Constitutional and Institutional Law of the EU (LAWS0302)

This module introduces students to the terms of debate on Euroconstitutionalism and to enable them to develop their own considered views.

The European Union is currently the most sophisticated example of a constitutional-legal order “beyond the state,” yet its very meaning and purpose remain deeply controversial. Debate typically focuses on a “democratic deficit” of the EU; the concern is that through ongoing process of “over-constitutionalisation”, political decisions of high salience are withdrawn from democratically legitimized institutions of the Member States and immunized against political correction. The role of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) is often seen as particularly problematic in that context. 

Among the questions we shall discuss is: 

• The response of the EU (and the CJEU) to the present rule of law crisis (esp. in countries such as Hungary and Poland); 

• The concept of a “social market economy” in Art. 3 (3) TEU and the role of the internal market; 

• The question of “identity”—national constitutional identities and identity of the EU, and their interrelation in the EU multilevel constitutionalism. 

To that end, the module aims at combining theoretical concepts with careful analysis of institutional and jurisprudential developments. We discuss various answers—such as ordoliberalism and democratic experimentalism among others. External speakers will be invited. 

The aim of this module is to introduce participants to the terms of debate on Euroconstitutionalism and to enable them to develop their own considered views. 

This module is suitable both for students who are new to this field as well as those who are intent on acquiring a more in-depth critical understanding of the complex context of this subject area. 

By the end of the module, you should be in a position to: 

• comment and substantiate your views on (EU-) constitutionalism beyond the state and the development of the EU and its constitutional framework;
• competently participate in current debates (on Brexit, among others); and propose future directions of EU law and the EU as a polity itself. 

Module syllabus 

• The European Legal Order: Contemporary Problems in a Historical Perspective.
• Normative and theoretical paradigms of thought and the two European legal systems: the EU and the European Convention on Human Rights.
• The CJEU and the Transformation of the EU legal order: from economic freedoms to fundamental (social) rights.
• Uneasy legal pluralisms: the relationship between EU law and national law, with specific reference to the CJEU’s OMT decision (C-62/14).
• Sovereignty and solidarity: The (failure of) EU governance and the contemporary refugee crisis.
• Concluding Discussion and Perspectives on Brexit .

Recommended materials 

• Dieter Grimm, The Constitution of European Democracy, OUP 2017.
• Oliver Gerstenberg, Euroconstitutionalism and Its Discontents, OUP 2018. 

Module reading lists and other module materials will be provided via online module pages, available at the beginning of term once students have enrolled. 

Key information