General provisions

Determined on July 3, 2012 by the Faculty of Law’s Educational Committee, Uppsala University, by virtue of Chapter 6 Section 14 and 15 of the Higher Education Ordinance. The course plan enters into force on August 1, 2012.

General

The course amounts to 30 ECTS credits and is an optional course at advanced level in the studies for the degree of Master of Laws, in accordance with the degree requirements adopted by the Board of the Faculty of Law of Uppsala University on 16 April 2007. The course is held in English.

Entry requirements

Students on the Master of Laws programme (juristprogrammet) must have passed all compulsory semester courses except one and completed all compulsory components on the basic level. Students on international exchange programs must have passed two years of studies in law. They must also have basic knowledge of EU Law. All students must Master spoken and written English. The Board of Exemption may grant exemptions from these prerequisites.

Learning outcomes

After this course students should be able:

• to find and work with EU legal material

• to apply EU legal material and formulate relevant questions

• to present, orally as well as in writing, complicated problems and arguments for objective-oriented solutions

• to discuss, in a qualified manner, the nature of EU law and its inter-relationship with national legal systems

Examination Criteria

AB 1) extensive use of a spectre of relevant legal sources, 2) independent and focused analysis of questions posed and 3) unambiguous and convincing application of law in a given context.

Ba 1) extensive use of relevant legal sources, 2) independent and useful analysis of questions posed and 3) useful application of law in a given context.

B 1) modest use of relevant legal sources, 2) useful analysis of questions posed and 3) useful application of law in a given context.

Fail Failure to satisfy one or more of the criteria for B.

Content

The objective of the course is to provide an in-depth understanding of the nature of EU law and its inter-relationship with national legal systems. This comprises study of the EU’s basic principles of law, institutional architecture and decision-making procedures. The central theme of the course is the application of commercial EU law before courts and the inter-action between national courts and the European Court of Justice. The course includes participation in the European Law Moot Court Competition.

Instruction

Teaching will take place in the form of lectures and, predominantly, seminars. All students are expected to be well prepared, to work with the problems presented in the course material and to engage in discussion. The seminars are prepared in two stages: through individual study of relevant case law and literature and through joint discussion and problem-solving in study-groups. Attendance to all except two seminars or lectures (chosen at the student’s own discretion) is compulsory. Relief from the requirement of attendance may be granted by the Course Director.

Further information about teaching can be found in the attached study plan. The teaching is based on the material indicated in the attached list of literature and caselaw (internet).

Assessment

Examination is based on an examination portfolio, consisting of examination modules of which some are pass/fail modules, whereas others are graded. Examination is carried out in accordance with examination criteria and, where applicable, grade criteria. The final grade is based on a balanced assessment the entire examination portfolio. The portfolio includes presentation of an independently written paper dealing with a specific issue, a written examination, and performance at mooting sessions.

The grades given for the course are Fail (U), and the passing grades Pass (B), Pass with credit (Ba) and Pass with distinction (AB). A student who has not achieved the sum of points required for Pass will be offered re-exam.

It is prohibited to attempt to use deceptive means to influence the outcome of an exam or other ways of evaluating student performance such as essays. So, for example, may students not use non-permitted aids or materials during a written exam. It is also prohibited to pass off another person’s work as one’s own work, in other words, to engage in plagiarism. In addition to the result of the exam or other way of evaluating student performance being reduced or declared null, a student who, in the above or other ways engages in cheating will be reported to the University Disciplinary Board. The Board can issue formal warnings or disbar the student from studying at the university for a period of up to six months.