EU institutions & Proceedings

LECTURE 1: INTRODUCTION | TREATIES & OTHER SOURCES OF EU LAW [Friday 29/09]

This first lecture will introduce students with the EU through a historical and conceptual context, also hinting on the landmark authorities which shaped the Union legal order.

We will start with a brief historical overview of EU integration since the ECSC, leading up to the Lisbon Treaty. Although this is not a history class, it is important to have an idea of the background, the ideals and the necessity for the creation of the EU as well as its evolution. We will then present the Union goals and duties as per the Lisbon Treaty, the EU institutions and their powers.

After this short introduction, we shall dive straight into EU constitutional values of the EU legal order. We will touch upon the constitutional value of the Treaties from landmark rulings Van Gend en Loos and Costa v ENEL. This will inevitably lead to introducing the doctrines of supremacy and direct effect of EU law, which will however be analysed in detail later.

• Legal base: art. 2 TEU, art. 13 – 19 TEU.


• Case-law: C-26/62 Van Gend en Loos, C-26/64 Costa v ENEL, Opinion 1/91, C-294/83 Les Verts


• Essential reading: Foster, chapters 1 and 2

LECTURE 2: SOURCES OF EU LAW & EU COMPETENCES [Saturday 30/09]

The first part of this class will regard the main sources of Union law and hierarchy of norms as established by the Treaty and the Court of Justice. We will also engogage in a discussion on Treaty-based and judge-made general principles of EU law as well as the nature and the role of EU secondary legislation (with special focus on Directives). This will lead us to a discussion on EU's legislative powers, namely the power to adopt lesgislative acts which will create obligations to Member States (public administration, companies and individuals) and enforceable rights on individuals.

But what are the ‘legislative’ powers of the EU? And what is the scope of such a power? This lecture will focus on the following points:

a) The scope and categories of Union competence,

b) The categories of Union competence,

c) The principles of conferral, subsidiarity & proportionality.

• Legal base: art. 2 - 6 TEU, art. 223-234 TFEU, 237 – 244 TFEU, 257 TFEU 288 – 291 TFEU, Protocol (No.2) on the application of the principles of proportionality and subsidiarity

• Case law: C-36/02 Omega (proportionality), C-58/08 Vodafone(proportionality & subsidiarity), C-120/78 Rewe-Zentral (competences – pre-emption), C-112/77 Topfer v Commission (legitimate expectations), UK v Council C-84/94, Casagrande, C-376/98 and C-380/03 Germany v Parliament and Council (Tobacco Advertising I & II – extension of competences/conferral), Opinion 2/94, Philip Morris C-547/14, Poland v European Parliament and Council C-358/14, De Capitani T-540/15, Commission v UK C-804/79 (conferral – limits of national competences).

LECTURE 3: EU AT WORK | EXECUTIVE, LEGISLATIVE & JUDICIARY POWERS [Friday 13/10 – ZOOM class/remote]

This lecture will introduce the constitutional principles underlying the relationship in between EU institutions which legislate, with a special focus on the three institutions involved in the Ordinary Legislative Procedure, i.e. Parliament and Council.

The second part of the lecture will be dedicated to the Court. We will remind the basics of the institution mentioned at the first lecture on 25/09 and discuss core organisational and procedural issues as well as rules of interpretation.

• Legal base: art. 289 & 294 TFEU


• Main case-law: C-6 & 9/90 Franco