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Introduction to EU Law

Objectives



Introductory course aimed at students who did not complete the discipline of European Union constitutional law during the 1st cycle, which focuses on the main dimensions of European Union constitutional law, based on the analysis of the Treaties that govern the European Union and constitutional jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union.


At the end of the course, students will be able to:



 



i) understand the origin and nature of the European Union and its law;



ii) distinguish the institutions of the European Union and the sources of its law;



iii) understand the system of government and the judicial system of the European Union, as well as the relationship between EU law and national law;



iv) critically analyze decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union.


General characterization

Code

33267

Credits

2

Responsible teacher

Graça Canto Moniz

Hours

Weekly - Available soon

Total - 0

Teaching language

Available soon

Prerequisites

Not Applicable

Bibliography

Not Applicable

Teaching method



The syllabus is exposed by the lecturer through the discussion of doctrinal and jurisprudential texts. The sessions follow the Socratic model, in which the student is encouraged to actively intervene.

Evaluation method



Final written exam or drafting of a casenote to a decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Subject matter



Module I – The origin and nature of the European Union





Class 1 – The origin of the European Union

The situation in Europe at the end of World War II. Winston Churchill's "Zurich speech" and the idea of ¿¿the United States of Europe. The Hague Congress and the duality of methods in European construction: intergovernmental cooperation and supranational integration. From Paris to Rome: the European Coal and Steel Community. From Rome to Maastricht: the European Economic Community. From Maastricht to Lisbon: the European Union.



Class 2 – The nature of the European Union

The origin of the modern theory of federation. The US Federal Constitutional Experience. The federation and the federal state. The theory of international law and the constitutional case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. The federation as a constitutional form of political association. The European Union as a federation of states and peoples.





Module II – The identity of the European Union



Class 3 - Values, principles and fundamental rights

The fundamental values ¿¿and principles of the European Union. The historical evolution of the protection of fundamental rights in the European Union. The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union: i) origin, content and legal force; ii) scope of application; iii) the relationship with the European Convention on Human Rights.



Lesson 4 – European citizenship

Subjective scope. Citizenship rights and, in particular, the right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States. Evolution of the concept of citizenship in the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union.


 





Module III – The political organization of the European Union



Class 5 - Vertical distribution of powers

Attributions and competences of the European Union. The principle of attribution. Categories and domains of competence of the European Union. The principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. The role of Member State parliaments.



Class 6 - Horizontal distribution of powers

The institutions of the European Union: formation, composition, powers and functioning of the European Council, the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, the European Commission and the Court of Justice of the European Union. The decision-making procedures. The principles of institutional balance and loyal cooperation.





Module IV – The legal order of the European Union



Class 7 – The relationship between the legal order of the Union and the legal orders of the Member States.

The sources of European Union law. The principles of direct effect and the rule of law in the European Union. The principles of conforming interpretation and State responsibility. The principles of procedural autonomy, equivalence and effectiveness.



Class 8 - The decentralized execution and application of European Union law.

The justiciability of European Union law. National courts as common courts of the European Union. National administrations as common administrations of the European Union.