INTRODUCTORY REMARKS

This course is aimed at offering an specialized approach to the interface between European Law and domestic law from the point of view of the application and interpretation by the Spanish courts and judges, focusing not only on the theoretical formulation of the autonomous involvement in implementing European Union Law, but also on the existing problems related to its practical application.

Special relevance will be attached to the principles governing this relationship, such as supremacy and direct effect.

Emphasis will be placed on the influence of the novelties deriving from the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty in our case-law.

THE COURSE IN ITS CONTEXT

Extensive knowledge of the EU Law system is fundamental within the framework of the Official Master's Degree on the European Union (specialization in Law). It is a basic premise to understanding how EU law is created.

Within the framework of the European system, the case-law has been of substantial influence in the creation of the main concepts of this legal system. Through the preliminary rulings, by which national judges send questions of interpretation and validity to the European Court of Justice, this institution has developed a huge “acquis” of principles and rules, not only procedural but also substantive ones.

At the same time, taking into account that national judges are required to act as a european ones, the interpretation of european rules by domestic courts are also subjet of the analisys.

Sufficient capacity to understand that case-law will be required to the students. In order to help them to acquire these skills, we will include in the teaching methodology the orientation of the contents, methods and research techniques towards the elaboration of work in accordance with the lines of the Master programme and the bibliographical and jurisprudential material related to the subject of study.

RECOMMENDED PREVIOUS QUALIFICATIONS

Students must have a broad legal background (we assume that they have coursed a Degree in Law or Political Sciences) and more specifically, a previous knowledge of EU Law and International Law.

Sufficient knowledge of English will be required, and French skills would be helpful as well.

TUTORIALS AND FOLLOW-UP

Although communication beteen students and the teaching staff will take place preferably on-line, an extra resource for tutorials and guidance will be provided by the traditional system of academic service parcticed by UNED.

COMPETENCIAS BÁSICAS Y GENERALES:

CG01 - Saber resolver problemas en entornos multidisciplinares relativos a la Unión Europea.

CG02 - Saber comunicar ideas y opiniones basadas en conocimientos específicos y avanzados sobre Unión Europea y emitir juicios razonados sobre las mismas.

CG03 - Interpretar el contenido de los textos y documentos de la Unión Europea de forma que el alumno sea capaz de adoptar decisiones y formular opciones sobre ellos en el entorno complejo de la estructura y ordenamiento de la Unión Europea.

CB6 - Poseer y comprender conocimientos que aporten una base u oportunidad de ser originales en el desarrollo y/o aplicación de ideas, a menudo en un contexto de investigación

CB7 - Que los estudiantes sepan aplicar los conocimientos adquiridos y su capacidad de resolución de problemas en entornos nuevos o poco conocidos dentro de contextos más amplios (o multidisciplinares) relacionados con su área de estudio

CB8 - Que los estudiantes sean capaces de integrar conocimientos y enfrentarse a la complejidad de formular juicios a partir de una información que, siendo incompleta o limitada, incluya reflexiones sobre las responsabilidades sociales y éticas vinculadas a la aplicación de sus conocimientos y juicios

CB9 - Que los estudiantes sepan comunicar sus conclusiones y los conocimientos y razones últimas que las sustentan a públicos especializados y no especializados de un modo claro y sin ambigüedades 

CB10 - Que los estudiantes posean las habilidades de aprendizaje que les permitan continuar estudiando de un modo que habrá de ser en gran medida autodirigido o autónomo.

COMPETENCIAS ESPECÍFICAS:

CE04 - Encontrar, analizar y aplicar la legislación emanada de las diferentes instituciones y órganos de la Unión Europea, así como la de los Estados Miembros que se refiera o esté implicada en el sistema europeo.

CE05 - Encontrar, analizar y aplicar la jurisprudencia de los Tribunales que componen la jurisdicción de la Unión Europea así como la jurisprudencia de cualquier orden y nivel de los estados miembros que se refiera o que estén implicadas con el sistema de la Unión Europea.

CE06 - Elaborar proyectos en el ámbito del sistema integrado por los ordenamientos de los Estados Miembros y de la Unión Europea.

CE07 - Elaborar propuestas, informes y dictámenes sobre materias propias del sistema integrado de la Unión Europea.

