Admission requirements
LL.B. or equivalent undergraduate degree or admission to the LL.M. Programme (European Law).
Description
The European 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 and its relation to the Member States and Member Peoples.
This course is a so called ‘flipped course’ as part of the ongoing teaching innovation at Leiden University. This means that basic knowledge transfer will take place as much as possible via online tools such as video lectures. Classes will then be used for more direct, intensive interaction. To this end, the course will be divided in three ‘cycles’ where students are first introduced to a topic, then have a period of self-study and then several intensive interactive sessions. Each cycle will have a different form of output, ranging from a negotiation position in a legislative procedure to a legal memo.
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, apply these doctrines to concrete cases, and understand the unique impact these doctrines have on the (constitutional) law of Member States and the dilemma’s this gives rise to;
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;
Present in a group;
Negotiate in a complex institutional setting;
Debate a normative position in a convincing, academically correct manner;
Collaborate in a group.
Timetable
Check MyTimetable.
Mode of instruction
Lectures
Video lectures
Lectures
Seminars
Peer-feedback sessions
Interactive group sessions
Names of instructors: Prof. Dr. A. Cuyvers (Coordinator), Prof. Dr. L. van Middelaar, Dr. V. Borger, S. Mulcahey LL.M.
Required preparation by students: rvise 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)
The overall grade for this course consists of the combined grade for three mandatory written assignments.
- Your negotiation memo and draft directive in cycle 1 (group grade): 33 1/3%
- Your legal memo based on the case question in cycle 2 (individual grade): 33 1/3%
- Your essay and debate contribution in cycle 3 (individual grade): 33 1/3%
Please note that a fail for one assignment can be compensated with a pass for another assignment and that grades are only valid for one academic year ('23-'24).
Submission procedures
To be announced in the course reader and/or on Brightspace.
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.
Retake
A retake is allowed where the overall grade of the course is below a pass grade (5,5). With a retake, the grade for the group assignments will stand, but you will retake a take-home exam with one case question and one essay question that will replace the grades for cycle 2 and 3. You will have 24 hours to complete the exam and hand it in. The date for the exam will be communicated in due time.
Reading list
Obligatory course materials
Literature:
Craig & De Burca, EU Law: Text,Cases and Material (Oxford University Press), most recent 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 Brightspace.
Treaty texts and secondary legislation: N. Foster, Blackstone’s EU Treaties & Legislation (Oxford University Press), latest edition.
Reader:
- Will be provided 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.
Please register for the lecture(s) in MyStudymap. You will then have access to the Brightspace course environment.
Registration for the tutorials of each topic is done via the lecturer/Brightspace. More information on this will be provided on Brightspace shortly before the course starts.
Contact
Coordinator: Prof. Dr. A. Cuyvers
Work address: Steenschuur 25, room number B1.21
Contact information: a.cuyvers@law.leidenuniv.nl
Institution/division
Institute: Public Law
Department: European Law
Room number secretariat: B1.11
Opening hours: Daily, 9:00-17:00
Telephone number secretariat: +31 (0)71 527 3596