Law of Public Enterprises and Contracts

6 ECTS credits
150 h study time

Offer 2 with catalog number 4001532FER for all students in the 2nd semester at a (F) Master - specialised level.

Semester

2nd 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

Steven Verbeyst (course titular)

Activities and contact hours

39 contact hours Lecture

Course Content

In this course, we look into:

the government as a 'regulator' (general legal framework + case studies, such as the 'regulation of micromobility' or the 'regulation of gambling activities' - concrete case studies will vary from year to year depending on topical issues);
the government as a 'contracting party' and more particulary as a 'client' (general legal framework + substantial attention to the legal framework concerning public procurement and concessions);
the government as an 'entrepreneur' (relationship between the concepts of government and entrepreneur + specific focus on the status of federal economic government-owned enterprises in Belgium).

Economic public law is a technical field of the law, but the course aims to focus on general concepts, principes and theories, that can serve as handholds for concrete cases. Students are enroucraged to develop academic reflections on topical issues in a case note on a concrete judgement.

Course material

Handbook (Recommended) : Algemeen bestuursrecht - Grondslagen en beginselen, I. Opdebeek en S. De Somer, Antwerpen, Intersentia, 9789400010376, 2019
Digital course material (Required) : Slides, rechtspraak en eventueel rechtsleer ter beschikking, Canvas

Additional info

Not applicable.

Learning Outcomes

General competencies

Students are expected to:

gain insight in the specificities of public intervention in the economy (government as a regulator, a contracting party and an enterprise);
gain insight in the increasing entanglement of European and domestic law in the area of economic public law;
gain knowledge of prevailing law concerning regulation, public contracts (and esp. public procurement and concessions) and the legal position of the government as an enterprise;
be able to qualify facts on their own and to apply the relevant rules, potentially after interpretation, to relatively complex cases;
be able to find case law in the area of economic public law, to analyse this case law, to situate it and to critically comment on it;
be able to work autonomously and in a team, meaning that they share their insights and experiences with their fellow students actively during the sessions in a collegial atmosphere.

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Oral Exam determines 60% of the final mark.
SELF Teamwork determines 30% of the final mark.
SELF Presentation determines 10% of the final mark.

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

Oral Exam with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 60% of the final mark.

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

Case Note with a relative weight of 2 which comprises 30% of the final mark.

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

Presentation case note with a relative weight of 3 which comprises 10% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

Throughout the semester, students write a case note on a judgement (CJEU, Council of State, etc.) in groups of 2 or 3. A draft version is submitted and students receive intermediate feedback on this. This covers 30% of the score.

The case note is presented by the students at the end of the semester in front of the entire group. This covers 10% of the score.

The students take an oral exam on the theory covered during class. The examen consists of a short theory question and an elaborate case. This covers 60% of the score.

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