Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE ECL5069

 
TITLE Advanced EU Law of Procedure

 
UM LEVEL 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course

 
MQF LEVEL 7

 
ECTS CREDITS 5

 
DEPARTMENT European and Comparative Law

 
DESCRIPTION This study-unit will take the student beyond the introductory material on the EU Law of Procedure covered in the second year of the LLB degree. The approach will be to marry the theoretical and practical aspects of the law of the procedure of the EU, thus providing a deep understanding to the rules and application of these rules in practice by the Court of Justice and the General Court of the European Union.

It will cover the main rules governing the operation and practice of the Courts and then focus on the several types of proceedings before these Courts including the Preliminary Reference Procedure, Interventions by a Member State and others in Preliminary reference proceedings and other kinds of action, Infringement Proceedings and the making of a defence to such, the Direct Action for annulment, the Article 218 Procedure and the Subsidiarity action. Tutorials will be delivered to assist the students on the topics covered during the lectures.

Study-unit Aims:

The main aim of the study-unit is to train future lawyers in the theory and practice of the EU law of procedure. Drawing on the substantive knowledge acquired during the LLB degree, this unit focuses on day to day practice in the field of Union law and teaches the future lawyer the rules relating to access to the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice and the General Court, the mechanisms available for raising issues of interpretation, validity of EU law, the mechanisms for raising and intervening in actions before the Courts, and the preparation of applications, defences, counter-claims and interventions before these Courts. Also covered will be the national law and procedural aspects of accessing the Court form the Maltese perspective, be it that of the State or private individuals.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding:
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- put into practice newly acquired and deep knowledge of the rules and practice relating to the various type of proceedings before the Court of Justice and the General Court of the EU;
- identify the situations which in practice call for different solutions to forensic challenges in the various kinds of proceedings available under the Treaties;
- follow and understand all future trends and developments in the judicial architecture and practice within the EU and adapt to changing requirements in the making and defence of claims before the European Courts.

2. Skills:
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- Iientify the appropriate procedure to be used before the European Courts in any particular situation;
- consider and apply the relevant rules to the various possible permutations which a particular type of proceeding before the European Courts may take;
- draft the appropriate documentation and supporting evidence as well as bring into play all possible supporting materials relevant to a particular type of proceeding;
- guide any related proceedings before the Maltese Courts in an appropriate manner as fits the cooperative jurisdictions of the European and the national Courts;
- advise government and private individuals as to possible course of action and strategy in terms of access to, and appearance and argumentation before the European Courts.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

Latest Editions of:

Main texts:

- K. Lenaerts, Maselis, and Gutman, EU Procedural Law, OUP 2015
- K. Lenaerts and Dirk arts, Procedural law of the European Union, Sweet and Maxwell, London
- D. Anderson and M. Demetriou, References to the European Court, Sweet and Maxwell
- B Waegenbaur, Court of Justice of the European Union: Commentary on Statute and rules of Procedure, CH Beck/Hart 2013
- Morten B Broberg, Neils Fenger, Preliminary references to the European Court of Justice, OUP 2010

Supplementary Texts:

- De Burca and Weiler, The European Court of Justice, OUP
- Dashwood and Johnston, The Future of the Judicial System of the European Union, Hart Publishing
- Slaughter, Sweet and Weiler, The European Court and National Courts, Doctrine and Jurisprudence, Hart Publishing
- Craig and De Burca, EU Law - Text cases and Materials OUP

 
ADDITIONAL NOTES Pre-Requisite qualifications: LLB or equivalent

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture and Tutorial

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Assessment Due Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Examination (2 Hours) SEM2 Yes 100%

 
LECTURER/S Jelena Agranovska
Ivan Sammut

 

 
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

https://www.um.edu.mt/course/studyunit