EU Internal Market Law (Erasmus)

Overview

The course will focus on : 1. the concept of the internal market and the scope of the Union competence in this field; 2. The four fundamental freedoms of the internal market, i.e. the free movement of goods, services, capital and persons (including workers or other economically inactive Union citizens and the freedom of establishment of self-employed professionals or companies); 3. The interaction, and especially convergences and divergences between the EU fundamental freedoms.

Learning Objectives

On completion of this module, students will have acquired knowledge and understanding of: 1. The key features of the law of the EU internal market and its impact on the domestic legal systems of the Member States and in particular the United Kingdom; 2. The sources of the EU internal market law; 3. The concept and the scope of the internal market, including its legal, historical, economic and political dimensions; 4. The scope and limits of the Union competence in the field of the internal market; 5. The scope, effect and limitations of the four fundamental freedoms of the internal market , i.e. the free movement of goods, services, persons (including workers, citizens and establishment) and capital (including the EMU), and their interaction; 6. The contribution of the EU institutions, both political/law-making and judicial, to the evolution of the internal market; 7. The scope of discretion left by (primary and secondary) EU law and by the case law of the CJEU to the Member States to restrict the exercise of any of the four fundamental freedoms in their territory on public interest grounds; 8. How to identify, in the context of essay or problem-based questions, the relevant area(s) of the law of the EU internal market, and critically assess and/or apply the relevant law in detail and with precision and accuracy.

Skills

1. Understand critically the key features of the EU internal market law and its relationship to the UK legal system in their philosophical, historical, political and comparative contexts; 2. Problem solving; 3. Identify accurately issues that require research; 4. Identify and retrieve up-to-date legal information, using hardcopy and electronic sources; 5. Use relevant primary and secondary legal sources; 6. Recognise and rank information and materials from a variety of different sources in terms of relevance and importance; 7. Act independently in planning and undertaking tasks; 8. Synthesise doctrinal and policy issues in relation to a topic; 9. Judge critically the merits of particular arguments; 10. Present and make a reasoned choice between alternative solutions and/or a reasoned judgement based on an informed understanding of standard arguments in the area of law in question; 11. Reflect on own learning and proactively seek and make use of feedback; 12. Use English proficiently in relation to legal matters; 13. Time management; 14. Present knowledge or an argument in a way that is comprehensible to others, both orally and in writing; 15. Read and discuss legal materials which are written in technical and complex language; 16. Produce word-processed work and present it in an appropriate form; 17. Use the web and email.

Assessment

Assessment which reflects the learning outcomes and required skills.