For the LLM and MSc Public Management and Governance. The course is open to students with and without a law degree. Students of public administration are welcome. A knowledge of the structure of European institutions is desirable. .
This course is capped at 30 students. Students must apply through Graduate Course Choice on LSEforYou.
The course is concerned with the development of a system of European Union administrative law. It focuses on the development of European governance structures, the design of regulatory frameworks and on institutions for control of the administration; on principles of, and structures and processes for, securing accountability; on the role and contribution of courts and the European Ombudsman. Case studies will be used to illustrate the place of law in the administrative process.
While the course draws on administrative law as practised in the Member States, and also in the USA, direct comparison is not anticipated.
A. Law and Administration in the European Union
- Introductory. European administrative law: purpose and ambit. The comparative law approach.
- European Administration. The structure of European administrations. Direct, indirect and cooperative administration; supervision and enforcement. The development of networks of governance and of European agencies. Concepts of administration. Public service ethos. 'New Public Management'.
- General principles of good administration
B. Administrative Functions and Processes
- Law making. Different types of norms or the hierarchy of rules. 'Hard' and 'soft' law.
- Rule making procedures: the Council and Parliament, Commission and comitology. Citizen access to rule making procedures.
- Rules and discretion in administrative law: A case study of public procurement.
- Regulation in action: the rise of the European agencies.
- Enforcement, or policing 'the level playing field': the role of the Commission.
C. Courts and the Administrative Process: Human Rights
- The multiple functions of the ECJ. Access to court and interest representation.
- General principles of administrative law. Fair procedure. Reasoned decisions. The principles of review.
- Judicial remedies and effectiveness. State and Community liability.
- Human rights and the EU Charter.
Case study of terrorist asset-freezing.
D. Accountability.
- The diverse meanings of accountability; the contribution of national systems.
- Transparency and access to information.
- Political accountability and redress of grievance. The European Parliament: committees and enquiries.
- Complaint handling and investigatorial technique: the European Ombudsman.
There will be 21 two-hour seminars. A full weekly seminar list of appropriate readings will be provided on Moodle.
Written assignments will be distributed as appropriate throughout the course of the year. Opportunities will be provided for student presentations.
This course is jointly taught with UCL
Recommended text: Paul Craig, EU Administrative Law (Oxford: Oxford University Press) 2006. For purposes of support we recommend D.Chalmers, C. Hadjiemmanuil, G. Monti and A. Tomkins, European Union Law or P Craig & G de Burca, EC Law, Text Cases and Materials (3rd edn, 2003). The following books are also useful: J Hayward & E Page, Governing the New Europe (Polity); H. Hofman and A. Turk, EU Administrative Governance (Edward Elgar, 2006) and Legal Challenges in Administrative Law (Edward Elgar, 2009); G Majone Dilemmas of European Integration: The Ambiguities and Pitfalls of by Stealth (Oxford University Press) 2005; P Craig & G de Burca, The Evolution of European Law (Oxford, 1998); C Harlow, Accountability in the European Union (Oxford University Press, 2003); P Craig & R Rawlings (eds), Law and Administration in Europe (Oxford 2003).
Relevant writings by the teachers include: R Rawlings, 'Engaged Elites. Citizen Action and Institutional Attitudes in Commission Enforcement', 6 European Law Journal 4 (2000); C Harlow, 'Three Phases in the Evolution of EU Administrative Law' in P Craig & G de Burca, The Evolution of EU Law (Oxford, 2nd edn, forthcoming); C Harlow, 'Francovich and the Problem of the Disobedient State', 2 European Law Journal (1996); C Harlow and R Rawlings, 'Accountablility and Law Enforcement: The Centralised EU Infringement Procedure' 31 European Law Review (2006) 447; 'Promoting Accountability in Multi-Level Governance: A Network Approach' European Governance Papers, No C-06-02 (2006); and 'National Administrative Procedures in a European Perspective: Pathways to a Slow Convergence?', Italian online journal of European administrative law (forthcoming).
The principal journals used in the course are as follows: Common Market Law Review, European Public Law, European Law Journal, European Review of Public Law, Journal of Common Market Studies, Journal of European Public Policy, European Journal of Legal Integration, Public Law, Modern Law Review, West European Politics.
