Advanced EU Law

General characterization

Prerequisites

Available soon

Bibliography

Available soon

Teaching method

The course adopts the form of seminar classes, namely interactive classes where students are expected to participate in a structured discussion over the topics being presented. The discussion is structured as follows:

1. first half of the class: first the instructor provides an overview of the topic;


2. second half of the class: the students who signed up for the reading assigned for that class provide comments on the paper/judicial case and act as icebreaker discussants, before the discussion is opened to the whole class. The second half of the class adopts a discussion-based format and interaction is integral to this second part.

At the end of each class session, the instructor provides comments on how to improve the critical analysis and discussion of legal papers.

Evaluation method

1. Final exam

Written essay consisting of providing structured comments on a legal paper in the field of European constitutional law. The essay must be up to two pages, it will cover an assigned topic amongst the topics covered during the course (classes 1 to 11). The essay must be written in English, and it is NOT open book. The exam lasts three hours.

 

The grading will be based on the following three criteria:

1. Orderly structure of the essay (ideally containing an introduction and overview of the topic and/or a roadmap) and linearity of the arguments presented (30%).


2. Ability to respond to the issues raised by the author (pertinence) (30%).


3. Ability to connect it to other topics relevant to the course (systematic attitude) (30%).


4. Linguistic skills (10%).

 

The maximum grade is 20/20. The minimum grade to pass the exam is 10/20.

 

2. Continuous Assessment

 

In the alternative to taking the final exam, students can participate in the continuous assessment.

 

This means that if they are satisfied with the final grade, the final exam is not mandatory.

 

The CA consists of two components:

1. Written essay: 17 points out of 20. On the last day of classes, students have an opportunity to write a final essay up to two pages on an assigned topic, amongst the topics covered during the course (classes 1-10, discrimination and EU law excluded). The essay must be written in English, and it is open book. Students must bring a laptop and upload the essay in PDF format on the relevant Moodle section (‘final essay continuous assessment’). The exam lasts 3 hours.

 

2. Class participation: 3 points out of 20. Active and constructive participation in class is worth up to 2 extra points on the final grade and is conferred at the discretion of the instructor at the end of the course.

Subject matter

PART I
1	Introduction to the course
2	The EU as a federal state
3	Direct effects
4	The EU as a demoicracy
5	EU citizenship
PART II
6	Rule of Law
7	Illiberalism in the EU
8	Illiberalism in the EU
PART III
9	Fundamental rights in the EU
10	Fundamental rights in the EU
11	Guest Lecture
12	Continuous assessment	In-class essay

Programs

Programs where the course is taught: