addressed from the perspective not only of Belgian law, but also, to a large extent, from the perspective of comparative law and international family law.

Teaching methods

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the information in this section is particularly likely to change.

The course truly highlights comparative and international family law.
It combines lectures presenting the basic principles and interactive exchanges between teachers and students. In order for these exchanges to be of high quality, students will sometimes be invited to view a video, read a legal text or answer a short online questionnaire prior to the course. 
The course welcomes a number of international guests who come sometimes to explain the principles of human and family law as it is conceived and practiced in their country and sometimes to share their specific expertise in comparative or international family law. To date, we have welcomed professors from Canada, France, Great Britain and Italy.

Evaluation methods

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the information in this section is particularly likely to change.

Students will be evaluated in two ways:

• 12 points will be awarded on the basis of work done by the students in small groups (of three or four). This collective work will consist precisely in an in-depth and critical analysis of a Belgian, international or foreign regulation or decision in one of the fields studied during the course.
• 8 points will be awarded within the framework of an examination relating to the subject studied in the lecture course. It will be a written and open book examination. The evaluation will focus on the student's ability to critically evaluate the choices made in different legal systems. The examination questions may be formulated in English.

Students may, but are not required to, use English for both the writing of the assignment and the answers to the examination. 

Other information

The course is given in French and English.

Online resources

For each topic seen in the course, teachers provide students via Moodle with either lecture notes or a doctrinal reference contribution. Powerpoint presentations are also prepared and made available to students. 

Bibliography

V. le site Moodle du cours.

Teaching materials

• V. le site Moodle du cours

Faculty or entity

BUDR