Lovanium Seminar in Ethics and Public Policy

Social Justice in the European Union: Principles, institutions, policies

This joint KUleuven-UCLouvain seminar operates in English and takes place alternatively in Leuven and in Louvain-la-Neuve on four Fridays (all day) in the first semester and three or four in the second.

It starts every year with a compact introduction to the main contemporary ethical theories that are relevant to the discussion of public policies and social institutions. The rest of the seminar focuses on a special theme that changes from year to year and hosts guest speakers from various relevant disciplines. Past themes include global justice, migration, justice and democracy, ethical limits of the market, justice in health care, the neutrality of the state, exploitation, discrimination and exclusion.

In 2012-13, the focus will be on the question of social justice in the European Union: What are the principles of justice that are relevant at that level? In the light of these principles, how should the EU's institutions be designed? And what should be the content of its policies?

Provisional programme for the first semester

Friday 5/10/12 10h30-17h Salle du Conseil, Leclercq 93, Place Montesquieu 1, Louvain-la-Neuve
Contemporary theories of social justice: domestic and global.
Introduction by Philippe Van Parijs. Commentaries by Frank Vandenbroucke and Toon Vandevelde

Friday 19/10/12 10h30-17h Salle du Conseil, Leclercq 93, Place Montesquieu 1, Louvain-la-Neuve
Social Justice in the European Union: alternative approaches
Introduction by Frank Vandenbroucke. Commentaries by Toon Vandevelde and Philippe Van Parijs

Friday 9/11/12 10h30-18h Maria Theresacollege, Sint Michielsstraat 6, Leuven
Social Justice in the European Union
Presentations by Kenneth Armstrong (Queen Mary College, London) and Koen Leenaerts (KU Leuven and European Court of Justice)

Friday 21/12/12 10h30-17h Maria Theresacollege, Sint Michielsstraat 6, Leuven
Social Justice in the European Union
Presentations by Andrea Sangiovanni (King's College, London) and Juri Viehoff (University of Oxford)