Legal Reasoning and Case Analysis
Method
Use a structured method: identify the facts, the legal question, the applicable rule, the application, and the conclusion (IRAC or the Belgian syllogism). Separate questions of fact from questions of law. Identify the parties and their claims.
Sources and interpretation
Know the hierarchy of sources and the interpretive methods: literal, systematic, teleological, and historical. Understand the role of precedent in Belgian law (persuasive, not formally binding, except for the unified case law of the Court of Cassation). Know the effect of judgments of the Constitutional Court and of the European Court of Human Rights.
Case analysis
Practice reading a fact pattern for hidden issues: time limits, jurisdiction, standing, and the applicable law in time (successive laws). Watch for conflicts between domestic and international norms and the principle of consistent interpretation.
Traps
Do not jump to a conclusion without identifying the legal basis. Do not confuse the ratio decidendi with obiter dicta. Watch for questions that turn on a procedural defect rather than on the merits.
Worked example
A tenant refuses to pay rent, claiming defects. First identify the contract and the applicable rules; then ask whether the defects justify suspension of performance; then consider the judge's power to grant a price reduction; finally check limitation and jurisdiction. Each step must be justified with a rule.
Rule of thumb
If you cannot name the legal basis in one sentence, you have not finished the analysis.