B9652 - INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL LAW AND EU LAW

Learning outcomes

The course aims at analysing the legal dynamics of the international community and the main institutional elements of the process of European integration. The course elucidates the implications of international and EU institutional structures, the effects of international and EU law into national legal orders, and the interplay between States and international/EU institutions. Bringing together different perspectives, it will be shown how international and EU rules, while made entirely or in part by national governments and often addressed to them, can be of great relevance to individuals and to their interests.

Course contents

The course comprises 2 parts: International Law and EU Law. Each part includes seminars on topical issues. The core topics to be covered in the course are:

Part I: International Law

• Essence of International Law
• Subjects of International Law
• Sources of International Law
• International Law in National Legal Systems
• The Law of international responsibility
• The International Means of Dispute Settlement
• The Use of Force
• An overview of the UnitedNations

Part II: European Union Law

• Essence of the European Union legal order
• Competences of the EU
• EU Citizenship
• Sources of the EU legal order
• Political Institutions
• Law-Making Procedures
• EU Law in the Legal Systems of the Member States
• Judicial Protection in the EU

Readings/Bibliography

Scholarly works and a "Sourcebook". All materials will be uploaded on the course platform.

Teaching methods

The course is highly interactive. Theoretical issues will be confronted with practical cases in order to allow students to understand how the relevant rules and principles are interpreted, developed and implemented.

Classes are completed by 5 seminars. During these seminars, students will be asked to actively participate in class discussions on selceted topics anticipated in classes as well as on the proposed case studies, and they will occasionally be asked to prepare in advance judgments or other reading materials .

If conditions permit, the course will host national and foreign professors and experts (also via webinars).

Assessment methods

This course includes the following evaluation: final written exam during examination period.

The written exam consists of analysing two case studies, one of International Law and the other one of EU law. Answers must be correct, accurate, logical, and concise (max 500 words each one). In particular, it is required to motivate all key statements, especially by referring to appropriate International Law and EU Law sources. The grade of the written exam is the average of the scores of both parts (International Law and EU Law).

The final exam is organized as a digital (bring-your-own-device or in a PC classroom) exam via the Ans examination platform. Students must be present on campus to take the exam. The duration of the exam is 180 minutes.

Students are strongly advised to attend all on-campus seminars in order to prepare for the final exam.

Determination of the final result. The evaluation is graded by the lecturer(s), as communicated via Toledo and the exam schedule. The result is calculated and expressed with a whole number to 20.

Students are responsible for submitting work that is free of fraud. Irregularities, in particular with regard to authorship (e.g. plagiarism and the improper use of genAI), will be punished with the sanctions provided for in the BAES exam regulations [https://ghum.kuleuven.be/EN/baes/students/regulations] .

Teaching tools

PPTs, legal sources, scholarl works.

Office hours

See the website of Federico Ferri

See the website of Anna Pau