Gwybodaeth Modiwlau
Course Delivery
Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
---|---|
Lecture | 30 Hours. 2 x 1 hour lectures per week. |
Seminars / Tutorials | 6 Hours. 3 x 1 hour seminars per semester. |
Assessment
Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
---|---|---|
Semester Exam | 2 Hours Exam at the end of the second semester | 100% |
Supplementary Exam | 2 Hours Exam | 100% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
By the end of the course students should have gained an understanding of the structure of European legal regimes, their relationship to each other, the roles of the main European Institutions, and the processes of legislation and law application at the European level. They should also have acquired a reasonable level of competence in locating and using both primary and secondary sources of European law, and the ability both orally and in writing to construct argument and analyse problems using the methodology of European law, together with an appreciation of the way in which various types of European law interact with national legal systems.
Brief description
This module is designed to provide knowledge and understanding of the main elements of these European legal orders and to introduce students to the materials and methodologies used in those systems. The legal materials used in the European Union and other European legal orders differ in important respects from those used in England and Wales and instruction in the use of these sources and in European legal method is therefore an important part of the course. This module is a pre-requisite for further study of European Law (module GF/LA32410).
The module will trace the development and explain the principal features of the legal regimes based on the European Union and arising within the framework of the Council of Europe's Conventions and will consider the inter-relationship of these regimes. There will be a particular focus on the difference between the more integrated 'supranational' legal order of the European Union system and the 'intergovernmental' methodology employed by the Union and by the Council of Europe. Necessarily a substantial part of the course will deal with the processes of law-making, implementation and enforcement of European Union law and policy and the legal accountability of the European Union institutions. An important issue is the relationship between European Union and national systems since the greater part of European Union law has to be applied and given effect by Member State courts and agencies. A study of the problems which arise from this major division of functions within the European Union system (law-making and interpretation of law at the European Union level and enforcement at the national level) supplies an important theme for this part of the course.
Aims
Content
1. An introduction to source material and literature.
2. An overview of European legal regimes : in particular the European Union and Council of Europe
- their development
- their objectives
- their inter-relationship
- intergovernmental and supranational models
4. The structure of the European Union
- the principal treaties
- EU institutions
- the legal framework of 'variable geometry'
6. Basic features of the European Union legal order : the doctrine of the supremacy of European Union law and the role and working method of the European Union courts.
7. EU law-making processes and categories of EU law.
8. Implementation and enforcement of European Union rules
- implementation by European Union and by Member State bodies and the role of the European Court of Justice
- enforcement as against Member States and as against individuals
- the role of the doctrine of direct effect and related principles
- accountability of the EU institutions
- legal restrictions on decision-making powers
- judicial review of EU action
- other methods of accountability
Reading List
Recommended Text(2004) Rudden and Wyatt's EU Treaties and Legislation 9th ed. Oxford University Press Primo search Chalmers, Damian (2010) European Union Law :text and materials http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip067/2006002818.html 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press Craig, P. P. (2007) EU Law :text, cases, and materials 4th ed. Oxford University Press Primo search
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 4