Subject specific skills a) Master the major political and constitutional developments in Great Britain, the United States and France. b) To develop a critical reflection on the constitutional law of these three countries, based on their historical development. c) To understand the current functioning of the political systems in these three countries. d) Master the specific vocabulary related to it. e) Putting a constitutional text in its historical context and commenting on it. f) To develop a historical culture capable of decoding current events. Cross-cutting competences a) Communicate in writing a reasoning, the result of intelligent memorization. b) Defend a point of view in an open-ended examination question. c) Use the French language as a tool for legal thinking in the constitutional field, forming correct sentences and mastering the appropriate terminology. d) Gradually gain confidence and autonomy in the work.
This course has three main objectives: to provide a historical and comparative perspective on constitutional law; to introduce the political history of the three 'Great' Western countries: Britain, the United States and France To present the parliamentary, presidential and semi-presidential political systems.
It was in England that the first modern parliament and constitutional system was born. Today's Great Britain is a typical parliamentary system. The American "founding fathers" drew up a written constitution and laid the foundations for federalism. The American political system is presidential. The French constitutional experience has a richness that is unparalleled in the succession of political regimes since 1789. The France of the 5th Republic achieves the synthesis of its constitutional history with the semi-presidential regime. English history is studied from its origins, i.e. from the Anglo-Saxon settlement of the British Isles. The United States and France are covered from the revolutions of 1776 and 1789.
The course does not include any practical exercises as such, but there are periods of reading and analysis of constitutional texts during class time. A question-and-answer session may be organized in preparation for the January exam, as well as a correction session if a test is organized in November.
Written test possible in November but not every year; written knowledge test in January (compulsory), June and September (duration: 2h30). Three types of questions: - knowledge questions in MCQ format (/5) and "true or false" (/4) with justification; - Text analysis questions (/6) based on an extract seen and commented on in class; - an essay question to assess the meaning of the synthesis (/5) Note: the final mark is not purely arithmetical and depends on the teacher's overall assessment of the paper. Sample questions and answers are available to students via the course's Webcampus page.
a) Syllabus b) Textes constitutionnels français, ed. S. Rials, Paris, PUF, 2015 ("Que sais-je?" n° 2022). c) Textes constitutionnels étrangers, ed. S. Rials and J. Boudon, Paris, PUF, 2015 (Que sais-je?" n° 2060). d) Power Point slides e) Extracts from films, documentaries and video clips f) Books provided to courses (see bibliography)
| Training | Study programme | Block | Credits | Mandatory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor in Law | Standard | 0 | 5 | |
| Bachelor in History | Standard | 0 | 4 | |
| Bachelor in Law | Standard | 1 | 5 | |
| Bachelor in History | Standard | 3 | 4 |