Leuven

 

Contact information

If you wish to obtain more information about the Postgraduate Studies in ICT & Media Law programme, please contact:

Interdisciplinary Centre for Law and ICT (ICRI)

Faculty of Law
dr. Eva Lievens
Director Postgraduate Studies in ICT & Media Law
Sint-Michielsstraat 6
B - 3000 Leuven
Belgium

E-mail: eva.lievens@law.kuleuven.be
Tel: +32 16 32 52 73 / +32 16 32 07 70
Fax: +32 16 32 54 38

Leuven 1
Leuven 2
Leuven 3

Concept

Over the past twenty years the Interdisciplinary Centre for Law & ICT has, within the framework of K.U.Leuven, built up extensive expertise in the field of ICT & media law research and education. The centre enjoys an excellent reputation both at national and international level and has established a wide network of experts and contacts in the private and public sector as well as the academic community.

The ICT and Media sector is a rapidly evolving and highly complex sector, influenced by technological, economic and sociological developments. In this sector, existing legal frameworks are continuously challenged, traditional legal concepts and principles need to be reinterpreted and an insight into other - connected - disciplines is vital to function at a high level. It is one of the goals of our programme to address the increasing demand for qualified legal practitioners in the ICT and media sector.

The Postgraduate Studies in ICT & Media Law programme focuses on acquiring an advanced level of knowledge of European ICT & media law, on gaining insight into a number of disciplines that are closely connected to ICT & media law (technology; economy; socio-political, cultural and media studies), and on obtaining practical legal skills in this field. Aside from a professional stream, with a field internship, where emphasis is put on acquiring up-to-date knowledge and professional legal skills, they also offer a research stream, with a research-oriented internship, for students who aspire to an academic career in the field of ICT & media law.

The location of K.U.Leuven, at the heart of Europe in close vicinity to the European institutions and other strategic organisations, such as NATO, large international law firms and important ICT and media companies, is especially suited to study this field of law, which has been top of policy agendas at different levels for the past two decades.

Programme structure


The programme has four main building blocks:

  • three intensive course blocks (3 weeks course modules and 6 weeks task preparation):
    • European ICT & media law
    • Interdisciplinary perspectives on ICT & media law
    • Case-studies & skills; and
  • a four-week (research or field) internship.


More information about the full programme of the website can be found here.

EULISP Students - Programme Structure

Eulisp students who choose to come to Leuven in the second semester of the academic year will have the opportunity to follow the third course block, Case-studies & skills, which focuses on the practical application of the legislative framework in the field of ICT & Media Law (13 ECTS). Two types of course modules will be offered in this course block.

  • First, a number of case-study modules or "legal clinics" will present recent developments and rising legal issues. These modules will teach students how to apply and interpret existing legislation and regulations with regard to concrete, emerging phenomena.
  • A second type of modules will teach students a number of practical skills (oral and written) which are of particular importance in the ICT & media sector, such as drafting ICT contracts, interconnection negotiation, performing market analysis procedures, or building and defending a human rights media case.


In the second part of this course block students will be required to complete a task related to the skills module of their choice.

In addition, Eulisp students will be offered the possibility to follow one of more courses from the general LL.M. programme organised by the Faculty of Law of the K.U.Leuven, such as Copyright or Patent Law. More information about the LL.M. programme and the courses that are offered is available at http://www.law.kuleuven.be/cals/llm/.

Faculty

The programme will be taught by highly qualified and experienced academic faculty, including ICRI professors Prof. dr. Jos Dumortier and Prof. dr. Peggy Valcke, as well as colleagues from the Faculty of Law, and other faculties of K.U.Leuven. In addition, in order to offer participants' the most relevant and up-to-date knowledge, visiting faculty both from an academic and professional background will be involved on a regular basis. ICRI can rely on an extensive network of contacts, who are the top experts in their field of research or practice.

Language

The official language of the programme is English. All modules will be taught in English; tasks and assignments will also need to be completed in English.

Tuition

TBD

Leuven

Leuven itself is a modern, bustling city of nearly 90.000 inhabitants that has managed to maintain its traditional style. It developed as the capital of the Duchy of Brabant, and as a textile and trading centre on the road to Germany. Brewing beer became an art and presently Leuven possesses the largest brewery in Belgium. Moreover, it hosts a wonderful collection of historic buildings, from the early Romanesque period to the last century. The masterpiece is undoubtedly the 15th century Gothic Town Hall. Subsequent to Belgian constitutional reforms, Leuven resumed its role as the capital of the newly created province of Flemish Brabant (Vlaams Brabant) on January 1, 1995.

Leuven is located about 25 kilometres from Brussels, the capital of Belgium. Brussels is an area of intense economic and political activity. It is not only the centre of the European Community and of NATO, but also home to the European headquarters of many multinational businesses and organisations. Paris, Amsterdam, Cologne, Bonn and Luxembourg are all within a three-hour drive from Brussels. London can be reached after a 45-minute flight across the Channel or a two-hour ride by train through the Channel Tunnel.

The Law Library

The library of the Faculty of Law hosts an extensive collection of legal journals and books in numerous languages, covering all aspects of Belgian law, EU law, international law, and the law of the most important European countries as well as the United States. Many of them are in English. All major official documents of the European Union are available, such as the Official Journal and the Reports of the Court of Justice.

There is free access to the internet and to a wide variety of online and scientific databases used all over the university. Those databases include European Law, International Law and national law of Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. The library is open from 8.30 a.m. until 11.00 p.m. during weekdays (9.00 p.m. on Fridays), and from 10.00 a.m. until 6.00 p.m. on Saturdays.

Another library of the K.U.Leuven, the Library for Official Publications, hosts all official documents of the European Community, the Council of Europe, and the United Nations and its affiliated organisations. This library is located on the ground floor of the Central Library, very close to the law library.

All libraries in Leuven can be consulted by means of a library information system developed at the K.U.Leuven. This LIBIS system enables readers to search for author names, book titles, and publishers in several languages. The results of this search can be printed at a small cost. Journals or books that are not available in any of the K.U.Leuven libraries can be ordered from a connecting library in Belgium or abroad by interlibrary loan. Normally it takes between 1 and 3 weeks to receive the publications required.

The proximity of the EC headquarters also provides LL.M. students with access to the official library of the European Union and other documentation centres in Brussels.

K.U.Leuven facilities for foreign students

The K.U.Leuven hosts around 5000 foreign students each year, from all over the world, for whom a wide network of services has been established.

   

  • International Office provides all necessary information about obtaining visas or other administrative documents.
  • The Housing Service deals with aspects of accommodation in Leuven, including temporary housing, while the Social Service can help with all social issues of student life at the K.U.Leuven, such as employment, and legal and medical services.
  • The International Contact Club organises meetings for foreign students and operates a rental service of furniture and a second-hand shop of clothes and other useful articles.
  • The Centre for Living Languages and the Institute for Living Languages enable foreign students to learn one or more of the following languages: Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and Turkish. Most languages can be taken during the academic year; some are also taught during the summer.
  • A few minutes out of town, near the new student campus of Heverlee, the K.U.Leuven has superb sporting facilities. About 40 different sports, from basketball to tennis and karate to archery, can be practised at a minimum cost. Many of these sports are under the guidance of official coaches.


For more information on Living, studying and working in Leuven, please visit http://www.kuleuven.be/english/living.html.