EU Law and Procedure

The course aims to provide knowledge and understanding about the procedures available before the Court of Justice of the EU and their role in guaranteeing the rule of law within the EU and the uniform application and enforcement of EU law, both theoretically and practically.

During the course the students will familiarise themselves with the different procedures provided for by the EU Treaties, in particular the infringement procedure, the legality review procedure, and the preliminary reference procedure. Furthermore, the course will address the function of the Court of Justice and its relation to other institutions and actors, in particular the Member State national courts.

The theoretical parts of the course form the basis for a practically oriented part, in which the students first analyse and subsequently plead as counsel for one of the parties in a fictitious preliminary reference case before the Court of Justice. The precise content of the teaching activities will be decided with reference to the specific case. The case will initially be analysed in seminars where all students participate and discuss the legal problems together. Thereafter, each student will be assigned a role as counsel for one of the parties. As legal counsel, every student will argue their client's case first in a written pleading and subsequently in an oral hearing at a fictitious Court of Justice. For the written pleading, students can choose to work individually or alternatively in teams of two or four.

Teaching activities will be mainly lectures and seminars. Expected learning outcomes include both a deep understanding of the law governing judicial procedures in EU law and practical argumentation skills. Guest lectures will be given by lawyers with experience of pleading cases before the EU Court of Justice. Examination will be based on the student’s performance in the role as counsel for one of the parties in the fictitious preliminary ruling case and on a written reflection in which the student describe the legal and strategic choices made in their handling of the case. The procedure will include a preparatory stage, where the students produce written submissions on behalf of their clients, and a hearing where the students argue their case orally.

The course runs parallel to the European Law Moot Court Competition (ELMC), and the case used during the course will be the ELMC competition case. At the end of the course, students will be offered the opportunity to develop their written pleading for participation in the ELMC, and will if they opt to do so be provided with coaching by the Law Department. Participation in the ELMC is however not a course requirement.

Teaching language is English.