CE08 - Integrar la perspectiva institucional en el análisis de las normas y políticas de la Unión Europea

INTENDED RESULTS

            Knowledge: Students are expected to acquire extensive and advanced knowledge of the integration of european legal order in our domestic system through the case-law.

             Learning will be based on the materials referred to or provided by the teaching staff, mainly the text of the most relevant sentences. If required, academic guidance will be available on-line. In this regard, the teaching staff is committed to providing guidance that is tailored to the specific needs of individual students.

            Skills: Students are expected to develop their ability to understand the meaning of domestic case-law in the interpretation and incorporation

            They are supposed to acquire a deep knowledge of the tendence of Spanish courts and judges in the integration of European Law.

            Attitudes: Students are encouraged to have a positive attitude towards the harmonization of european law made by courts and judges and the role of our judicial system. A good disposition towards autonomous work is essential to maximize the results of the course.

            This combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes will prepare students for the task of understanding the complexities of the EU legal framework, providing them with the tools required to understand the challenges it faces and its possible evolution and development.    

METHODOLOGY

Teaching and learning are to take place through well-tested methods of distance education as understood in open universities. Learning materials will be referred or provided by the teaching staff through on-line channels. Acquisition of knowledge will take place through: 1) Reading the basic learning materials; 2) Research, guided by the teaching staff through on-line tutorials and 3) Use of information in situations and cases presented by the teaching staff.

ALONSO GARCÍA,R.: El juez español y el Derecho Comunitario, Ed.Consejo General del Poder Judicial, 2003.

ESCOBAR HERNÁNDEZ, C. (dir.) y otros: Instituciones de la Unión Europea, Ed. Tirant lo Blanch, Valencia, 2020.

MANGAS MARTÍN,A. y LIÑAN NOGUERAS, D.J.: Instituciones y Derecho de la Unión Europea, Ed. Tecnos, Madrid, 2020.

OBRADOVIC,D., and LAVRANOS, N. (ed.): Interface between EU Law and national law, Europa Law-Publishing, Groningen, 2007.

WATHELET,M y VAN RAEPENBUSH,S.: Rapport de la Cour de Justice des CCEE. The relations between the Constitutional Courts and the other National Courts, including the interference in this area of the action of the European Courts, Conference of Eureopan Constitutional Courts XIIth Congress, Bruselas, Palais d'Egmont, 2002.

AÑÓN CALVETE, J.: Primacía del Derecho de la Unión Europea (a propósito de la STC 232/2015, de 5 de noviembre), http://noticias.juridicas.com/conocimiento/articulos-doctrinales/10895-primacia-del-derecho-de-la-union-europea-a-proposito-de-la-stc-232-2015-de-5-de-noviembre/

 CRAIG, P.: Directives: direct effect, indirect effect and the construction of national legislation, European Law Review, 1997 (6).

EDWARD, D.: Direct effect: myth, mess or mystery?, en Dírect Effect, Rethinking a Classic of EC legal docrtine, Prinssen and Schrauwen, Europa Law Publishing, Groningen, 2002.

 LENAERTS, K and ARTS,D.: Procedural Law on the European Union, Ed. Thomson, 2010.

MANGAS MARTÍN, A.: Derecho Comunitario Europeo y Derecho Español, Ed. Tecnos,Madrid, 1987.

MANGAS MARTÍN, A.: Rapport Espagnol. Le droit constitutionnel national et l'intégration européenne, FIDE, XVII Congrès, Berlin, 1996.

PEERS, S.: Taking supremacy seriously, European Law Review, 1998 (2).

PRECHAL,S.: Direct Effect Reconsidered, Redefined and Rejected, en Direct Effect. Rethinking a Classic of EC Legal Doctrine, ed. Prinsen and Schrauwen, The Hogendorp Papers (3), Europa Law Publishing, Groningen, 2002.

 SCHWARZE,J (ed.): The birth of a European Constitutional Order. The interaction of national and European Constitutional Law, Nomos, Baden-Baden, 2001.

ACADEMIC SUPPORT

On-line course:The course will be conducted on-line. On-line tutorials will be the basic form of interaction between students and the teaching staff. Access to learning materials, virtual libreries and forums, submission of essays, and communication between course actors will take place through the specific on-line channel designed and maintained for the course.