Sources and Principles of Law

Teacher(s)

De La Serna Ignacio;

Language

French

Prerequisites

Given the « competencies referential » linked to the LSM Bachelor in Management and Business Engineering, this course mainly develops the following competencies:

• 1.2. Consider ethical and humanistic values, integrity, the laws and conventions, civic solidarity and sustainable development in all interactions with the community.
• 2.2. Acquire a knowledge base in human science and law.
• 3.1. Understand and selectively use scientific texts and works in French and English.
• 3.2. Apply clear and structured analytical reasoning, conceptual frameworks and science-based models to describe and analyse a simple but concrete problem and offer a solution.
• 3.5. Demonstrate rigour and discernment (validity and relevance) in the collation of information sources, and precision in their referencing.
• 8.3. Engage effectively and respectfully with peers and teachers, demonstrating listening skills, empathy and assertiveness.

At the end of the class, the student will be able to:

• explain the nature, role and interaction of legal norms;
• explain and implement in concrete situations the fundamentals of the law of obligations and contracts, as well as the law of the company (mastery of the concept of the company and its vehicles [goodwill; legal persons] as well as its regulatory framework [BCE, market practices, competition, VAT, conflict resolution]);
• apply the legal syllogism to everyday or entrepreneurial situations;
• analyse a case law decision in order to draw lessons from it.

Main themes

This course is a double initiation.

1. First of all, it is a question of understanding what a legal norm is: any social rule perceived as binding by its recipients does not necessarily have “force of law”; it is therefore necessary to understand what a norm is and how it is adopted; what is its real authority and what are its limits;
2. Every human community is governed by a series of fundamental rules to which it is advisable to be initiated if one wants to embark on the world of business: institutions, law of bonds and contracts, business and market law; law of legal entities; VAT ; conflict resolution.

Content

This course aims to provide the student with an overview of the legal phenomenon and familiarize him with the fundamental legal concepts essential to the business world. The law will be taught there not as an ideal in itself but as being able to constitute an excellent management tool allowing the company to be more efficient on the market. Not only does the company have to respect a series of fundamental rules under penalty of sanctions, but it can also protect itself, to a certain extent, against certain risks such as, for example, a rise in the price of energy or raw materials, as well as against insolvency of a contracting party. This is done, among other things, by concluding balanced and far-sighted contracts.
Concretely, the course is structured around three parts: the first concerns the public framework and objective law. The second relates to people and their subjective rights with notions of the law of obligations and contracts as well as business law (including the notion of business, competition law, consumer protection, commercial companies, the crossroads bank for businesses, consumer protection, VAT, environmental law). The third, shorter part deals with the judicial organization chart and conflict resolution.

Teaching methods

The teaching is of a masterly type, which does not prevent the establishment of a certain interaction between the teacher and the students thanks to the questions asked by this one or these, to the audience or vice versa. . The floor may be given to an outside guest in order to promote student interaction with the outside world, with space being provided for a debate at the end of the presentations.
The teacher will be available to students to answer their questions between classes and at the end of classes.
The student is invited to have the Bac code during the course in order to be guided in the use of it and the learning of the subject.
Attendance at the course is strongly recommended insofar as the support used will only be a detailed plan of the subject taught. Note taking is therefore essential. The teaching will be interspersed with concrete examples allowing the student to better understand the subject and to grasp its importance in daily life and more precisely in the world of business and business life.

Evaluation methods

The exam will be written with several multiple-choice questions for which there will be, each time, only one correct answer. A more open-ended question will be asked requiring a longer answer. The use of the codes for the exam is authorized and even highly recommended. It allows the student not to clutter his memory unnecessarily. Any annotation written in the codes is prohibited. The use of post-its is permitted.

Other information

As the content of the course is new, there is no syllabus yet. A detailed lesson plan will be provided to students as they go along. It is for this reason that class attendance is essential. In addition to his notes, the student may also rely, for the study of the subject, on the work indicated in the bibliography. The use of codes such as for example the Bac code is absolutely necessary and the student is invited to always have his codes in the course, the teacher referring to them regularly.

Online resources

A detailed plan of the material will be made available to students as the course progresses through the "Student Corner" platform. It is possible that this is also the case for one or the other article as well as for court decisions.

Bibliography

1. Jean-Marc Hausseman et Justin Vanderschuren, Manuel d’introduction au droit, tour d’horizon en quinze leçons, ouvrage collectif, Politeia, 2021.
2. La Constitution, le Code civil, le Code de droit économique. Le code Bac est l’exemple type d’un ouvrage fort utile car il regroupe plusieurs codes et de nombreuses législations fort utiles.

Ces ouvrages sont disponibles à la bibliothèque.

Faculty or entity

CLSM