Advanced EU Law

Duration

30h Th

Number of credits

Lecturer

Pieter Van Cleynenbreugel

Language(s) of instruction

English language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the first semester, review in January

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

This course offers a panoramic perspective of the state of European Union law today by introducing students to a series of themes showcasing EU law's potential and limits in the current EU institutional setup. The law having played a major role in building a supranational legal order, its limits have nevertheless also become clear more than ever before, in the wake of successive Euro-crises and the results of the UK referendum on 23 June 2016. The course therefore explicitly invites students to think critically about the state of EU law - and more generally the European Union - today. The basics of the EU legal order being outlined in introductory courses to the field (at the ULg, those courses include 'droit institutionnel européen' in the second year and 'droit matériel européen' in the third), this course will presuppose some knowledge on EU law and the EU institutions in order for students to be able to follow it. If they do not have such knowledge, students will be required - in the early weeks of the course - to catch up with this independently.
The course will be structured around three main themes and one supplementary topic, all related to the quest for an ever more perfect European Union grounded in law and legal norms. The first theme focuses on the EU internal market, the limits to its current setup and the steps taken to overcome some of the legal loopholes not envisaged by the Founding Fathers of the European Union. The second theme focuses on the institutional functioning of the EU in itself. A more perfect Union presupposes better streamlined institutions and decision-making procedures as well. The third theme relates to the Economic and Monetary Union, which occupies a special status within the EU Treaty framework; considered technical and esoteric by many, the crisis sparked renewed interest in this field. Finally, we end the course on the legal implications and potential future directions in the wake of the 23 June 2016 U.K. referendum results. Studying the legal implications of a pending Brexit, we will discuss how this change may affect the outlook and structure of the EU in the decades to come.

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

By the end of this course, students will have gained a deeper understanding of specific themes in which EU law has played a role or in which it can be invoked.
Students will have a better command of legal English. They will be able to understand the English version of a European Court case or a European legislative instruments. They will be capable of explaining orally in English a point of law within the subject matter of this course. In addition, they will be capable of summarising a key legal argument in writing, through the obligatory forum posts in eCampus. Students will capable of developing arguments based on a problem of EU law and will be able to reflect more critically on the state and future of EU law.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

Basic knowledge of EU institutional and substantive law. Ability and willingness to follow a lecture in English and to take part in discussions.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

Eleven two-hour lectures will be organised, which will take place during our regular time-slot on Fridays from 10.30 to 13.00.
An optional visit to the Court of Justice in Luxemburg will be organised on Wednesday 22 November as well. The visit forms part of the course - for organisational purposes, students will be asked to register explicitly for this visit during the first class.
Students will have to prepare each class by reading the assigned materials and prepare for an oral discussion or other exercice as instructed.
The syllabus for this course will be available in both printed and electronic version. More information will be posted on eCampus.

Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning)

This course is taught face-to-face. Taking part in this course implies preparing for each class and taking an active part in discussions. In addition, students will be required to prepare two written case notes. They will receive at least two individual feedback sessions on those case notes .

Recommended or required readings

Cases and materials as well as course outlines will be available in a printed reader, as well as online via eCampus.
The cases and materials largely contain Court of Justice case law and EU legislation. Links to doctrinal articles will be posted on eCampus.

Assessment methods and criteria

The course is the subject of two evaluation mechanisms.
Firstly, each student will have to prepare two written assignments in the format of case notes. Those case notes will count for 8 out of 20 points of the final grade. Feedback moments will be organised frequently, allowing students to improve their writing skills throughout the semester.
Secondly, an oral examination will be organised during the January exam period. Two questions comprising elements of different course themes will be offered to students, who will have half an hour to prepare. The exam will be open book; students can bring their annotated course materials to the prepation for the oral exam.

Work placement(s)

Organizational remarks

11 lecture sessions and one optional visit to the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxemburg will be organised:

• Towards an ever more perfect European Union? The role of law in European integration (22/09)
• Perfecting the internal market: horizontalising free movement rights (29/09)
• Perfecting the internal market: economic freedoms v. social rights? (6/10, )
• Perfecting the internal market: citizenship without limits? (20/10)
• Improving EU institutional functioning: transparency and access to documents: buzzwords or reality? (27/10)
• Improving EU institutional functioning: fundamental rights protection in post-Lisbon EU law (10/11)
• Improving EU institutional functioning: enhanced cooperation as new institutional reality? (17/11)
• Visit to the Court of Justice in Luxemburg (22/11)
• Beyond market integration: legal foundations of the Economic and Monetary Union (24/11)
• Beyond market integration: Economic and Monetary Union in crisis (1/12)
• Beyond market integration: saving the EMU outside and inside the EU legal order (8/12)
• The EU law implications of a  "Brexit" (15/12)

Contacts

Professor: Pieter Van Cleynenbreugel (pieter.vancleynenbreugel@ulg.ac.be)
Secretariat: Caroline Langevin (caroline.langevin@ulg.ac.be)

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