Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, students will be able to:

  a. Understand the concepts, rules and principles of Belgian, European and international law applicable to the environment and sustainable development;

  b. Carry out critical and interdisciplinary reflection on the way in which the law, combined where appropriate with economics and/or sociology, protects the environment and seeks to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals;

  c. Become aware of the relative and evolving nature of legal solutions, which depend on scientific progress and expertise, economic constraints and political power struggles;

  d. Explain the potential, qualities and shortcomings of legal instruments in protecting the environment and implementing sustainable development policies.

  e. Explain the potential, qualities and shortcomings of regulatory instruments other than the law in protecting the environment and implementing sustainable development policies.

 

In addition to these legal skills, students must also acquire a series of essential cross-disciplinary sustainability skills:

  a. Applying different frameworks to complex sustainability problems;

  b. Reconsidering their worldview and behaviour in the light of the Sustainable Development Goals

  c. Enriching the material taught with personal contributions and reflections (orally, during the course and in the examination);

  d. Developing a critical approach to a legal rule, a legal solution, a political proposal or any other resource seen during the course;

  e. Understanding the reasoning of disciplines related to law, such as economics, sociology, physics and political science;

  f. Demonstrating autonomy and responsibility in the implementation of tools leading to success;

  g. Reflecting on the environmental and social impact of their actions;

  h. Learning to work and think in a group.

 

Goals

Education for sustainable development is essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Sustainable development implies a substantial - some would say radical - change in the way we act and think. These ways of acting and thinking are guided and framed mainly by education and the law.

The aim of this inter-faculty course is to help students acquire the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, while reflecting specifically on the place, legitimacy and effectiveness of the legal instrument as a vector for change in favour of sustainable development.

This does not mean that sustainable development is blindly endorsed. It is assessed and criticised in the light of social movements and the latest scientific knowledge.

 

Content

After an introductory section explaining what the law is and situating it among the other modes of regulation at a time of transition and sustainable development, the course looks at the main criticisms levelled at the law as it is currently conceived:
  - Law and anthropocentrism
  - Law and the growth paradigm
  - Law and the technological myth
  - Law and governance

 

Table of contents

Introductory section: What is law? What is SD? What is transition?

 

Part 1. Law and anthropocentrism

 

Part 2. Law and the growth paradigm

 

Part 3. Law and the technological paradigm

 

Part 4: Law and governance 

 

Assessment method

1/ Oral evaluation (50%)

   - 15-minute evaluation (+ 15 minutes preparation time)

   - Evaluation in June and/or August-September

 

Three types of questions:

  i. Tests (True or False + justification)

  ii. Commentary on an extract from a text (court decision, political text, press article, etc.) seen in class.

 iii. Discussion about the personal work

 

2/ Individual or group personal work (free form) (50%)

Work carried out by the student in accordance with the guidelines provided by the teacher on a subject related to his/her course and approved by the teacher.

 

Where appropriate, the student's participation in certain activities offered during the year may be included in the final evaluation.

 

Sources, references and any support material

Slides projected during the course. Please note that slides are not a substitute for taking notes or attending class.

Additional resources published regularly on the course's WebCampus page (course notes, legislative texts, case law decisions, press articles, videos, legal studies, NGO reports, etc.).

 

Language of instruction

Français