COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is on EU constitutional law. It aims to examine the constitutional structure of the European Union, its gradual development through the European integration and the crucial role of the Court of Justice of the EU within that process. Its interactive lectures based on a case-study method will examine the EU’s most intriguing constitutional features, such as the principles of direct effect and supremacy; the EU’s supranationality and EU federalism; balancing the expansion of EU competences with the retained competences of the Member States; the use of general principles of EU law in CJEU’s judicial lawmaking; or EU fundamental rights protection and EU citizenship beyond the market rationale. The course will critically engage with these interesting features of EU law, as well as the complexities arising out of the Union’s unique supranationality and its (contested) federal and constitutional nature. By emphasizing the necessity of a methodological approach to the law, the course will lead students to understand the importance of legal interpretation, in general, and engage with the constitutional methods of legal reasoning employed by the Court of Justice when interpreting EU law, in particular.

BASIC INFORMATION

In the academic year 2020/2021, the course will be held ONLINE:

interactive lectures & discussions with the lecturer via GoogleMeet platform

+ assignments placed on e-Learning site Merlin

TIMING

Thursdays (exact timing to be confirmed)

Classes start 10/15/2019

LECTURER

dr. sc. Nika Bačić Selanec, LL.M. (UMich)

email: nika.bacic@pravo.hr 

Visiting professor in 2020/2021:

Professor Niamh Nic Shuibhne

University of Edinburgh

TEACHING UNITS

1. Introduction – Establishing a New Legal Order
2. Challenging Supremacy and the Concept of Sovereignty
3. Direct Effect & Beyond
4. EU Competences and EU Federalism
5. Interpreting EU Constitutional Law
6. General Principles of EU law
7. EU Fundamental Rights
8. EU Citizenship beyond the Market Rationale
9. The Rule of Law and Judicial Governance in the EU
10. EU Constitutionalism Without a Constitution?

(a detailed syllabus of the course is available on the e-learning site and upon request to the lecturer via email)
 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

1) Take-home, open-book exam - 80% of the grade

2) Regular attendance and class participation - 20% of the grade

Students will be required to prepare for each class in advance by reading the assigned materials available at the course e-learning site.

The course is based on a Socratic method. Students will be expected to participate in class discussions, which may influence their final grade.

LINK to e-learning site Merlin

(with teaching and reading materials)

(course ID: 1920-201644-6621; login with AAI)
 

Leaflet: