| Unit name | Law and Policy of the European Union I |
|---|---|
| Unit code | LAWD20023 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Syrpis |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
Constitutional Rights and Law and State |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | University of Bristol Law School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
The unit will consider the following issues: the recent history and development of European integration; the nature and objectives of the EU; the institutional structure and the law and decision making processes of the EU; the nature of Union law; the EU legal order; the relationship between EU and national laws; the role and jurisdiction of the Court of Justice; the protection of human rights in Union law.
By the end of the unit, a successful student will be able to explain:
a) the nature of the European Union and its political and economic context through to the Treaty of Lisbon;
b) the institutional structure of the EU, and the law-making and decision-making processes; and, in particular,
c) the legal order of the EU and how it relates to the domestic legal order.
In relation to c) they should be able to: explain the direct effect and supremacy of EU law and compare the way in which it is applied by courts at the European and national levels; discuss the development, and critically appraise current state, of the fundamental= rights jurisprudence of the Court of Justice; discuss and account for the development of the principle of state liability; compare public and private enforcement of EU law; identify the tensions inherent in the Article 267 TFEU preliminary reference procedure; and appraise the effectiveness of bringing of judicial review actions against the EU institutions.
Students should be able to state the law accurately, to apply legal principles to problem case scenarios, and to think critically about ways in which the law could be reformed.
This unit is also intended to improve benchmark skills – specifically Information Technology skills, which are used in particular to find recent case law of the Court of Justice.
The examination includes both problem type and essay type questions, designed to assess both whether students were able to understand and apply the law across the breadth of the syllabus, and whether they were able to think critically about it.
This unit is taught by a combination of 20 lectures and 8 tutorials. All lectures are podcast.
One three-hour closed book examination in May/June, in which students answer 3 questions (at least one essay and at least one problem) from a choice of 7 or 8 questions. Students will also have the opportunity to write up to two formative essays in the course of the year.
Craig and de Burca, EU Law: Text, Cases and Materials (OUP, 5th ed 2011). Chalmers, European Union Law (CUP, 2nd ed 2010).
