ILAP627-15S2 (C) Semester Two 2015

European Public Law

18 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 13 July 2015
End Date: Sunday, 15 November 2015
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Sunday, 26 July 2015
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Sunday, 11 October 2015

Description

The course will examine key elements of the European Union's Constitutional and Administrative Law. The course also explores the relationships between the supra-national EU structures and the individual constitutional and administrative traditions of individual states. This will provide students with an understanding of the complexities of Twenty-First Century multi-layered governance in general and the European Union model in particular. Topics to be examined will include, democracy in multi-layered systems, federalism, executive accountability, administrative/law justice and policy making in the EU. Specific topics examined will vary according to current issues.

The European Union (EU) represents the largest and most populous trading bloc in the world. Twenty five states stretching from the Baltic to the Mediterranean have created a single market in which the factors of production - goods, services and people – are able to move freely.  The EU also has broad political ambitions with some observers suspecting it of federalist intentions.  Whatever the ultimate political aims of the EU, it is a union based on the rule of law.

The course will examine and compare aspects of governance across the Member States of the European Union as well as the European Union itself.  The general aim of the course is to introduce students to the different constitutional traditions of Europe and compare them both with each other and those of New Zealand.  The general theme of the course is to explain these systems alongside the European Union's developing constitutional structures and examine how these are becoming part of a "European" constitutional system.

Students with an interest in public law, government or politics will find the course particularly interesting.  Although individual European states may be in decline, the European Union remains the world's biggest market (and New Zealand's second largest), the largest distributor of overseas aid and the world's second largest economy.  For these reasons the course will also prove useful to those wishing to pursue career paths in the fields of foreign policy, diplomacy or politics.  More generally, those wishing to work in the EU will find knowledge of European Public Law essential.

As this course is made possible the generous financial support of the European Union's Jean-Monnet programme, a number of guest lecturers will be used to give expert insight into particular aspects of the European Public Law.

The course will be taught through weekly 2 hour seminars/lectures.

Learning Outcomes

  • Students will be expected to explain and critically evaluate:
  •  The key constitutional features of the EU.
  •  The relationship between EU and European (Member State) constitutionalism.
  •  The development of European Administrative Law.
  •  The ability of individual to access European Union remedies.
  •  Selected key areas of EU Public Law (eg, Human Rights, International Relations, Federalism).
  •  The EU’s Public Law system in a global context; and
  •  Develop advanced research skills in the above subject areas.

Prerequisites

Subject to the approval of the Programme Director

Restrictions

Course Coordinator / Lecturer

John Hopkins

Assessment

The assessment will be advised in the first week of lectures.

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $1,056.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

For further information see Faculty of Law .

All ILAP627 Occurrences

  • ILAP627-15S2 (C) Semester Two 2015