EUROPEAN UNION LAW: SELECTED TOPICS - 2023/4

Module Overview

This module introduces students to selected topics of European Union law, to complement their learning in Public Law I, and to complement engagement with other legal subjects where an understanding of EU law is beneficial. As such, the module provides an introduction to key features of EU constitutional law, the relationships between the UK and EU in the context of Brexit, and an introduction to the internal market/trade. Additional selected topics or case studies may be included to deepen students' understanding and to illustrate current developments.

Module provider

Surrey Law School

Module Leader

LESNIEWSKA Feja (Schl of Law)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 5

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

N/A

Module content

Indicative content includes:

• Introduction to the European Union: sources, institutions, the evolution of the EU legal order.


• Introduction to EU constitutional law


• UK-EU legal relationship post-Brexit.


• Introduction to internal market (including the four freedoms, trade).


• Selected topics of European Union law.


• Revision

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their thorough understanding of selected topics of European Union law. Students are encouraged to engage deeply in a range of topic areas for the assessment, and to make connections across the topics in the module. Questions will be designed to allow students to show that they have understood the basic doctrines and that they can analyse novel problems and issues relating to EU law. 

Summative assessment:
The summative assessment for this module consists of:

• one 4-hour online exam. 

It is designed to test a variety of the module’s learning outcomes, identifying and rewarding students’ analytical skills, knowledge and critical thinking. This module encourages students not to see topics in isolation, and to creatively make connections between principles and themes on the course. The summative examination tests a selection of topics from the module, and in addressing them, students are encouraged to address themes from across the module.

 


Formative assessment and feedback
The formative is a short mock-exam undertaken mid-way through the module. It focuses on the key principles and preliminary topics, and is designed to prepare students for the summative assessment. Oral feedback is available from tutors during tutorials and during revision lectures; written feedback is available on formative assessments.

Module aims

• To enable students to grasp the fundamental basics of the constitutional law and the institutional framework of the EU, key features of the EU legal order and its evolution.
• To introduce students to the relationship between the UK and European Union post-Brexit.
• To introduce students to the concept of the internal market (including the four freedoms, trade).
• To engage students with selected topics of European Union law.
• To foster students' digital research skills, finding and using both UK and EU sources.
• To facilitate engagement with relevant literature on the topics covered.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to complement the learning and teaching strategy across our programmes. It does so by fostering knowledge, understanding and critical awareness of selected topics of EU law through diverse teaching and learning methods. Students are offered learning and feedback opportunities through lectures, tutorials, online review sessions and in tutors’ consultation hours. Interactive lecture and tutorial sessions will hone student skills for future employability (eg. post-University interviews, future legal practice or non-legal employment). Students are offered learning and feedback opportunities through lectures, tutorials, online and in consultation hours, supporting students to be resourceful when self-reflecting on strategies to improve their performance.

This module builds upon the substantive learning and digital research skills developed at Level 4, particularly when studying Public Law I. Knowledge of the foundations of the UK constitution is essential for exploring the legal relationship between the UK and EU post-Brexit. The teaching and learning strategy will extend students’ critical thinking by encouraging them to consider this relationship in its historical context, and to understand key elements of the EU legal and political landscape. Selected topics of substantive EU law will be chosen to provide students with insights into EU law and its implications for Member States.

The learning and teaching methods include:
The delivery format of the taught hours for this module is: Lecture or revision sessions and tutorials during the semester. The module delivery is supplemented by guided learning during non-teaching weeks, guidance provided via the SurreyLearn module area, consultation hours during the semester and prior to the summative assessment.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: LAW2097

Other information

Global and cultural capabilities: Learning about EU legal principles and case law involves gaining an understanding of the varied constitutional identities in the EU legal arena. Students will gain an understanding of a legal system covering 27 Member States, and the challenges involved in a legal order spanning a variety of legal, cultural and constitutional traditions.

Employability: Tutorial preparation and class discussions will call on students to reflect on and present detailed legal arguments, and to be adept when asking and responding to questions. Students will develop enhanced communication skills which are transferable for engaging with subsequent studies, and when preparing for future employment. The knowledge and skills gained will be useful for any future studies or employment (e.g. as a solicitor or barrister) where an understanding of EU law and/or the UK-EU relationship is required.

Digital capabilities and legal research: This module calls on students to apply their critical reading, thinking, analysis and digital research skills to EU legal research tasks. As such, this module will extend the skills learnt at Level 4 (eg. in dedicated Legal Skills sessions and across Level 4 modules). When applying skills to EU legal research tasks, they will be called on to use materials from a legal system that will be unfamiliar to them (e.g. accessing Treaties; finding, reading and analysing case law and materials from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and other EU institutions. Successful students will quickly become adept at finding and reading relevant materials, and be prepared to discuss judgments and dissenting opinions in cases. The opportunity to learn about a new legal system, and how it relates to the UK, involves advanced critical thinking which is transferable when engaging with other modules which have an international law character at Levels 5 and 6.

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2023/4 academic year.