Introduction to EU Constitutional Law

The course consists of fourteen class hours dedicated to providing a thorough and practical introduction to comparative constitutional law and human rights law students to the history of integration, institutions and law-making mechanism of the European Union. The basics of the acquis communautaire, the three pillar system, horizontal and vertical separation of powers in the EU, the four freedoms, the foundational treaties, the Single European Act, the Maastricht Treaty, the Amsterdam Treaty, the Treaty of Nice will discussed, the Treaty establishing a European Constitution will be touched upon and the Lisbon Treaty will be addressed. Students will be introduced to actual cases to exemplify how the EU’s judiciary, mainly the European Court of Justice works, how its power is used to create and interpret the law, and an insight will be given into the practical impacts of its decisions.

Upon completion of the course students will be able to understand of the vertical and horizontal separation powers in the European Union; to understand and criticize the actual operation of the EU’s legal system; to demonstrate substantial knowledge of the relation between EU institutions and the EU’s law making process; to understand the relation of EU law and domestic law, the importance of the supremacy doctrine and the concept of direct effect; students will be able to make a distinction between remedies in a national court setting and before the ECJ, and will have a good understanding of the substantive law of the EU, more particularly of the four freedoms, competition policy and non-discrimination.