57802 - European Union Law (F-O)

Learning outcomes

The course aims to analyse the main features of the European integration process, with particular attention to its legal implications.

Students will develop the ability to critically assess the institutional structure and functioning of the European Union, identifying the legal effects produced by its institutions and main bodies.

They will also be able to understand and explain how EU law impacts the Italian legal order and illustrate the main ongoing reform trends at the European level

Course contents

The course focuses on the legal order of the European Union, with specific attention to institutional law. In particular, the following topics will be addressed:

First Module (42 hours):

• The origin and development of the European integration process;
• The structure and objectives of the European Union, as well as its founding values;
• The system of competence allocation between the EU and the Member States and the underlying principles;
• The legal status of EU Member States, including accession, withdrawal, and suspension of membership rights;
• The relationship between the European Union and the ECHR system;
• The institutional framework;
• Sources of EU law;
• The relationship between EU law and national legal systems;
• The EU budget: resources and expenditures;
• EU citizenship;
• Internal market;
• Area of freedom, security and justice
• Union policies;
• External action.

Second Module (18 hours):

• EU judicial system;
• Principles of EU procedural law;
• Preliminary rulings procedure;
• Annulment actions;
• Non-contractual liability action;
• Infringement procedure;
• Appeals (including filtering mechanisms) and Boards of Appeal.

Readings/Bibliography

• R. Adam, A. Tizzano, Lineamenti di Diritto dell’Unione Europea, 6th edition, Giappichelli, 2024 (excluding only chapters III and IV).
• R. Mastroianni (ed.), Il diritto processuale dell’Unione europea, Torino, 2025 (Chapters 2, 4, 5 (part I), 6 (part I and IV), 7, 9 (part III, §4).

The textbooks are available through the University Library System.

For students attending the University of Bologna as part of the Erasmus+ Programme or other international programmes, the course syllabus and reading materials are the same.

CFU Integrations

Students requiring ECTS credit recognition must arrange it with the lecturer. To that end, they must send an email indicating:

a) the official syllabus of the exam taken abroad or at another Italian university (a link to the course page is sufficient);

b) the textbooks used to prepare for the exam.

Please note: requests lacking this information will not be taken into consideration.

During the exam, students must remind the examination board of the topics agreed upon with the lecturer and the textbook used.

Teaching methods

The course aims to promote joint work with students. The teaching method followed consistently pairs theoretical framework with practical case studies to enable students to develop an ability to immediately apply EU law to concrete situations.

Assessment methods

The final assessment will consist of an oral examination covering the topics listed under the “Course contents” section. At least one question will concern general aspects of the course and one will focus on substantive issues.
Students, whether attending or not, may rely on the assigned textbooks for preparation.

The final grade will be based on the following criteria:

• 50% – Knowledge and understanding of the relevant legal concepts and principles, as well as depth of study;
• 20% – Ability to establish connections between legal institutions, critical thinking, and application to concrete cases;
• 30% – Use of appropriate legal terminology, clarity of exposition, analytical skills, understanding of sources, and study methodology.

Marking scale (indicative):

• 18–21: Sufficient or barely sufficient preparation, limited critical ability, poor use of legal terminology;
• 22–25: Fair to good preparation, decent critical ability, proper use of legal terminology;
• 26–29: Good to very good preparation, sound critical ability, strong command of legal terminology;
• 30–30L: Excellent preparation, excellent critical ability, full command of legal terminology.

To take the final exam, students must register through the AlmaEsami platform within the deadlines set by the University.

Prerequisites: Constitutional Law, Private Law, and International Law.

Further information on AlmaEsami is available here:
https://www.unibo.it/en/services-and-opportunities/online-services/online-services-for-students/guida-servizi-online-studenti/almaesami-2013-per-la-prenotazione-degli-appelli-desame

Teaching tools

Students with learning disorders and/or temporary or permanent disabilities: please contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

 

Office hours

Please consult the website of Giacomo Di Federico [https://www.unibo.it/sitoweb/giacomo.difederico/en]

Office hours

See the website of Giacomo Di Federico

See the website of Carlo Tovo