Broaden your legal horizons this summer! Join one (or more) international summer schools offered by the Faculty of Law of the University of Antwerp.

Upon successful completion of the programme, you will receive 3 ECTS credits and a micro-credential certificate.

Offered Programmes:

If you want to find out more information about the programmes, click the links on the respective titles.

Companies crossing Borders

Overview: This summer school focuses on key legal considerations for companies crossing borders. This will be done from various perspectives including mergers & acquisitions, (aggressive) tax (planning), labour, intellectual property, insolvency, and international contracts. The summer school includes a case relating to companies involved in a cross-border take-over situation, to be solved by the students. The students' solutions are discussed from the aforementioned various perspectives.

- The summer school will be hosted on campus AND online (live stream) via Blackboard Collaborate Ultra, the collaborative online learning platform of the University of Antwerp.

Date: June 23 - June 27 2025

Application Deadline: May 16 2025

Requirements:

• Students with a degree of Bachelor of Laws or Economics, or students who are enrolled in their third year.
• Students with similar competences (to be assessed on a case-by-case basis) are eligible for this summer school as well.

Cost:

• Participation on campus: €450

(The fee for participation on campus includes lectures, coffee breaks, social activities and a closing ceremony. It does not include travel arrangements, accommodation or meals.)

• Digital participation: €350

(The fee for digital participation includes all lectures, tutoring and workshops, course material, digital coaching and (online) social activities. Technical set-up (stable internet connection, headset, computer and webcam) has to be provided by the participant.)

Animal Law, Rights and Representation

Overview: The Summer School Animal Law, Rights and Representation offers an intensive programme of 5 days of lectures and workshops on different aspects of animal (rights) law. Students will dive into the emerging field of animal rights law from a transnational perspective. They will be familiarized with the basics of animal rights law, get to know about issues concerning the representation of animals in court, and study the transnational aspects of the law addressing animals. Moreover, they will get the chance to interact with practitioners and animal law scholars that will give guest lectures during the course, amongst which the directors of the Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law. The aim is to give a comprehensive and critical overview of the relevant theories and laws addressing animals, including supranational, international, and national perspectives.

Participants successfully completing the course will have a strong basis in animal rights law for their further careers.

Date: August 25 - August 29 2025

Application Deadline: May 16 2025

Requirements:

Third Bachelor and Master Students in Law. Participants should have at least completed 2 full years of higher education in a relevant field of study.

Cost: €420

(The registration fee includes lectures, course materials, coffee breaks, a closing ceremony and social activities. It does not cover lunch, dinner, travel or accommodation.)

Legal Technology and Legal Innovation

Overview: In this summer course students will gain a better understanding of the concepts of legal technology and legal innovation as well as the importance of these concepts in the evolution of the legal world.

They will understand the basic principles of the programming language Python and will be able to apply these principles in simple coding exercises.

They will learn to code a decision tree, a mechanism that is daily used by lawyers, sometimes without being aware of it. Students will understand how a computer makes decisions and how it can make predictions by using so called explaining algorithms. That way students will also gain insights in how a computer can predict judicial decisions.

Students will also meet several legal start-ups and will understand the opportunities of legal technology and legal innovation in the business and customer services of these start-ups.

One of these opportunities are the so called smart contracts. The concept of smart contracts will be analysed. The following questions are addressed:

• What is a smart contract?
• What is the legal value of a smart contract?
• What are the legal difficulties that might arise using a smart contract?

Besides this, students will also learn about the technical aspects of a smart contract and will learn how to put the basic principles of coding a smart contract into practice.

Finally, the students will gain a better understanding of the concept of legal design thinking, in which a multidisciplinary frame is used to present and approach legal problems and legal services in an innovative and customer friendly way. Students will also apply the basic principles of legal design thinking in short exercises.

The course will end with a “LegalTech Game”. Participants who successfully pass this test after continuous class participation will receive a certificate of completion.

Date: August 25 - August 29 2025

Application Deadline: June 27 2025

Requirements: The summer school is designed for master students in law and law professionals. No prior technical knowledge is required.

Cost: € 750

(The registration fee includes lectures, course materials, coffee breaks, social activities, and a closing ceremony. It does not include accommodation, meals or travel arrangements.)