Admission requirements
Required course(s):
Sovereignty and Statehood and Structure and Functioning of the EU
Description
This course is dedicated to the study of economic integration taking place around the world. Following a comparative approach, this course focuses on regional economic integration initiatives and on comparing and analyzing their main features from a predominantly legal perspective. The course will start with a general and critical overview of economic integration, to be followed by the highly integrated internal market of the European Union law and its four freedoms (goods, services, persons, and capital). The course will then move onto regional economic integration in the Americas, in Asia and in Africa and, subsequently, an introduction to international economic law with a focus on the WTO, also elucidating the links and tensions between the regional and global levels.
This course aims at comparing each economic integration area/organization by highlighting their commonalities and specificities. In doing so, this course analyses a common set of topics (e.g., trade in goods & services and related issues such as quotas and tariffs, regulatory issues, and dispute settlement mechanisms, including the position of the individual).
This course serves as a potential replacement for the course ‘Europees Recht’ at Leiden Law School in the context of the Double Degree Studies program.
Course Objectives
After successful completion of the course, students are able to, in terms of knowledge:
Goal 1: Understanding economic integration in a regional and global context;
Goal 2: Differentiating different models of market integration;
Goal 3: Grasping the tensions between economic and non-economic objectives of integration;
Goal 4: Understanding the legal remedies for states as well as individuals.
Skills:
Goal 5: Interpreting legal provision in economic integration agreements and related legal documents;
Goal 6: Applying legal rules to a hypothetical case study and work as a legal team;
Goal 7: Independently analyzing and comparing regional economic organizations;
Goal 8: Critically appraising international economic news and on-going trade and investment negotiations and disputes.
Timetable
Timetables for courses offered at Leiden University College in 2023-2024 will be published on this page of the e-Prospectus.
Mode of instruction
The course combines lectures with various interactive elements. Active knowledge is required of the topics covered in mandatory prerequisite courses. Students will have the opportunity of working on a hypothetical case on EU internal market law through a moot court exercise: they will submit written pleadings (group work) and will present their argument in oral proceedings (individual presentation). In addition, they will work on specific case studies and will present their work to their peers and comment on each other’s work (group presentations). The topics seen in class need to be well understood as they will form the basis of the final exam which will consist of the application of theoretical knowledge to a practical case study and essay question(s).
Assessment Method
Participation 10% (Goals 1-4, 5 and 8)
Group written pleadings in a moot court exercise 22% (week 3 & 4) (Goals 3, 5, 6)
Individual oral pleadings in a moot court exercise 18% (week 4) (Goals 3, 5, 6)
Group presentations on given case studies 15% (week 7) (Goals 1-4, 5, 7, 8)
Final exam 35% (week 8) (Goals 1-4, 5 and 8)
Reading list
Course textbook:
- Catherine Barnard and Steve Peers (eds), European Union Law (fourth edition, Oxford University Press, 2023) (note: the previous, third edition from 2020 is also acceptable)
Additional readings, cases and/or legislation assigned for each class
Generally recommended readings and research resources (selection):
Check the journals Legal Issues of Economic Integration, Journal of International Economic Law, Journal of World Trade, and Common Market Law Review
The websites WorldTradeLaw.net and Afronomicslaw.org
Carlos Closa and Lorenzo Casini, Comparative Regional Integration: Governance and Legal Models (Cambridge University Press, 2016)
Peter Van den Bossche and Werner Zdouc, The Law and Policy of the World Trade Organization: Text, Cases, and Materials (fifth edition, Cambridge University Press, 2021)
Emmanuel Ugirashebuja, John Ruhangisa, Tom Ottervanger, Armin Cuyvers (eds), East African Community Law: Institutional, Substantive and Comparative EU Aspects (Brill/Nijhoff, 2017)
Marcilio Toscano Franca Filho, Lucas Lixinski, María Belén Olmos Giupponi (eds), The Law of MERCOSUR (Hart Publishing, 2011)
Jacques Pelkmans, The ASEAN Economic Community: A Conceptual Approach (Cambridge University Press, 2015)
Timothy Masiko, Flexible Regional Economic Integration in Africa: Lessons and Implications for the Multilateral Trading System (Hart Publishing, 2022)
Registration
Courses offered at Leiden University College (LUC) are usually only open to LUC students and LUC exchange students. Leiden University students who participate in one of the university’s Honours tracks or programmes may register for one LUC course, if availability permits. Registration is coordinated by the Education Coordinator, course.administration@luc.leidenuniv.nl.
Contact
Dr. J.E. Larik: j.e.larik@luc.leidenuniv.nl
Remarks
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