JJUA55117U Cancelled Advanced EU Constitutional Law

This course will give students interested in the European Union an opportunity to explore topics pertaining to its constitutional law, as well as societal problems and opportunities facing the EU. 

The main objectives of the course are:

1. To provide students with an overview of EU constitutional law. This includes the law governing the EU institutions and the relationship between the EU and the Member States. Special attention will be given to the Court of Justice of the EU. We will study the key concepts governing the Court’s role in building the EU’s constitution and promoting European integration, as well as the principles and techniques which the Court uses to adjudicate constitutional questions.

2. To encourage students to think critically about how EU constitutional law has developed from 1957 until today. This involves understanding the way in which the Treaties are written, the democratic legitimacy of the institutions, the role of the Court and the development of its case law, as well as the constitutional implications of the enlargements of the EU and the gradual expansion of policy areas covered by EU law.

3. To address current constitutional challenges such as: the impact of the Eurozone economic crisis on European democracy; the role of constitutional law in addressing the climate crisis; the refugee reception crisis of 2O15 and its constitutional aftermath; post-Brexit Europe and the state of European integration in the COVID-19 pandemic.

4. To offer students a broad understanding of the European constitutional order and its main actors, an in-depth critical knowledge of the forces behind European integration and an appreciation for the ways in which constitutional law and politics interacts.