European Constitutional Law

1. Introduction to European Constitutional Law 2. Are the Treaties the ‘Constitution’ of the Union? 3. What kind of democracy for the Union? Is there a democratic deficit? a. The notion of representative democracy in the Union (Art. 10 Treaty of European Union). b. Citizens’ participation to the political governance of the Union (Art. 11 Treaty of EU). c. The role of national parliaments in the EU (Art. 12 Treaty of EU) and Protocol 1. 4. European Citizenship. 5. Constitutional principles: Subsidiarity. 6. Towards the Constitutionalisation of the Area of Freedom, Security & Justice. 7. Institutions: a. The Council, b. The President, c. The Commission, d. The Parliament. 8. Separation of powers. 9. The Relationship between EU law and national constitutions. 10. The Economic Constitution of the Union. 11. CFSP-EU external relations. 12. Relationship between EU law and national Constitutions. 13. The Union and Fundamental Rights: a. the ECJ case-law, b. The Charter of Fundamental Rights as a new source of rights: legal value, c. The role of the ECHR for the protection of rights at EU level.

Objectives

Understanding the functioning of the European Union. Relations between the Member States.Constitutional principles and values common to European level.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisite courses. Good knowledge of contitutional and EU law is desired for better understanding.

Syllabus

The EU as an international (or supranational?) organization. The institutional framework of EU. The European Union as a sui generis organization. Can the European Union as a sui generis organization have a constitution? The material Constitution of the EU. Democracy and legitimacy of EU. The protection of fundamental rights at EU level. Judicial protection of individuals. The European Citizenship. The contribution of National Parliaments to the good functioning of the EU