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Faculté de droit
In 2025–2026, the UNamur School of Law has the honor and privilege of welcoming Professor Delphine Misonne as the recipient of a Francqui Chair awarded by the Francqui Foundation: “Need for the Environment, Need for Law?”
Delphine Misonne is an FNRS Research Fellow, Professor at UCLouvain, Director of CEDRE, and a member of the Royal Academy of Belgium.
The organization of this lecture is fully aligned with the Faculty of Law’s overarching theme dedicated to the environment, nature, and our earth—the very foundation of life: “Re-enchanting the Earth.”
Introduction
This Francqui Chair offers a fresh perspective on both the advances and the tensions that currently characterize the way in which the law governs society’s relationship with the environment, as an essential foundation for human life and the balance of ecosystems. Far from presenting environmental law as having reached its peak, the focus will be on its major recent advances, as well as the risks of regression that threaten it.
While the ambition to protect the environment has indeed become a legal issue, how are its fundamental drivers evolving—whether in relation to climate, human health, or the status accorded to nature?
With a view to placing the protection of ecosystems back at the center of public debate, UNamur is organizing a second Francqui Chair in Sciences this academic year with Prof. Sander Jacobs on a related theme: “Repairing Our Relationship with Nature.” The inaugural lecture will take place on November 19, 2025.
What's on
Inaugural Lecture I: Protecting the Environment Beyond Politics
November 27, 2025 - 6:00–8:00 p.m. - Pedro Arrupe Auditorium, Rue de Bruxelles 65–67 (access via the Cour des Sciences), 5000 Namur, followed by a local drink hosted by the Cercle de Droit, Régionale la Binchoise, and Régionale RTM.
Lecture 2: Is Environmental Law Facing Extinction?
February 12, 2026 - 5:00 PM–7:00 PM - Auditorium D02 (Faculty of Law), Rue Grangagnage, 5000 Namur
Lecture 3 I Decriminalizing pollution: health and climate at the heart of the discussion
February 26, 2026 - 5:00 PM–7:00 PM - Lecture Hall D01 (Faculty of Law), Rue Grangagnage, 5000 Namur
Lesson 4 I Bees, Humans, and Glaciers
March 12, 2026 - 5:00 PM–7:00 PM - Lecture Hall D01 (Faculty of Law), Rue Grangagnage, 5000 Namur
Lesson 5 I From Above: A New Perspective on Environmental Law
April 2, 2026 - 6:00 PM–8:00 PM - Auditorium D01 (Faculty of Law), Rue Grangagnage, 5000 Namur
Free events; registration required.
Organizer
Prof. Amélie Lachapelle
Contact: amelie.lachapelle@unamur.be
Repairing our relationship with nature to transform our societies
At the same time, the Faculty of Sciences at UNamur is hosting Professor Sander Jacobs in connection with a Francqui Chair awarded to him by the Francqui Foundation: “Repairing Our Relationship with Nature to Transform Our Societies.”
Sander Jacobs is a senior researcher at INBO (Institute for Nature and Forest), part of the Nature & Society research group, Coordinator of the urban nature research program, and Visiting Professor at Ghent University.
Transitions & Sustainable Development at UNamur
The university must set an example in the area of sustainable development—across its three dimensions (economic, social, and environmental)—through the way it manages its infrastructure and assets to be “sustainable in form,” as well as, as an institution of education and research, through its commitment to actively contributing to the environmental transition to be “sustainable in substance.” All of this must be in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
La Fondation Francqui
Les chaires belges (Collen) Francqui, créées en 1933, sont l’une des activités principales de la Fondation. La Fondation finance ces chaires dans le but de promouvoir la coopération et les échanges entre les universités (principalement belges) et de mettre en valeur l’excellence académique.
