Admission requirements
Admission to the Master (specialisation European law).
Description
This course focuses on the main body of rules governing the EU internal market, an area without internal frontiers within which the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital is ensured (the so-called ‘four freedoms’). The internal market has evolved over time but remains the backbone of the European Union. It faces considerable challenges today: environmental, technological and geopolitical, among others.
The course covers the law of the internal market stricto sensu: i.e. the TFEU provisions protecting the four freedoms (goods, persons, services and capital) and those governing EU citizenship. These are the foundations of the EU internal market, both conceptually and historically. In addition, because harmonisation is today the main form of regulation in the internal market, the course makes space for a study of the most relevant rules of secondary law (Services Directive, Citizen’s Rights Directive, Damages Directive, etc.). Further, the course offers a platform to reflect critically on the way the Court of Justice and the EU legislature have discharged their mandate to eliminate barriers to free movement in the EU, and the tensions resulting therefrom as regards the protection of non-market values (e.g. health, the environment and fundamental human rights) and the preservation of a degree of autonomy for Member States.
Course objectives
The objective of this course is to introduce students to EU free movement and competition law rules. Students will learn how to identify, apply and distinguish those rules at a practical level. Students will also learn to think critically about those rules and their interpretation by the Court of Justice.
At the end of this course, students will be able to:
Describe in a comprehensive manner the content of EU internal market rules;
Identify restrictions to free movement and their possible justifications;
Identify continuity and discontinuity in the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU;
Think critically about the scope of EU internal market law and its role in the European integration process;
Apply EU internal market law rules to concrete cases;
Reflect critically, in writing, on EU internal market rules.
Timetable
Check MyTimetable.
Mode of instruction
Lectures
Number of (2 hour) lectures: 5
Required preparation by students: students are required to read the compulsory literature and case law.
Seminars
Number of (2 hour) seminars: 5
Names of instructors: to be announced
Required preparation by students: students are required to read the compulsory literature and case law and prepare written answers to exercises
Assessment method
Examination form(s)
Final exam (100% of the final grade)
Students who fail the exam are entitled to sit a re-examination.
Areas to be tested within the exam
The examination syllabus consists of the required reading (literature) and case law for the course, as well as all subjects discussed during the lectures and tutorials.
Regulation retake passed exams
In this course it is possible to retake an exam that has been passed (cf. art. 4.1.8 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. For more information, go to the website > ‘Law’ tab > ‘Retake a passed exam’.
Reading list
Obligatory course materials
Literature:
Students are free to use any textbook on EU internal market.
We recommend the latest editions of the following books (one is sufficient):
P. Craig & G. De Búrca, EU Law, Text, Cases and Materials (Oxford University Press, latest edition)
C. Barnard, The Substantive law of the EU – The Four Freedoms (Oxford, Oxford University Press, latest edition)
The list with mandatory and recommended reading from these textbooks, case law and other materials will be made available on Brightspace.
Recommended course materials
Will be made available on Brightspace.
Registration
Registration for courses and exams takes place via MyStudymap. If you do not have access to MyStudymap (guest students), look here (under the Law-tab) for more information on the registration procedure in your situation.
Contact
Coordinator: Dr. V. N. Delhomme
Work address: Room C1.20 KOG
Contact information: via secretariat, see below
Email: v.n.delhomme@law.leidenuniv.nl
Institution/division
Institute: Public Law
Department: European law
Room number secretary: B1.11 KOG
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 9-17h
Telephone number secretary: +31 (0)71 527 7416