85469 - Law of International Organizations

Academic Year 2018/2019

Learning outcomes

This course provides an introduction to the field of international law and organisation, examining the history of ideas, legal doctrines, institutional and administrative structures developed over the last century to organise and legalise international life. It aims at giving students a basic knowledge on the principal legal issues regarding international organisations whose membership is that of States. In this respect, while special emphasis will be placed on the United Nations system, due to its leading role in the international arena, other intergovernmental organisations will be considered. In particular, particular attention will be paid to the interraction among universalism and regionalism in that domain. By considering the specific role played by international organisations vis-à-vis the major global challenges of today (such as economic and financial crises, migration flows, internal and international conflicts, man-made and natural disasters, epidemics) the course will also allow students to critically assess the concrete role international organisations have assumed in the international community, as well as their limits and possible future developments.

Course contents

The course is divided in two modules.

The first module of the course aims at clarifying the main institutional elements of the European Union (EU) legal order. It analyses: the origin and the evolution of the European integration process; the allocation of competences between EU and Member States (MSs); the institutions of the Union and their acts; the judicial system of the EU; the external action of the Union.

The second module of the course will focus on the most topical principles of the EU legal order (e.g.: the principle of equality of MSs, the principle of loyal cooperation, the primacy of the EU law over municipal law; the principle of protection of fundamental rights), highlighting their role in shaping the constitutional identity of the Union.

Readings/Bibliography

R. Schutze, European Constitutional Law - Second Edition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015) 552 pp.

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”.

Teaching tools

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

Erasmus students shall discuss the Exam's programme with Prof. Casolari.

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

http://www.cirde.unibo.it/en/

Office hours

See the website of Federico Casolari