Constitutional and European Social Security Law

6 ECTS credits
150 h study time

Offer 2 with catalog number 4001550FER for all students in the 1st semester at a (F) Master - specialised level.

Semester

1st semester

Enrollment based on exam contract

Possible

Grading method

Grading (scale from 0 to 20)

Can retake in second session

Yes

Taught in

Dutch

Partnership Agreement

Under interuniversity agreement for degree program

Faculty

Faculty of Law and Criminology

Department

Publiek recht

Educational team

Eleni De Becker (course titular)

Activities and contact hours

18 contact hours Lecture
100 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study

Course Content

This course covers Belgian social security law from a constitutional and EU legal perspective.

Firstly, it addresses the constitutional protection of social security law, referring to the fundamental rights listed in the Belgian Constitution, the instruments of the EU, and the Council of Europe. When the legislature enacts social security law, these fundamental rights must be respected. For instance, if the legislature imposes certain restrictions on existing social security rights (e.g., limiting unemployment benefits over time), questions arise about compatibility with fundamental rights, such as the right to social security and property rights.
A second focus is the EU legal protection and the interaction between EU law and Belgian social security law. Although social security law remains largely under the control of EU Member States, the EU plays a significant role in these national social security systems (e.g., in cross-border situations between EU Member States).

This constitutional and EU legal framework serves as the basis for discussing social risks from these two perspectives. The discussion of social risks always follows this structure:

A discussion of the EU legislation in cross-border situations in light of the discussed social risks; and
A discussion of case law from a constitutional and EU legal perspective.

The proposed methodology makes it possible to apply the principles learned about constitutional and European social security law to several social risks for which Belgian social security provides protection.

Course material

Practical course material (Required) : Wetboek - basiswetboek sociaal recht voor studenten, Syllabus, E. Alofs, Kluwer, 9789403025858
Digital course material (Required) : Slides en andere documenten, Afhankelijk van de actualiteit wordt bijkomende informatie besproken tijdens de hoorcolleges. De bijkomende informatie wordt ook ter beschikking gesteld via het online leerplatform., Beschikbaar via het online leerplatform
Course text (Required) : Cursustekst per module, Beschikbaar via het online leerplatform

Additional info

The course includes 18 hours of lectures with a strong emphasis on self-study (100 hours). The course is structured so that lectures cover legislation, case law and legal doctrine. Students work independently on the material through exercises and tests available on the online learning platform.

Learning Outcomes

General competencies

On completion of this course:

Students can independently identify the fundamental rights relevant to social security law and explain their operation in their own words.
Students can independently identify the EU competences in social security law and the EU legislative and policy instruments relevant to social security law and explain their operation in their own words.
Students can demonstrate their understanding of the interplay between the legal provisions of social security law and constitutional and EU legal norms.
Students can independently apply constitutional and EU social security law to the social risks discussed.
Students can independently give a constructive-critical opinion on legal cases in the light of constitutional and EU social security law, using applicable legislation, case law and legal doctrine.

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Oral Exam determines 50% of the final mark.
SELF Paper determines 50% of the final mark.

Within the Oral Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

Examen Mondeling with a relative weight of 50 which comprises 50% of the final mark.

Note: De student wordt beoordeeld via een mondeling examen, dat het eindcijfer voor 100% bepaalt. Tijdens het mondelinge examen wordt de student getest op de hoger vermelde leerdoelen. De student krijgt twee kennis- en inzichtvragen en één casusvraag. Deze vragen laten toe de kennis van en het inzicht van de student in het grondrechtelijk en Europeesrechtelijk socialezekerheidsrecht te bevragen, alsook de wijze waarop de student de gegeven casus oplost en de motieven van de student bij de toelichting van zijn/haar oplossing.

Daarnaast dient de student ook twee casussen voorafgaand aan het mondelinge examen voor te bereiden: één met betrekking tot het grondrechtelijk socialezekerheidsrecht en één met betrekking tot het EU-rechtelijk kader over één van de besproken sociale risico’s. De casussen worden door de docent verdeeld over de studenten nadat de eerste twee modules zijn afgelopen. Van de student wordt gevraagd de casussen te analyseren in het licht van de geziene leerstof. Bijkomende toelichting hieromtrent wordt gegeven nadat de docent de eerste twee modules heeft gegeven. Tijdens het afleggen van het examen, zal de student één casus moeten toelichten. De student mag de gemaakte voorbereiding meenemen naar het examen. De docent geeft tijdens het mondelinge examen aan welke van de twee casussen de student moet beantwoorden. Indien de student tijdens het mondelinge examen al een casus-vraag had over het grondrechtelijk socialezekerheidsrecht, zal hij/zij de voorbereide casus over het Europees socialezekerheidsrecht moeten toelichten en vice versa.

Within the SELF Paper category, the following assignments need to be completed:

Paper with a relative weight of 50 which comprises 50% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

Students are assessed by a paper and an oral examination. The final grade is determined by 50% of the paper and 50% of the oral exam.

In the paper, students will deal with two legal cases in terms of constitutional and European social security law. One case is based on constitutional social security law and the other on European social security law, which the student applies to one of the social risks. This approach makes it possible to test the students' knowledge and understanding of constitutional and European social security law, as well as how they analyse and justify the given legal case.
The legal cases are distributed among the students at the end of the first two modules. The student analyses the cases in the assignment in terms of constitutional and European social security law. Additional clarification is provided by the professor through a module available on the online learning platform. The student refers to the relevant legislation, case law and doctrine in the assignment. Cross-referencing to legal texts is allowed.
The student submits the assignment at the beginning of the first examination period. The professor will specify the exact time and submission procedure on the online learning platform. Only the use of generative AI for brainstorming or improving linguistic aspects is allowed and any use must be appropriately acknowledged.
The student prepares for the oral examination on the basis of the paper. During the oral examination, the student will orally discuss the legal cases based on the paper, bringing along to the exam the paper and unannotated legal texts.During the examination, the student will receive specific follow-up questions from the professor.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark

The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context