Séminaire d'argumentation en droit international

The course is organised around a practical case brought before an international court or tribunal. It aims to provide students with practical experience in applying international law in a judicial setting.

Students are divided into teams and assigned a role depending on the subject matter of the case. The different teams face one another in oral pleading exercises, during which they present and challenge each other’s legal arguments. In parallel, the teams prepare written submissions setting out their arguments and responding to those of the opposing party (written memorial).

The Seminar of Argumentation in International Law aims to familiarise students with the practice of legal argumentation, to enable them to acquire the principles of delivering persuasive oral pleadings, and to introduce them to written and oral methods of legal argumentation in a concrete and pragmatic manner. The course also enables students to engage with procedural issues arising in the context of international judicial proceedings.

Students are expected to develop the ability to use their knowledge of international law effectively in practical situations similar to those they are likely to encounter in their future professional careers. The submission of a written memorial and its individual oral defence in a final pleading before a jury constitute the final Master thesis (Travail de fin d'études - TFE) for the Master’s degree in Law.

Required and Corequired knowledge and skills

Students must have completed a general course in international law and have an excellent command of French.

Prerequisite courses:

DROI-C4001: Droit international public
or
DROI-C4020: Public International Law

The course is organised around a practical case brought before an international court or tribunal. It aims to provide students with practical experience in applying international law in a judicial setting. Two preparatory sessions are organised during the first semester. Students are divided into teams, assigned a role depending on the subject matter of the case, and discuss the main substantive issues raised by the case with the course instructors.

A provisional version of the written submissions setting out each team’s arguments and responding to those of the opposing party (written memorial) is submitted at the beginning of the second semester and exchanged between the teams. The different teams then face one another in oral pleading exercises, during which they present and challenge each other’s legal arguments. In parallel, the teams revise their written submissions on the basis of the feedback received during the oral pleading exercises and further research. The final version of the written memorials is submitted in May. It is then exchanged between the teams, and a final oral pleading session is organised in June.

The course provides a structured framework for students’ legal arguments and enables them to deepen their knowledge of both substantive and procedural law. Students are thus expected to identify the relevant legal issues and develop a coherent line of argument. The oral pleading exercises enable students to present their interpretation of the case, defend a legal position, substantiate their arguments, and rebut those advanced by the opposing party.

Attendance at every session is compulsory for all students.

Course notes

• Université virtuelle

Additional information

Access for Erasmus Out students: Yes (since most sessions are scheduled during the second semester).

Contacts

The teaching team for the Seminar of Argumentation in International Law consists of Professor Vaios Koutroulis (course coordinator: Vaios.Koutroulis@ulb.be) and Claire Bertouille (teaching assistant).
 

Campus

Solbosch

Method(s) of evaluation

• Oral presentation
• Group work

Oral presentation

Group work

The final grade will be based on the written submissions prepared by the teams (collective grade; between 12,000 and 14,000 words) and on each student’s individual oral performance during the final oral pleading session (individual grade), which will constitute the defence of the final Master thesis (Travail de fin d’études – TFE). Each component accounts for 50% of the final grade.

Attendance and participation in the oral pleading sessions are compulsory. Any absence must be duly justified (by a medical certificate or documentary evidence of force majeure) by email to the course instructors before the session concerned. Students who are absent from an oral pleading session without justification may be noted as absent for the course at the first examination session.

Mark calculation method (including weighting of intermediary marks)

50% of the final note is based on the final written submissions (note per team);
50% of the final note is based on the oral presentation at the final pleading (individual note).

Language(s) of evaluation

• french