General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW6288 / JDOC6288 |
| Course name: | Introduction to European Union Law |
| Programme offered under: | LLM Programme / JD Programme |
| Semester: | Second |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No |
| Credit point value: | 9 credits / 6 credits |
| Cap on student numbers: | 25 |
1.2 Course description
This is a basic course intended to introduce students to the law and institutions of the European Union (EU). The EU is an organization of (still) twenty-eight European States. Although the EU is not a federal state, its powers and institutions go well beyond traditional models of international organizations. In brief, this is a supranational organization situated in “a grey zone” between constitutional and international structures. Its impressive scope of powers (usually shared with member states) ranges from economic, market and monetary integration to the field of ‘justice and home affairs’ (immigration, anti-terrorism, policing, criminal and civil law coordination) and some common aspects of foreign affairs and defense.
The law of the EU constitutes an autonomous and developed legal system which is directly binding on all member states. It is based on international treaties, but it comprises also thousands of regulations and directives enacted by the EU bodies, as well as a developed case-law of the EU Court of Justice.
Although the European Union is undergoing a serious crisis (recently symbolized by the “Brexit” referendum in the UK), it remains a very solid and strong organization. This applies, particularly, to the field of global economic relations, the US foreign trade included.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | Lech Garlicki | lech.garlicki@gmail.com | N/A | By email |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Describe and explain the constitutional structure of the Union as well as the nature and authority of different instruments within the EU law.
CLO 2 Use relevant information to be better oriented in the complicated structure of competencies and powers in the EU as well as in the member-states.
CLO 3 Apply this information in practical (commercial) relations with European partners and adapt to the complex structure of European supranational government.
CLO 4 Demonstrate better understanding of the impact of the EU on political, economic, and social cooperation of member-states.
2.2 LLM and JD Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
Please refer to the following link:
LLM – https://course.law.hku.hk/llm-plo/
JD – https://course.law.hku.hk/jd-plo/
2.3 Programme Learning Outcomes to be achieved in this course
| PLO A | PLO B | PLO C | PLO D | PLO E | PLO F | |
| CLO 1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 2 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 3 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 4 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Due date | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Class participation | N/A | 20% | 5 | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
| Take home exam | TBA | 80% | 1, 2, 5 | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
| *Feedback method (to be determined by course teacher) | |
| 1 | A general course report to be disseminated through Moodle |
| 2 | Individual feedback to be disseminated by email / through Moodle |
| 3 | Individual review meeting upon appointment |
| 4 | Group review meeting |
| 5 | In-class verbal feedback |
3.2 Assessment Detail
To be advised by course convenor(s).
3.3 Grading Criteria
Please refer to the following link: https://www.law.hku.hk/_files/law_programme_grade_descriptors.pdf
Learning Activities
4.1 Learning Activity Plan
| Seminar: | 3 hours / week for 12 teaching weeks |
| Private study time: | 9.5 hours / week for 12 teaching weeks |
Remarks: the normative student study load per credit unit is 25 ± 5 hours (ie. 150 ± 30 hours for a 6-credit course), which includes all learning activities and experiences within and outside of classroom, and any assessment task and examinations and associated preparations.
4.2 Details of Learning Activities
To be advised by course convenor(s).
Learning Resources
5.1 Resources
| Reading materials: | Reading materials are posted on Moodle |
| Core reading list: | EU Law: Text, Cases, and Materials (Seventh Edition) by Paul Craig and Gráinne de Búrca
[Order form from HKU bookstore will be available on Moodle around mid-Dec 2020] |
| Recommended reading list: | TBA |
5.2 Links
Please refer to the following link: http://www.law.hku.hk/course/learning-resources/