Course Section | Columbia Law School

Section Description Provided by Instructor

This iis a part-term course that will meet from Sept. 18-Oct. 11, 2012.

The European Union is in the middle of its most severe crisis ever, some observers say. This course is about the core constitutional law concepts of European integration and whether these concepts are affected by the Euro crisis. It will use the sovereign debt crisis in the Euro zone as a reference to address inter alia the following issues: primacy of EU law and its particular nature, powers and competences of the EU, institutional conflicts in the EU, the legal relationship between EU and Member States, the Member States? parliaments and their role in safeguarding democracy and democratic control in the EU; the role of Member States? constitutional courts in European integration, the limits of EU law, sovereignty and the limits of European integration. The aim of the class is also to explain the legal implications of the measures introduced to stabilize the Euro (EFSF, Fiscal Compact, ESM etc.) and how they work.

The course is a stand-alone course that complements the general EU law course. Prior knowledge of EU law will be helpful, but is not a formal pre-condition.