32612 - European Union Law

Learning outcomes

The course aims to give a basic knowledge of all the most important aspects of the Law of the European Union: Institutions, decisional procedures and act, legal value of EU law into the Memeber States,internal market (free movement of persons, goods, services, capitals) competition and State aids, Eu external Relations, Area of Freedom Security and Justice.

Course contents

The course aims to provide students with a comprehensive knowledge of the major legal features concerning the origin of the EU legal order, its development, and its future perspective.

Also the interaction between the EU legal order and international and municipal law will be analysed.

Needless to say, particular emphasis will be given to the EU's and Member States' response to both the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

Course contents:

Part 1 - The institutional dimension of the EU legal order

- The origin of the EU legal order and its historical development;

- The nature of the European Union;

- The founding values of the Union and its objectives;

- The competences of the EU;

- The subjects of the EU legal order (Member States; EU institutions, bodies and agencies; EU citizens and other individuals);

- The legal sources of the EU legal order (primary law; international law binding the Union and other rules related to the implemantation of the EU Treaties; secundary law) and their interaction;

- The jurisdictional system of the EU legal order;

- The interaction of EU law with international law;

- The interaction of EU law with municipal law (with particular regard to the Italian legal order).

Part 2 - The substantive dimension of the EU legal order

- The EU internal market;

- The Economic and Monetary Union;

- The Area of Freedom, Security and Justice;

- The external action of the European Union.

Readings/Bibliography

Students can choose one of the following options:

Option # 1

C. Barnard, S. Peers (eds.), European Union Law - 4th ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2023).

All the chapters apart from chapters Nos. 17, 18, 20-23,

Option # 2

D. Chalmers, G. Davies, G. Monti, V. Heyvaert, European Union Law - 5th ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2024).

All the chapters must be studied apart from Chapters Nos. 13, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23.

 

Students shall consult and have at disposal the official text of the EU Treaties and of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (available here).

 

Teaching methods

The course will be highly interactive. Theoretical issues will be confronted with practical cases (in particular, EU Court of Justice's rulings) in order to allow the students to understand and verify how EU law is actually implemented and understood by major EU actors.

Assessment methods

The (attending) students' learning will be constantly verified through discussions and debates. The final exam will be oral (for attending and not attending students). The questions posed by the examining commission will regard the topics indicated in the Section “Course contents”.

The students’ knowledge is assessed through a discussion, to evaluate the actual achievement of the learning outcomes. The exam consists in an interview with the appointed commission on the topics included in the programme.

The assessment will take into account the knowledge of the relevant institutional framework, the ability to analyse doctrinal and jurisprudential opinions and, to single out connections between the relevant topics, to critical reasoning, as well as the clarity of presentation and critical thinking.

By way of example, the following criteria will be used to assess the final mark (that will be out of 30/30):

• sufficient or barely sufficient knowledge on the programme, limited reasoning ability, some difficulties in using technical and legal language → 18-21/30;
• fairly good knowledge of the programme, adequate critical reasoning ability, sound use of technical and legal language → 22-25/30;
• comprehensive knowledge of the programme, notable reasoning ability, good command of technical and legal language → 26-29/30;

• extensive knowledge of the programme, very good reasoning ability, and ability to fully master technical-legal language → 30-30L/30.

Teaching tools

Supplementary teaching tools (slides, documents, bibliographical references) for attending students will be made available through the online platform Virtuale.

Students which need compensatory tools for reasons of disability or Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) should communicate to the teacher their needs so as to be directed to the dedicated person and arrange on the adoption of the most appropriate measures.

Links to further information

https://europa.eu

Office hours

See the website of Federico Casolari