Admission requirements
Admission to the LL.M. in Law Programme, European Law Track.
Description
This course will offer students a sound basis in the constitutional foundations of Member States’ cooperation in the field of justice and home affairs (migration, asylum and criminal law). It does so by examining some of the core concepts and principles that underlie this policy field, which has been named the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice. In addition it will examine a selection of substantive rules that govern mobility and security in Europe.
Course objectives
Objectives of the course
At the end of this course, students should be able to:
Understand core concepts and principles that govern EU cooperation in Justice and Home Affairs;
Identify the tension between the different core concepts and principles;
Apply the different core concepts and principles to concrete cases;
Find and use legal sources in the field of AFSJ, including the Treaties, secondary legislation and case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union;
Improve argumentation and writing skills during the seminar sessions;
Participate in the academic and public debate on current affairs pertaining to the AFSJ.
Achievement levels
The following achievement levels apply with regard to the course:
Carry out basic research, finding relevant legislation, literature and case law
Solve practical cases
Construct a legal argument both orally and in writing
Timetable
Check MyTimetable.
Mode of instruction
Lectures
Number of (2 hour) lectures: 8
Names of lecturers: Dr. J.J. Rijpma, Dr. S. Demkova
Required preparation by students: prepare the reading prescribed in the course reader.
Seminars
Number of (2 hour) seminars: 4
Names of instructors: Dr. J.J. Rijpma
Required preparation by students: study the prescribed reading materials, prepare the prescribed questions and case studies in the course reader and prepare short presentations.
Assessment method
Examination form(s)
The course will be concluded with a three hour written exam (80% of the final grade)
Students are also required to hand in a written assignment (20% of the final grade)
Each student will write, together with another student (hence in groups of two) a short note concerning a case decided by the Court of Justice of the European Union or the European Court of Human Rights. More detailed information on the assignment will be included in the reader.Depending on the number of students that need to retake the exam, the retake may take the form of a oral exam.
Areas to be tested within the exam
The examination syllabus consists of the required reading (literature) for the course, the course information guide and the subjects taught in the lectures, the seminars and all other instructions which are part of the course.
Regulation retake passed exams
In this course it is possible to retake an exam that has been passed (cf. art. 4.1.8.1 and further of the Course and Examination Regulations). Students who have passed the exam may retake the final written assessment (test) of the course if they meet certain requirements. To retake a passed exam, students need to ask the Student Administration Office (OIC) for permission. For more information, go to 'course and exam enrollment' > 'permission for retaking a passed exam' on the student website.
Reading list
Recommended course materials
This course will primarily use primary sources of EU law, as well as academic commentary. All treaties, legislation and case law can be found on Brightspace, as well as online (EU: http://eur-lex.europa.eu, ECHR: http://hudoc.echr.coe.int). For reasons of copy right protection not all journal articles can be made accessible on Brightspace. If the reading is not made available you will have to look it up in the library or use the library’s online resources: http://catalogue.leidenuniv.nl/.
We will not use a handbook, but you may want to refer to any of the manuals below to guide your learning:
Boeles, P. et. al., European Migration Law (Antwerp, Intersentia, 2014)
Barnard, C. and Peers, S. (Eds), EU Law (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2021), Chapters 24 (EU Criminal Law) and 25 (EU Migration and Asylum Law)
Chalmers et al., European Union Law: Text and Materials, (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2019), Chapters 12 (EU Law and Non-EU Nationals) and 14 (EU Criminal Law)
Craig and de Búrca, EU law: Text, cases, and materials (Oxford, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2020), Chapters 12 (Human Rights) and 26 (AFSJ: EU Criminal Law)
Kuijper et al., The Law of the European Union (Kluwer, 2018), Chapters 17 (EU Migration and Asylum Law) and 19 (EU Criminal Law).
Mitsilegas, V., EU Criminal Law (Oxford, Hart Publishing, 2022)
Peers, S., EU Justice and Home Affairs (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2016) (Non-Civil)
Registration
Check the website under “course and exam enrollment” for information on how to register for the course.
Contact information
Coordinator: Prof.dr. J.J. Rijpma
Work address: KOG, B1.25
Contact information: Appointment via e-mail
Email: j.j.rijpma@law.leidenuniv.nl
Institution/division:
Institute: Public Law
Division: European Law
Room number secretariat: KOG, B1.11
Opening hours: 9:00 – 17:00
Telephone number secretariat: 071 – 527 7416
E-mail: europeesrecht@law.leidenuniv.nl
Remarks
In case of (corona)restrictions imposed by the government, this course description is subject to change.