Admission requirements
LL.B. or equivalent undergraduate degree or admission to the LL.M. Programme (European Law).
Description
The European Community [now Union] constitutes a new legal order of international law, for whose benefit the States have limited their sovereign rights. This course aims to provide students with a thorough knowledge of that legal order. It will look at the foundations of European law from two different angles. The first is that of a practitioner who needs to know her way around the European institutions and how to use European law in daily practice. The second is more theoretical, inquiring into the specific constitutional nature of the Union.
The Course is given in the form of ten lectures and ten seminars. The first two lectures, as well as the concluding lecture, will look at the historical and political context within which the EU legal order has developed. The other lectures combine a general overview of the course material with a focus on the most important and complex topics. These topics will be further developed in the seminars, for which students will have to prepare questions and case studies in advance.
Course objectives
Objectives of the course
This course is aimed at providing students with the foundations of EU law. At the end of this course students will be able to
find, interpret and apply the different sources of EU law, including primary law, secondary law, case law, and the general principles of EU law in concrete cases.
Distinguish between basic doctrines of EU law such as direct effect, supremacy, effectiveness and loyal cooperation and apply these doctrines to concrete cases.
Identify the mechanisms in EU law for judicial review and enforcement and apply these to concrete cases.
Explain the institutional architecture of the EU, including the horizontal relationship between the institutions and the vertical relationship between the EU and its Member States.
Explain European news and politics in relation to the EU’s constitutional legal framework.
Take a reasoned position in clear writing on questions of EU integration.
Achievement levels
The following achievement levels apply with regard to the course:
Carry out research
Solve practical cases
Construct a legal argument in writing
Timetable
The timetable of this course can be found in uSis.
Mode of instruction
Lectures
Number of (2 hour) lectures: 10
Names of lecturers: Prof. L.J. Van Middelaar, Dr. J.J. Rijpma
Required preparation by students: Study the prescribed literature and case law in depth, in advance of the lecture
Seminars
Number of (2 hour) seminars: 10
Names of instructors: Dr. J.J. Rijpma, F. Behre LL.M.
Required preparation by students: Revise the prescribed literature and case law, apply the acquired knowledge to the questions and case studies provided for in the reader
Assessment method
Examination form(s)
- A ‘zero check’ entry exam (status ‘practical assigment’): this does not count towards a grade, but provides an initial assessment of the student’s knowledge of EU law.
First chance:
Midterm exam (3 hours), counting for 20% towards the final grade.
The midterm exam covers all material covered in the first five weeks
The midterm exam consists of 20 multiple choice questions and 1 open question, which may take either the form of a problem case or an essay question
Written exam (3 hours), counting for 80% towards the final grade.
The written exam comprises all material covered in the course (including the first five weeks)
Second chance (resit):
Students who fail the exam are entitled to sit a re-examination. Depending on the number of students failing the exam, the re-sit may take the form of an oral exam.
The 20% grade for the mid-term exam will remain valid for the re-sit. If a student has not passed the course by the end of the academic year, partial grades for the mid-term and/or final exam are no longer valid.
The re-sit consists of a written exam (3 hours), counting for 80% towards the final grade
The resit comprises all material covered in the course (including the first five weeks)
Depending on the number of students failing the exam, the re-sit may take the form of an oral exam.
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), on the condition that this course is included in the compulsory components of the degree programme. Students who have passed the exam may retake the final written assessment (test) of the course. Please contact the Student Administration Office (OIC) for more information.
Submission procedures
To be announced in the course reader and/or on Blackboard.
Areas to be tested within the exam All required reading listed in the course reader (literature, case law), all topics discussed during lectures and seminars.
Submission procedures
To be announced in course book and/or on Blackboard.
Areas to be tested within the exam
All required reading listed in the course reader (literature, case law), all topics discussed during lectures and seminars.
Blackboard
More information on this course is offered on Blackboard.
Reading list
Obligatory course materials
Literature:
Craig & De Burca, EU Law: Text,Cases and Material (Oxford University Press, 2015), sixth edition.
The free online Commission booklet ‘The ABC of EU law’ by Professor Klaus-Dieter Borchardt (for Zero-Check).
A reader with additional teaching materials will be made available on blackboard.
Treaty texts and secondary legislation: N. Foster, Blackstone’s EU Treaties & Legislation (Oxford University Press), latest edition.
Reader:
- Will be provided on Blackboard
Registration
Students have to register for courses and exams through uSis.
Contact information
Co-ordinator: Dr. J.J.Rijpma
Work address: Steenschuur 25, room number B.1.35
Contact information: Via secretariat
Institution/division
Institute: Public Law
Department: European Law
Room number secretariat: B.1.21
Opening hours: Daily, 9:00-17:00
Telephone number secretariat: +31 (0)71 5278905
Remarks
None