1. To introduce the constitutional and institutional law of the European Union.
2. To develop an understanding of EU legislative procedures; the nature and limits of Union competence; and the system of judicial review governing Union acts.
3. To explore the application of EU law within national legal systems.
4. To encourage you to think critically about the integration process, e.g., the democratic character of EU decision-making processes and the effectiveness of the system of judicial protection against Union acts.

(LO1) Demonstrate a basic understanding of the constitutional and institutional law of the European Union.

(LO2) Understand, apply, and critique the Union legal method.

(LO3) Handle Union legal materials, including the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, EU Treaties and Union legislation.

(LO4) Think critically about the evolving process of EU integration.

(LO5) Apply specialist knowledge to consider contemporary issues in the field of study.

(LO6) Think critically about the evolving process of less EU integration

(S1) Communication (oral, written and visual) - Academic writing (inc. referencing skills)

(S2) Critical thinking and problem solving - Critical analysis

(S3) Research skills - Awareness of /commitment to academic integrity

(S4) Time and project management - Project planning

(S5) Critical thinking and problem solving - Evaluation

(S6) Skills in using technology - Using common applications (work processing, databases, spreadsheets etc.)

(S7) Communication (oral, written and visual) - Academic writing (inc. referencing skills)

The topics of the syllabus will cover areas such as;
1) fundamentals of EU legal order, e.g. Treaties and hierarchy of legal norms
2) EU institutions (European Council, Council, European Parliament, Commission etc) and decision-making processes (legislative and non-legislative)
3) EU system of competences, e.g. attributed powers, subsidiarity, proportionality, Charter of Fundamental Rights, general principles of Union law, judicial review of Union acts
4) EU law in Member State legal systems, e.g. consistent interpretation, direct effect, primacy, effective judicial protection
5) EU law in the UK legal system: UK withdrawal from EU; key features of EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement; key features of domestic system of “retained EU law

Learning and teaching on this module will be structured in accordance with the principles of Hybrid Active Learning with asynchronous materials and synchronous seminar sessions. Asynchronous recordings provide material previously addressed in physical lectures, suitably broken down (‘chunking’) and augmented (e.g. quizzes etc) so as to enhance student engagement. Synchronous sessions will run on a fortnightly pattern across the semester (i.e. 6 in total) and will each have a duration of 2 hours.

6 x 2 hour synchronous seminars – online and / or FTF-SD as required
- introduction to module and EU law
- EU institutions and decision-making procedures
- EU system of competences
- EU law in Member State legal systems
- EU law in the UK legal system

Note: substantive seminars will work as follows:
- advance reading and questions, including clearly identified topic for in-session “group work” ;
- seminar opens with tutor-led structured discussion to address key points / clarify student queries;
- students then organised into groups to discuss the relevant “group work” issue and prepare a collective response;
- seminar concludes with brief group presentations / discussion.

Asynchronous content: recorded sessions (approx. 30 minutes each); grouped and released together in topic “packages” corresponding to seminars; focus will be on key principles / themes (i.e. less technical detail, which can be left to core and further reading)
- introduction to EU law
- EU institutions and decision-making procedures
- EU system of competences
- EU law in Member State legal systems
- EU law in the UK legal system

For each main topic “package”: provision of additional online resources, e.g. dedicated podcast which poses key question, invites students to pause video and make notes to answer it, then students resume video to hear “model” answer.

Asychronous Recorded lectures and Activities 12 x 2hr – 24 hr

Synchronous Seminars 6 x 2hr – 12 hr