| 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 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. Syrpis |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | University of Bristol Law School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Why is this unit important?
EU law constitutes a legal system distinct from both international law and the domestic systems of its Member States. That system interacts in a range of ways with the legal systems of the Member States, introducing you to the difficult area of relations between legal systems. Of particular interest is the innovative approach to legal interpretation adopted by the Court of Justice. Through your study of EU law, you will encounter a different legal system to that of the UK, and acquire a broader sense of how legal systems may be organised, enabling you both to assess the EU legal system and to adopt a more informed and critical perspective on UK law.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
Notwithstanding the UK’s departure from the EU, the study of EU law remains a core part of the undergraduate law curriculum, for students on all law programmes. You will study it in the first semester of your second year. It links well with the public law units which you will all have studied in the first year, and also with a range of other units in the final year, including Employment Law, Intellectual Property Law and Environmental Law, whose content owes much to EU law initiatives.
An overview of content
The unit provides a general overview of the main aspects of legal significance within the EU legal system. It covers: the development of the doctrine of the supremacy of EU law by the Court of Justice and the reaction of national courts; the development of the doctrines of direct and indirect effect; state liability; public and private enforcement actions; the Article 267 preliminary reference procedure; judicial review of EU acts; and human rights in the EU legal order.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
As a result of studying this unit, you will develop a fresh perspective on the UK’s legal and constitutional system; you will broaden your understanding of legal reasoning and different legal traditions (comparing common and civil law); and you will learn more about working collaboratively together, and engaging with feedback in a variety of forms.
Learning Outcomes
After completing this unit, you should be able to:
This unit will be taught using a mix of lectures and interactive seminars, all in-person and on campus, together with a range of asynchronous materials (videos, quizzes, readings, etc) which will be made available to you via Blackboard. You will have the opportunity to ask questions (in person and via the discussion boards), to the unit coordinator, lecturers, and seminar tutors, throughout the duration of the unit, in order to help you to get to grips with what will, for many, be unfamiliar subject matter and terminology.
The exercises in seminars are designed to enable you to develop your analytical and problem-solving skills (which will be assessed via the Timed Assessment at the end of the Unit), and towards enabling you to use your EU law knowledge in practical ways.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Formative assessments will come in many forms including informal questioning, quizzes and group exercises in lectures and seminars; and asynchronous activities on Blackboard. These will contribute to your learning and will not count towards your final unit mark.
The aim is to prepare you for the summative assessment, and to develop your group work and self-assessment skills. You will be asked to work together on an exercise in one of the seminars, and will engage in a process of self- and peer-evaluation before receiving written feedback on the group-work which emerges from that exercise. The aim of such layered system is to develop your autonomous self-assessment skills and to gain a detailed understanding of how marking criteria are used by the academic staff.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
A 3000-word Timed Assessment, in which you answer both a problem question and an essay question (1,500 words per question). This assessment will cover all Intended Learning Objectives for this unit.
When assessment does not go to plan:
When a student fails the unit and is eligible to resubmit, the unit will be reassessed on a like-for-like basis. The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessment required for credit in the usual way.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. LAWD20023).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
