Law, change and society

Teacher(s)

Lamine Auriane; Ringelheim Julie; Willems Geoffrey;

Language

French

Main themes

Law, as a body of rules and as a discipline, has a complex relationship with social practices and institutions, one of influence, interaction and opposition. The law is always the product of a specific social, political and economic context, but once it has been established, it determines and constrains the choices and behaviour of social actors. It can also be a powerful instrument for transforming society, and can be used to achieve shared goals. 
The main aim of this course is to make students aware of this complex relationship between law and society. The aim is to help them enrich their technical knowledge of positive law, as taught in most of the courses on the curriculum, with an understanding of the strengths and limitations of law as a crucial component of society, in order to equip them for their role as citizens in the face of contemporary challenges.
Initially, the course aims to familiarise students with the different ways in which it is possible to reflect on the place of law in contemporary societies. 
The aim of this first part of the course is to introduce students to different currents of study that approach the law from a contextual and interdisciplinary perspective and thus provide theoretical tools for thinking about the role of the law and lawyers in societies undergoing radical change.   
In the second part of the course, students are encouraged to apply the reflective and critical tools learned in the first part of the course to a number of themes corresponding to important contemporary issues for human societies. 
The aim is to get students to think about the role of the law and those involved in the law in relation to current social issues.The course therefore also includes a forward-looking dimension.
This is a cross-disciplinary course open to inter-disciplinarity, which follows on from and is consistent with the cross-disciplinary courses already on the programme:
- Introduction to law (LDROI 1001) and (LDROI 1002)
- History of law (LDROI 1004)
- Theory of law and contemporary legal thought (LDROI 1308)
- Legal Ethics (LDROI 1309)
- Legal Research Methodology (LDROI 2150)
- Sociology of Law (LDROP 2152)

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

- understand the specific role played by the law in driving, accompanying or resisting social change; - identify the diversity of levers offered by the law to promote social justice, as well as the limitations of legal tools in this respect;  - transpose theoretical reflections on the role of the law to specific themes characteristic of the evolution of human societies;  - formulate well-founded critical positions and forward-looking reflections, drawing on a wide range of legal resources;  - give meaning to their educational and personal career plans, taking into account the role played by law in changing societies.

Content

The course is coherently structured and deploys :

• a solid theoretical framework ;
• two fixed thematic blocks (with the possibility of evolving from year to year the specific issues dealt with within these two areas, which cover a very wide field):  
  • one on private and family life (general developments, reproductive rights, transhumanism, etc.)
  • the other on economic and social life (general developments, the platform economy, essential services, the commons, care, etc.)
• a mobile thematic block entrusted to a guest from the Louvain Global College of Law (the thematic block entrusted to the guest should a priori concern areas not covered by the fixed thematic blocks, in particular the dimensions of international law and public law: European integration, democracy, etc.). In 2023-2024, the guest lecturer will be Professor Florian Hoffmann, who will speak on issues relating to human rights and democracy. 

The three lecturers will work together to welcome students at the start of the course, and at the end of the course they will work together to produce a cross-curricular summary.

Teaching methods

Within each block, in accordance with the specifications of a course designed to be broadly open to interdisciplinary exchanges and meetings, occasional guests will also be invited from members of the Faculty, from other faculties or from outside the University.
In particular, legal and non-lawyers involved in significant societal changes in the areas studied will be invited to take part in the course.

Evaluation methods

To encourage regular attendance at the course, assessment will be partly based on a continuous assessment system in the form of an online test following each block, consisting of short questions.
The course will also include a closed-book written exam during the exam session, consisting of one or more open-ended questions.

Faculty or entity

BUDR