Checking date: 04/06/2021


Course: 2021/2022

European law and institutions
(13244)
Bachelor in Political Science (Plan: 396 - Estudio: 205)


Coordinating teacher: ESCRIBANO UBEDA-PORTUGUES, JOSE

Department assigned to the subject: International Law, Ecclesiastical Law and Philosophy of Law Department

Type: Electives
ECTS Credits: 6.0 ECTS

Course:
Semester:




Objectives
Knowledge and analysis of the European Union (EU), its construction and historical evolution, its institutions and legal system, seen from the point of view of its integration within the international environment in which it operates. Thus, we study, on the one hand, the EU as an international organization of integration and its legal and institutional framework; on the other, its configuration as a subject of international law -capabilities, instruments and challenges- as a member of the International Community and as a main actor of the International Society of our days in constant change and increasingly more closely interrelated.
Skills and learning outcomes
Description of contents: programme
LESSON 1. THE HISTORICAL PROCESS OF THE EUROPEAN INTEGRATION. The idea of Europe in History. The creation of the European Communities ant their evolution: the successive reforms of constituent treaties and the enlargement process. The Brexit. LESSON 2. THE EUROPEAN UNION. General characters. Nature, values, objectives and principles. The accession to the EU. Withdrawal. LESSON 3. THE INSTITUTIONAL SYSTEM OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (I). General considerations. The European Commission. The Council. The European Council. LESSON 4. THE INSTITUTIONAL SYSTEM OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (II). The European Parliament. The Court of Justice of the European Union. The European Central Bank. Other organs. LESSON 5. THE LEGAL SYSTEM OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (I). Specificities. The original law. Institutional law of the EU: General issues; typical binding acts - regulation, directive and decision - and atypical acts; non-binding acts. LESSON 6. THE LEGAL SYSTEM OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (II). The principles of the law of the European Union in its relations with the internal systems: the principle of autonomy, the principle of direct effectiveness -self-executing- and the primacy of the law of the Union. LESSON 7. EUROPEAN CITIZENSHIP AND FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS. The status of citizenship of the Union: origin, meaning and content. Human rights and fundamental freedoms in the EU: the jurisprudential construction of its protection, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU and the question of the accession of the European Union to the European Convention on fundamental rights. LESSON 8. THE AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY AND JUSTICE. Origins and evolution of the area of freedom, security and justice. Objectives. Cooperation fields: cooperation on police and customs, Judicial cooperation, asylum and immigration, the fight against terrorism and transnational organized crime. LESSON 9. THE ACTION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION ABROAD (I).The international personality of the EU. Main manifestations of the international legal personality of the European Union: special attention to the capacity to conclude international agreements. External competences of the European Union. LESSON 10. THE ACTION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION ABROAD (II).The High Representative and the European external action service. Trade policy. The policy of cooperation for development. The model of the European Union's external action. The external action of the European Union and human rights. LESSON 11. THE ACTION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION ABROAD (III). Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). European Policy on Security and Defence (ESDP). The missions of the EU abroad. The European Union neighbourhood policy. EU-relations with US and Latin America. LESSON 12. THE INTERNAL MARKET. The freedoms of movement of goods, services, capital and workers. The Schengen area. LESSON 13. THE ECONOMIC AND MONETARY UNION. The history of the European monetary cooperation. The building of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU): stages and convergence criteria. How EMU works. Problems and deficiencies. LESSON 14. THE THE EUROPEAN UNION AS AN EXEMPLE OF PARTIAL SOLIDARITY IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS. Regional and cohesion policies. The social policy. Other policies that reflect the solidarity principle. Openness to civil society. The EU and democracy.
Learning activities and methodology
METHODOLOGY AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES: Theoretical lectures will focus on the basic content of each lesson of the program. It would be desirable, for a better understanding of the explanations, that students attend theoretical lectures having read the corresponding lesson in the reference book. On the other hand, each theoretical lecture is directly related to tutorial lessons. This is intended to complete, since the development of activities with a more practice focus, the content of the corresponding lesson showing students the real importance of the subject in question. Discussions will be held on European Union´s current issues. Therefore in addition to the bibliography and the readings recommended, access to the web of the European Union will be an essential tool for students. TUTORING: A weekly schedule of office hours will be established
Assessment System
  • % end-of-term-examination 30
  • % of continuous assessment (assigments, laboratory, practicals...) 70
Calendar of Continuous assessment
Basic Bibliography
  • ABELLÁN HONRUBIA, V.; VILA COSTA, B.. Lecciones de Derecho Comunitario Europeo. Ariel.
  • ANDRÉS SÁENZ DE SANTAMARÍA, M. P. (et al). La Unión Europea. Iustel.
  • FERNÁNDEZ LIESA, C. R.(et. al.). El Tratado de Lisboa: análisis y perspectivas.. Dikynson.
  • ISAAC, G. . Manual de Derecho Comunitario General. Ariel.
  • LIÑAN NOGUERAS, D. J. y MANGAS MARTÍN, A... Instituciones y Derecho de la UE. Tecnos.
  • MARIÑO MENÉNDEZ, F. M., MORENO CATÉNA, V. y MOREIRO GONZÁLEZ, C. J. . Derecho Procesal Comunitario. Tirant Lo Blanch.
Recursos electrónicosElectronic Resources *
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The course syllabus may change due academic events or other reasons.