EU420 Half Unit
European Union Law and Government
This information is for the 2011/12 session.
Teacher responsible
Dr Jan Komarek, COW. J104 Availability
Optional for MSc European Political Economy, MSc European Studies: Ideas and Identities, MSc Politics and Government in the European Union, LLM, MPA Public and Economic Policy/MPA Public Policy and Management/MPA International Development/MPA Public and Social Policy, MSc European Social Policy and LSE-Sciences Po Double Degree in European Studies. This is a capped course (30 students). Pre-requisites
A solid knowledge of the role and functions of EU institutions is required.
Course content
This course offers a theoretically informed study of the central institutions and legal processes of EU government. Central theories of decision-making and legal theories within EU studies are considered. Using material from the current practice of various EU institutions, these theories are immediately applied to analyse the central relationships within the EU government, administration and the EU legal system, so that students come away with an informed view of not just the balance of power, but also of the role of interests and ideas in the political institutions in Brussels and the European judicial system. Teaching
10 x 1hour lectures and 10 x 1.5hour seminars (MT);
1 x 1hour lecture and 1 1.5hour seminar (ST).
Formative coursework
Two unassessed essays (2,000 words each).
Indicative reading
D Castiglione et al, Constitutional Politics in the European Union (Palgrave 2007); R Corbett, F Jacobs and M Shackleton, The European Parliament 8th ed (John Harper Publishing 2011), S Hix and B Høyland, The Political System of the European Union 3rd ed (Palgrave 2011); P Lindseth, Power and Legitimacy: Reconciling Europe and the Nation-State (Oxford University Press 2010); D Naurin and H Wallace (eds), Unveiling the Council of the European Union (Palgrave 2008); N Nugent, The European Commission (Palgrave 2000); A Stone Sweet, The Judicial Construction of Europe (Oxford University Press 2004); JHH Weiler, The Constitution of Europe: "Do the New Clothes Have an Emperor?" And Other Essays on European Integration (Cambridge University Press 1999).
Essential preliminary reading
D Chalmers et al, EU Law 2nd ed (Cambridge University Press 2010).
Assessment
One two-hour written examination in the ST (75%) and a 2,000 word essay (25%). ^
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