Student guide Faculty of Law A.Y. 2010/11

The course will provide students with a detailed picture of the legal system of the European Union and the European Communities, with special reference to institutional aspects. It will focus mainly on current law, but in view of the present transitional stage, account will also be taken of the main innovations contained in the Treaty instituting the Constitution for Europe, signed in Rome on 29 October 2004. Students are strongly recommended to read the current treaties, as most recently amended by the Nice Treaty of 2001 and the latest Treaty of Accession (Athens, 2003), together with the Treaty instituting the Constitution for Europe, knowledge of which is essential for the exam.

After a historical presentation of the process of European integration from the immediate post-war period to the Constitution for Europe, the institutional structure of the European Union and the complex decision-making process characteristic of the “Community method” will be illustrated in the light of the principles relating to EU responsibilities and their exercise, both internally and in terms of external relations. The system of European Union law sources will also be examined, with special reference to the EU legal system and the system of judicial protection. The last part of the course will be devoted to the relationship between EU law and national law, with special reference to the position of individuals and the protection available to them.

·         I. Origins and development of European integration.

1. The process of  integration from the post-war period to the Constitution for Europe (Treaty of Rome dated 29 October 2004).

2. The inclusion of new countries in the European Union.

3. Association agreements with third countries.

·         II. Institutional structure of the European Union.

4. Distribution of powers between the EU and member states; the principle of attribution; exclusive and competing powers; the principle of subsidiarity and proportionality.

5. The “three-pillar” structure of the current European Union: the Community pillar; the Common Foreign and  Security Policy (CFSP), and cooperation between police forces and courts in criminal matters. The innovations introduced by the European Constitution.

6. External relations; agreements with third countries and international organisations; the principle of parallel responsibilities; nature of external responsibilities; mixed agreements.

7. Single institutional framework of the European Union: the Council of Europe.

8. Institutions: European Parliament; Commission Council; Court of Justice; Court of Auditors.

9. The other EU bodies: in particular, the Economic and Monetary Union organisations.

10. Procedures for drafting EU documents.

11. Reinforced cooperation.

12. Citizenship of the European Union.

·         III. Sources of European Union law.

13. The provisions of the instituting treaties (“primary law”). Amendments to the instituting treaties: general principles of law and protection of fundamental rights.

A) Secondary or derivative sources of EU law.

14. Binding documents: regulations, directives and decisions.

15. Non-binding documents: recommendations and opinions. Other documents.

B) Sources of the third pillar (Police and Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters): in particular, framework decisions and decisions.

·         IV. Judicial protection in the European Union.

16. The distribution of responsibilities between the Court of Justice, the Court of First Instance and Judicial Chambers.

A) Contentious proceedings.

17. Disputes relating to the behaviour of member states (infringement proceedings).

18. Proceedings regarding the legitimacy of acts (legitimacy proceedings) and omissions (proceedings for failure to act) performed by EU institutions.

19. Disputes relating to the responsibilities of the European Community.

B) The non-contentious jurisdiction of the Court of Justice.

20. The reference for a preliminary ruling as a mechanism of judicial cooperation with the national courts.

21. Opinions.

·         V. The relationship between European Union law and national law.

22. The problem of adapting Italian legislation to comply with EU law: the position of the Court of Justice and the Constitutional Court.

23. EU legislation and Italian regional law.

24. The principle of the direct effect of EU legislation; pre-requisites; negation of the horizontal efficacy of directives; framework decisions adopted in the ambit of the 3rd pillar.

25. The principle of consistent interpretation.

26. The remedy of damages awarded to individuals to compensate for loss caused as a result of infringement of EU law by a member state.

Supplementary work

(II) Students intending to switch from first- and second-level courses to the long-cycle (five-year) course who have already taken the exam according to the syllabus for the previous academic year will be required to take an additional oral exam, consisting of either:

a) discussion of a written essay (10-20 pages) on a subject to be agreed with the lecturer; or

b) a test of the student’s knowledge of the following texts:

1) Tesauro, G., Diritto comunitario, Cedam, Padova, 2005, 4th ed. (pp. 160-186),

or Strozzi, G., Diritto dell’Unione europea. Institutional part, Giappichelli, Turin, 2005, 3rd ed. (pp. 198-218).

2) The chapter of the textbook Gaja, G., Introduzione al diritto comunitario, Laterza, Bari, 2005, regarding EU external relations.
 

(III) For students taking the five-year Long-Cycle Degree Course, the exam syllabus includes both the syllabus for first-level degree students referred to in paragraph (I) and the additional syllabus referred to in paragraph (IIb).