| CODE | ECL4015 | ||||||||
| TITLE | The Rule of Law and the EU | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 04 - Years 4, 5 in Modular UG or PG Cert Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 6 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | European and Comparative Law | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The student will be introduced to the Rule of Law as a national constitutional principal, its development into an EU founding value, its importance to the EU legal order and the ways in which it can be undermined. The study-unit will then progress with an examination of the EU's legal basis for intervening when a Member State systematically fails to respect the Rule of Law. It will then focus on introducing and analyzing the most prominent legal tools with which the EU can so intervene both from a theoretical and practical perspective. These will include Article 7 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU), the Commission's Rule of Law Framework (COM(2014) 158 final) and the EU Regulation 2020/2092 on a general regime of conditionality for the protection of the EU budget. Particular attention will be given to Article 7 TEU as it is the provision that was originally designed to enforce the Rule of Law and which, if successfully implemented, constitutes one of, if not the harshest, political stance that the EU is able to adopt with regards to a Member State. The study-unit will conclude by observing how traditional methods of enforcing EU Law - the Infringement and Preliminary Reference Procedures (Articles 258 to 260 and 267 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union) - are also being used to enforce respect for the Rule of Law with particular focus on landmark EU court judgments in this regard. Study-Unit Aims: The study-unit aims to achieve the learning outcomes in C8 to enable students to become versed in an area of EU Law that has far-reaching implications for the EU project as a whole. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the Rule of Law as a national constitutional principle and as an EU founding value; - Attain an appreciation of the important role which the Rule of Law plays in the EU's Legal Order; - Identify the different ways in which the Rule of Law can be undermined; - Define the legal basis for EU action in this regard; - Distinguish between the different instruments at the EU's disposal to safeguard the Rule of Law in the Member States; and - Critically analyze the different instruments at the EU's disposal to safeguard the Rule of Law in the Member States. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Advise and assist national governments targeted or at risk of being targeted with any EU measure intended to enforce respect for the Rule of Law; - Advise and assist the relevant EU bodies in enforcing respect for the Rule of Law by the Member States; - Advise and assist relevant national stakeholders that may be affected by any EU measure intended to enforce respect for the Rule of Law; or - Advice and assist civil society organizations and/or other important societal actors that may be affected by acts or omissions that undermine the Rule of Law in a Member State. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: (i) Primary Legislation: - Treaty on the European Union - Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (ii) Secondary Legislation: EU Regulation 2020/2092 on a General Regime of Conditionality for the Protection of the EU Budget. The above laws are available online through the relevant EU Commission website. Textbook: - Craig and De Burca, 鈥淓U Law Text, Cases and Materials鈥�, Oxford University Press, 7th Edition, 2020; Supplementary Readings: (i) Geert Corstens, "Understanding the Rule of Law", Hart Publishing/Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 2017, ISBN13 9781509903634. (ii) "Reinforcing Rule of Law Oversight in the European Union", Edited by Carlos Closa & Dimitry Kochenov, Cambridge University Press, 2018, ISBN13 9781107519800. Any other texts and/or supplementary readings as the lecturer may indicate in the course of the study-unit. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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