Studiegids

nl en

Comparative Legal and Economic Integration

Vak
2019-2020

Tags

IJ

Admissions requirements

Sovereignty and Statehood
Structure and Functioning of the EU

Description

This course is dedicated to the study of economic integration taking place around the world. Having adopted a comparative approach, this course will focus on regional economic integration initiatives and on comparing and analysing their main features from a predominantly legal standpoint. The course will start off with a general overview of economic integration to be followed by a basic introduction to GATT/WTO law before switching the lens onto the regional stage, starting with European Union law and notably the development of the four freedoms (goods, services, persons, and capital). The course will then move onto regional economic integration in the Americas, in Asia and in Africa.
This course aims at comparing each economic integration area / organization by highlighting their commonalities and specificities. In doing so, this course will analyse a common set of topics (e.g., trade in goods & services and related issues such as quotas and tariffs, dispute settlement mechanisms) and then situate each organization / area along a spectrum of economic integration.

Course objectives

Skills:

  • to understand and use legal language prevalent in economic integration treaties and related legal documents;

  • to undertake analyses of additional and previously unknown regional economic organizations;

  • to apply legal rules to a hypothetical case study

  • to draw comparisons between liberalization processes on the basis of their scope and coverage and application to various areas of economic activity;

  • to decipher international economic news and on-going trade and investment negotiations by relating to regional economic integration processes;

Knowledge:

  • Economic globalization and integration

  • Models of market integration in the EU;

  • The EU internal market

  • Other Models of economic integration (WTO, NAFTA, MERCORSUR, ASEAN, East African Community etc.)

Timetable

Once available, timetables will be published in the e-Prospectus.

Mode of instruction

The course will adopt a lecture format while actively encouraging student participation. Active knowledge is required of the topics covered in mandatory prerequisite courses.
Students should prepare by reading assigned materials for each class, which will be examined by brief in-class tests at the start of respective classes. Students will have the opportunity of working on a hypothetical case 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

Quizzes (individual class assignments): 15%, ongoing weeks 2-7
Moot court exercise: 20% (group written pleadings); 10% (individual oral pleadings), Week 4 (TBC)
Group presentations: 15%, week 7
Final exam: 40%, Week 8

Blackboard

There will be a Blackboard site available for this course. Students will be enrolled at least one week before the start of classes.

Reading list

Basic text book: Catherine Barnard and Steve Peers (ed.), European Union Law, Oxford: Oxford University Press, second edition, 2017.

Other additional reading will be assigned in the syllabus

Registration

This course is open to LUC students and LUC exchange students. Registration is coordinated by the Education Coordinator. Interested non-LUC students should contact course.administration@luc.leidenuniv.nl.

Contact

Dr. Darinka Piqani
d.piqani@law.leidenuniv.nl

Remarks

Readings will need to be completed prior to the first session and will be indicated in the course syllabus which will be circulated prior to the first session.

Active knowledge is required of the topics covered in mandatory prerequisite courses.