Learning outcomes

A good knowledge of French is necessary to understand the course and pass the examination.

Goals

The course of Historic foundations of the private law has for objective to familiarize the students with the concepts, the vocabulary, the distinctions and the reasonings of the private law. It aims to arrest and understand notions and basic rules of the law of property, the law of contracts and the right of persons in a historical perspective which covers the period from the former roman law to the current law.

The course emphasizes the relativity of legal institutions and their insertion in time. The law being the fruit of the history, any understanding of rules governing life in society has to take into account their genesis. At the end of the course, the student will so have to be capable of understanding and of explaining the links between the roman law and the current law.

The study of the foundations of our private law allows us to understand this law for what it is : a tool at the service of the society that produces it, in line with its times and in perpetual evolution.

Content

After an introduction dedicated to the historical environment of the roman law, the course deals with the three pillars of private law : the right of the properties (ownership and detention, property, manners of acquisition of the property, property rights in thing belonging to another), the law of obligations (sale contract and complex transactions) and the right of people (capacity, marriage, filiation, will and testament).

These three parts begin with the presentation of the concepts and classifications and then deal with specific questions, chosen for the richness of their historical evolution, with the resolution of practical cases.

 

Table of contents

See the manual.

Assessment method

The material seen in the lecture establishes the material of the examination. A list of questions supplied from the beginning of the new academic year notes the main tackled issues and allows to confine exactly the contents of the examination.

The evaluation will be made by a written examination and with a closed book but students are allowed to bring the Bac Code. The duration of the exam is three hours. The evaluation is presented in the form of open-ended questions and resolutions of exercises and practical problems.

The assesment criteria are the following ones :

  • concepts clearly defined and strengthened,
  • logical structure of the answers (reasoning, justifications and internal consistency),
  • quality of the presentation (vocabulary, spelling and syntax)

If the health situation deteriorates again and does not allow for a face-to-face examination, the evaluation methods could be modified. Students will be notified via the WebCampus platform of the new modalities in application.

Sources, references and any support material

Course materials :

  • Robaye R., Le droit romain, 5th ed., Louvain-la-Neuve, Academia - L'Harmattan, 2016
  • Power Point presentations with basic course structure and concepts
  • Exercises, summary tables and other useful materials made available via the WebCampus platform

Non-exhaustive bibliography :

  • Bretone, M., Histoire du droit romain, Paris, Delga, 2016
  • Dunant, J.-Ph. et Pichonnaz, P., Le droit romain de A à Z, coll. Quid iuris ?, Schultess, Paris, 2018
  • Gaudemet, J. et Chevreau, E., Droit privé romain, 3rd ed., coll. Domat Droit privé, Montchrestien, Paris, 2009
  • Gaudemet, J. et Chevreau, E., Les institutions de l’Antiquité, 8th ed., coll. Domat Droit public, L.G.D.J., Paris, 2014
  • Girard, P.-Fr., Manuel élémentaire de droit romain, éd. revue et mise à jour par F. Senn, Paris, Dalloz, 2003
  • Lévy J.-Ph. et Castaldo, A., Histoire du droit civil, 2nd ed., Dalloz, Paris, 2010
  • Lovisi, Cl., Introduction historique au droit, 6th ed., Paris, Dalloz, 2022
  • Robaye, R., Une histoire du droit civil, Louvain-la-Neuve, Academia, 2005
  • Robaye, R., Le droit romain, 5th ed., Louvain-la-Neuve, Academia - L'Harmattan, 2016
  • Saint-Bonnet, Fr. et Sassier, Y., Histoire des institutions avant 1789, 7th ed., coll. Domat Droit public, L.G.D.J., Paris, 2022
  • Vassart, P., Manuel de droit romain, Bruxelles, Bruylant, 2015

 

Language of instruction

Français
Training Study programme Block Credits Mandatory
Bachelor in Law (Evenings and Weekends Schedule) Standard 0 9
Bachelor in Law (Evenings and Weekends Schedule) Standard 1 9