Undergraduate Course: Current Issues in EU Law (LAWS10189)
Course Outline
| School | School of Law |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course provides students with an opportunity to build on more generalised knowledge of EU law by engaging with debates and problems at the cutting-edge of EU practice and policy-making. The topics studied each year will be selected so as to reflect the most pressing and controversial legal questions of the time, with particular focus on the implications of EU membership for Scotland and the UK. Students will have the opportunity to shape their own learning by contributing some of the topics to be studied each year. Expertise will be drawn from within and beyond the Law School and, in particular, students will be provided with the opportunity to engage with the unique perspective that can be offered by various practitioners of EU law. |
| Course description |
The syllabus will be flexible to reflect current debates and controversies within EU legal questions.
The course might consider such topics as migration issues, the role of EU law in the Scottish independence referendum, ongoing trade negotiations between the EU/US, the Eurozone crisis, the Court of Justice's annulment of the ECHR accession agreement, the UK's balance of competence review, etc.
Students will also have an opportunity to actively shape their own curriculum by finalising the subject for three seminars each year.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 25 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
1. Group Structure Exercise (20% of final grade (equally divided among group members)
Group works together to submit a max. two-page annotated structure/outline for an essay connected to the first three seminars on the course (selected from topics provided by the course organiser)
Feedback is received on this structure, enabling reflective development for structuring final-year essays and the LLB dissertation.
2. Group Judgment Redrafting Exercise (80% of final grade)
In the final seminar of the course, three judgments of the Court of Justice that have addressed in the course and have been particularly controversial will be released. The task is to redraft the judgment - arriving at either the same or a different outcome, but with stronger and more developed reasoning. It is intended that the facts of the case, the final 'findings' paragraphs and a bibliography (max 2000 words in total), as well as decisions on the final content and structure of the judgment, are shared tasks; 20% of this part of the grade (i.e. 20% of the 80%) will be evenly shared among all members of the group for this element of the assessment;
Each student in the group will be responsible for drafting a substantive section (25 judgment paragraphs each, mirroring the style of Court of Justice judgments), sharing of drafts and peer feedback will be strongly encouraged; and 80% of this part of the grade (i.e. 80% of the 80%) will be allocated individually for this work
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| Feedback |
NStudents will be offered the opportunity to submit a draft structure for a topic to be outlined in the course guide, on which they will receive individual feedback.
The curriculum-shaping exercise will also engage the allocated groups from the beginning of the year, encouraging links to be formed before the assessment elements of the group work exercises commence.
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| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of institutional, constitutional and substantive EU law, and of the implications of EU law for Scotland and the UK.
- Develop an ability to identify primary and secondary sources of EU law, and to track the application of EU law at national level. Students will also be able to identify pressing and/or controversial issues in EU law, and to reflect on their implications for legal development and legal practice.
- Students will be able to reflect on the direction of learning and contribute to the development of curriculum; to develop skills of application and legal problem-solving, considering real-world and hypothetical legal scenarios; to develop the ability to pursue an argument, with proper care and attention to primary sources and to relevant academic literature, as well as the ability to synthesise material from a broad variety of sources; to develop research skills, primarily library skills, but also use of databases and appropriate use of internet resources; and to develop group-work skills, including peer feedback on drafts.
- Understand the dynamics of and manage expectations for group work.
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Reading List
| Much of the source material for this course will be drawn from freely available online resources, especially case law and policy papers from the national and EU courts and political institutions. Online journals already in place will also be a major source for the course reading lists. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | European Union Law,Current Affairs |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Niamh Nic Shuibhne
Tel: (0131 6)50 2049
Email: |
Course secretary | Ms Krystal Hanley
Tel: (0131 6)50 2056
Email: |
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