Course title
Rule-of-Law Institutions in the Evolving European Context
Duration
1 week
Dates
September 7 – September 9
Instructor
Prof. Elaine Mak, Erasmus University Rotterdam
Course objectives
The course aims to engage students in a reflection concerning the role of rule-of-law institutions in
the contemporary EU legal context and to analyse this theme in light of the theoretical, legal and
empirical insights provided during the course. Besides the in-depth study of current legal issues, the
course aims to assist students in becoming (further) acquainted with an interdisciplinary perspective
on the study of law.
Course Description
Rule-of-law institutions (legislators, administrative bodies, courts) in member states of the European
Union (EU) and at the level of the EU have an increasingly complex role. The process of legal
integration in Europe demands of the rule-of-law institutions to establish the balance between
possibly overlapping or conflicting national and European rules and to safeguard fundamental
principles of law in a context of value pluralism. In this context, the possibilities and constraints
regarding formal exchange between institutions, through parliamentary, administrative or judicial
procedures, and informal exchange, through transnational ‘dialogue’, deserve further exploration.
Moreover, changing societal expectations concerning rule-making and judicial decision-making
have added new dimensions to the functioning of rule-of-law institutions in Europe. In particular,
competition with private regulation (e.g. by non-governmental organisations, multinationals, banks)
and private dispute settlement (e.g. mediation, arbitration) has increased under the effects of
evolved standards of quality and efficiency.
In light of these developments, the question arises of how the institutional survival of rule-of-law
institutions in the evolving European context can be secured. What is the role of national and
European legislators, administrative bodies and courts in the contemporary context, in particular in
relation to each other and in relation to private actors engaging in rule-making and dispute
settlement? To what extent are institutional reforms and the development of new values and
approaches to rule-making and judicial decision-making desirable and possible in order to meet
legal and societal demands?
This course addresses these questions through the study of relevant literature and case law
concerning the demands of legitimacy and the forms of interaction of rule-of-law institutions in
Europe. Specific topics, which will be addressed in class discussions, are: 1) the procedural and
substantive aspects of legitimacy of rule-of-law institutions in the EU’s multi-level legal context; 2)
the role of EU standards for ‘better regulation’ in rule-making involving national parliaments and the
European Parliament; 3) the role of transnational judicial dialogue between courts in EU member
states and between national courts and the Court of Justice of the EU.
Course Outline
Session 1 (7 September):
Legitimacy of rule-of-law institutions in Europe
o principles and procedures of institutional interaction in a multi-level legal context
o national rule-of-law institutions, European institutions and private actors: competences and
interaction
Session 2 (8 September):
Rule-making in the European legal context
o principles and procedures of EU rule-making, in particular concerning ‘better regulation’
o role of parliaments in relation to each other and to other actors
Session 3 (9 September):
Judicial decision-making in the European legal context
o principles and procedures of legal protection and law development in individual cases
o dialogue between national highest courts and the CJEU
Educational Outcomes
After completing this course, students:
o
will have gained insight into the challenges to the functioning of rule-of-law institutions in the
contemporary EU legal context;
o
will be able to reflect on the legal and contextual aspects related to the functioning of rule-oflaw institutions in the multi-level legal order of the EU;
o
will be able to analyse and evaluate specific topics related to legal integration and
competition between institutions with powers of rule-making and judicial decision-making in
the EU;
o
will have trained their ability to use their knowledge in a group discussion.
Basic Bibliography
Session 1:
- P. Craig, ‘Pringle and the Use of EU Institutions Outside the EU
Legal Framework: Foundations, Procedure and Substance’ [2013] 9
European Constitutional Law Review 263
- M. Dawson, ‘Three Waves of New Governance in the European
Union’ [2011] 36 European Law Review 208
- D. Schiek, ‘Private Rule-Making and European Governance: Issues
of Legitimacy’ [2007] 32 European Law Review 443
- V. Reding, ‘The EU and the Rule of Law: What Next?’, lecture at
Centre for European Policy Studies, Brussels, 4 September 2013,
available at http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-13677_nl.htm
Session 2:
- D. Jančić, ‘Representative Democracy Across Levels? National
Parliaments and EU Constitutionalism’ [2012] 8 Croatian Yearbook of
European Law and Policy 227, available at
http://www.cyelp.com/index.php/cyelp/article/view/132
- A. Meuwese and C.M. Radaelli, ‘Hard Questions, Hard Solutions:
Proceduralisation Through Impact Assessment in the EU’ [2010] 33
West European Politics 136, available at
https://pure.uvt.nl/portal/files/1297093/Meuwese_Hard_questions_an
d_equally_hard_solutions_110118_postprint_immediately.pdf
- E. Fisher, ‘Unpacking the Toolbox: Or Why the Public/Private Divide
is Important in EC Environmental Law’, FSU College of Law, Public
Law Working Paper 2001/35, available at
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=283295
Session 3:
- K. Lenaerts, ‘Upholding Union Values in Times of Societal Change:
The Role of the Court of Justice of the European Union’, lecture
Durham European Law Institute, 17 February 2014, available at
https://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/deli/events/annual%20lecture%2020
14/Lenaerts_2014_Durham.pdf
- A. Torres Perez, ‘Melloni in Three Acts: From Dialogue to
Monologue’ [2014] 10 European Constitutional Law Review 308,
available at www.academia.edu (user registration required)
- CJEU 26 February 2013, Case C-399/11, Stefano Melloni v.
Ministerio Fiscal, available at
http://curia.europa.eu/juris/liste.jsf?language=en&num=C-399/11
- Spanish Constitutional Court, STC 26/2014, 13 February 2014,
unofficial translation in English available at
http://www.tribunalconstitucional.es/es/jurisprudencia/restrad/Paginas
/JCCJCC262014en.aspx
Course Prerequisites
Students should be acquainted with the basics of EU (constitutional)
law, in particular concerning the role of the EU institutions and the
relationship between EU law and the domestic laws of the Member
States. Additional knowledge regarding (comparative) constitutional
law of EU member states or concerning interdisciplinary perspectives
on EU law and governance is helpful but not a prerequisite for
following the course.
Students can consult the following background readings to brush up
their knowledge and become more familiar with the theme of the
course:
- A. Arnull, The European Union and Its Court of Justice, Oxford:
Oxford University Press 2006 (2nd edition)
- M. Avbelj and J. Komarek (eds.), Constitutional Pluralism in the
European Union and Beyond, Oxford: Hart Publishing 2012
- P. Craig, EU Administrative Law, Oxford: Oxford University Press
2012 (2nd edition)
- P. Craig and G. de Búrca, EU Law: Text, Cases and Materials,
Oxford: Oxford University Press 2011 (5th edition)
- A. Rosas and L. Armati, EU Constitutional Law: An Introduction,
Oxford: Hart Publishing 2012 (2nd edition)
- G. Teubner, Constitutional Fragments: Societal Constitutionalism
and Globalization, Oxford: Oxford University Press 2012
Teaching Methodology
Frontal lectures
Active participation
Language
English
Location
EPLO Headquarters, Sounion
General note
N/A
50 %
50 %