| Unit name | Constitutional and Substantive EU Law |
|---|---|
| Unit code | LAWDM0088 |
| Credit points | 30 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Jule Mulder |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | University of Bristol Law School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Why is this unit important?
The European Union is one of the biggest economic blocs in the world. First envisaged as an instrument for peace, it has long surpassed its humble beginnings and become an organization with its own political processes, legal personality, and competences. As a major player within intergovernmental relations, EU law has an impact on almost all areas of Member States’ monetary, economic, or social policy and creates a ‘Brussels effect’ that knocks on the legal systems of third countries. Yet, it continues to be contentions how markets can be free, when integration is needed and whether national approaches should prevail. You will explore these questions considering the constitutional structure of the EU and substantive law integrating the market. Through the unit, you will encounter a legal system that is a distinguished form of national/international law. While drawing on legal analysis, the unit will engage with insights from economic and political theory.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
The unit is compulsory for MA students. It may be particularly interesting for students focused on international trade relationships and regional economic and political organisations. This is a core unit on the Law (MA) programme and can also be chosen by students on LLM programmes who have not previously studied English law.
An overview of content
We begin the unit exploring the EU law on the internal market and focusing on its most prevalent aspects, such as the free movement of goods and people and competition law, which have had significant impact on the law of states outside the EU. We will then consider the constitutional structure of the EU, including its institutions, democratic processes, the impact of EU law within the Member States and its relationship with national law, remedies and EU protection of human rights.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
You will deepen your understanding of EU law and consider the complexity of intergovernmental diplomacy and cooperation. You will be able to reflect on your own conception of sovereignty, democracy and economic or social benefits and critique the existing structures of the EU accordingly. You will develop analytical skills to scrutinise and challenge the political discourse on the European Union and to identify potential misconceptions and biases. You will develop understanding of the key legal frameworks within the European Economic Constitutionalism and the law of the common market which has had significant influenced on other parts of the world.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this unit, a successful student will be able to:
Teaching will involve lectures, small group work, discussions, individual tasks and in-seminar presentations. Skills sessions will be included in the unit to assist you with the assessment and improve your reflective and critical skills. You are expected to prepare seminars in detail. As such the unit will require directed and self-directed learning. To do so, you will be provided with a number of interactive learning tools, including a reading list, web-based material, quizzes, shorter videos and seminar questions. We expect wider engagement with reading and research for the assessment.
You will be given a unit guide at the beginning of the academic year which will outline the topics and the structure of the unit and information on the assessment and the teaching team. The reading list and preparatory tasks for each learning cycle will be published on Blackboard ahead of the lecture/seminar.
You will be expected to have completed the required reading and activities for each seminar so you can participate in the discussion and seminar activities. Seminars are certainly a place to ask questions if some of the material is unclear, but they cannot be used to summarise the reading material and or the lecture. Instead, we will engage in activities that help you to test your understanding and critical analytical skills. Among other things, activities may include debates, ‘moot court’, problem questions, groups work and quizzes. The aim of the tutor will be to provide structure for the discussion, highlight the various concerns and points of discussion, and provide ad hoc oral feedback if appropriate.
The range of activities are designed to support your own progress and encourage you to work independently and collaboratively and use feedback to enhance your own learning, understanding and study skills. The teaching activities will enable you to test your knowledge as well as deepen your understanding by applying the material and engage in broader debates on the issues (learning by doing).
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Several specific activities throughout the unit will support you in your summative assessment.
Formative assessments will come in many forms such as informal questioning, quizzes (MPQs) and group exercises in lectures, seminars, and asynchronous activities in the virtual learning platform. These will contribute to your learning and will not count towards your final unit mark.
In addition, more formalised formative activities will enable you to practice answering assessment style questions, which is an essential skill for the summative assessment. This will be organised in various steps that include independent drafting of an answer, detailed discussion of the answers during an interactive teaching session, assessment of your own work, and written feedback. These activities will test your understanding and knowledge of the material covered and allow you to apply it. They will also allow you to engage with your own work and various perspectives within the group from a critical point of view, which is an essential skill for the development your own portfolio and will deepen your comprehension of the topic. Collaboration and group work are further key skills that you will develop through these activities.
The final session will pull together the various themes of the course and connect them to ensure you have a holistic view of the unit. This will support you in answering the questions in the portfolio.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
The assessment will comprise a reflective exercise, a Problem Question and an Essay Question (4,000 words in total). There will be no choice of questions. This assessment will cover all Intended Learning Outcomes for the unit.
When assessment does not go to plan:
When a student fails the unit and is eligible to resubmit, the unit will be reassessed on a like-for-like basis with new assessment questions.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. LAWDM0088).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
