Undergraduate Course: EU Law Honours: Foundations (LAWS10283)
Course Outline
| School | School of Law |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| 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 explores the law of the European Union from constitutional and institutional perspectives, demonstrating how and why EU law has become such a complex system of law beyond the state. Building on previous study of EU law at Ordinary level, EU Law Honours I: Foundations focuses in more depth on legal issues that are particularly timely or unsettled. For example, what are the competences of the European Union and the Member States respectively? Why is the principle of the 'autonomy' of EU law, which distinguishes the EU legal system from both international and national law, so significant? What does the Charter of Fundamental Rights add to existing protection under the ECHR? What is the role of the European Union in crisis management? And (how) has Brexit changed the EU's constitutional and institutional 'ecosystem'? |
| Course description |
The course content will cover:
The sources of EU law
The EU institutional framework
The competences of the EU and of the Member States
The central principles of EU constitutional law
How EU law relates to both international and national law
The role of the EU in the ongoing management of various crises
The legal implications of Brexit.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
Students MUST have passed:
European Union Law (Ordinary) A (LAWS08125)
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Spaces on this course are allocated as part of the Law Honours Course Allocation process. Places are generally only available to students who must take Law courses. To request a space on this course, please email Law.courseselection@ed.ac.uk |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Students must have passed an equivalent course of EU Law Ordinary.
This course is only open to visiting students coming through a direct exchange with the School of Law (including Erasmus students on a Law-specific Exchange). Exchange students outside of Law and independent study abroad students are not eligible to enrol in this course, with no exceptions.
**Please note that 3rd year Law courses are high-demand, meaning that they have a very high number of students wishing to enrol in a very limited number of spaces.**
Priority will be given to students studying on exchange within the Law department, and it is highly unlikely that there will be additional spaces for general exchange students & independent study abroad students to enrol; we will look into this on a case-by-case basis in September/January. Visiting students are advised to bear in mind that enrolment in specific courses can never be guaranteed, and you may need to be flexible in finding alternatives in case your preferred courses have no available space.
These enrolments are managed strictly by the Visiting Student Office, in line with the quotas allocated by the department, and all enquiries to enrol in these courses must be made through the CAHSS Visiting Student Office. It is not appropriate for students to contact the department directly to request additional spaces. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2026/27, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
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 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
The course will be assessed by a review essay (30%) and a individual video presentation (70%). |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Students will acquire in-depth knowledge of EU constitutional and institutional law, and engage with broader perspectives on EU legal development and the interconnected system of EU law more generally.
- Students will apply knowledge, skills and understanding in practical contexts related to EU law, critically analysing legal doctrines and placing them in a wider context. Students will develop skills in tracking developments that are still evolving and discerning appropriate and useful resources within the context of fast-paced legal change.
- Students will obtain, organise and use conceptual, factual, and/or hypothetical information in problem-solving.
- Students will use a range of forms of communication in both familiar and new contexts, and improve their written and oral legal argumentation as well as presentation skills.
- Students will exercise initiative and independence in carrying out defined activities related to EU law. Students will also improve their understanding of the complex relations between EU law and both international law and national legal systems.
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Reading List
Individual reading lists will be circulated at least one week in advance of the seminar.
To support your learning, you may also find it useful to consult:
Craig and de Búrca, EU Law: Text, Cases and Materials (OUP, 7th edition, 2020)
Barnard and Peers (eds.), European Union Law (OUP, 4th edition, 2023)
The main journals relevant to this course as well as their standard abbreviations include:
¿ Common Market Law Review (CML Rev)
¿ European Constitutional Law Review (EuConst)
¿ European Law Review (EL Rev)
¿ Cambridge Yearbook of European Legal Studies (CYELS)
¿ Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law (MJ)
¿ Yearbook of European Law (YEL) |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Students will apply knowledge, skills and understanding in practical contexts related to EU law, critically analysing legal doctrines and placing them in a wider context. Students will develop skills in tracking developments that are still evolving and discerning appropriate and useful resources within that context.
Students will obtain, organise and use conceptual, factual, and/or hypothetical information in problem-solving
The group presentation component of the summative assessment is designed to enhance skills and abilities in communication.
Students will exercise initiative and independence in carrying out defined activities related to EU law. Students will also improve their understanding of the complex relations between EU law and both
international law and national legal systems.
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| Keywords | European Union,Brexit,EU Law |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Mr Bob Roth
Tel:
Email: b.roth@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Eleni Koumentakou
Tel:
Email: ekoument@ed.ac.uk |
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