ContactThe Faculty Legal Studies will offer a 2nd cycle degree course of study leading to a LLM degree in European Law.
I. General Description of the Graduate of the Program
The 2nd Cycle Program in European Law will provide a sound knowledge and systematic understanding of the institutional structures, key statutory and case-law principles of European law. Special attention is given to the comparative approach in order to identify best practices in Member States reconnected to the implementation of EU Law. The programme will also provide a postgraduate qualification of value to those intending to play a leading role in any field of European Law as well as provide a postgraduate qualification to intending to play a leading role in the enlargement of the EU in the Balkans and a more broadly-based communication skills of general value to those seeking postgraduate employment. The program will provide students with necessary skills to deal with legal issues related to the accession of SEE to Europe and encourage students to develop a critical awareness of the operation of European Law. The program requires students to undertake supervised research on an agreed topic in European Law and encourage the production of original and evaluative commentary that meets high standards of scholarship and helps the students to develop critical, analytical and problem-solving skills which can be applied to a wide range of legal and non-legal contexts. The program is designed to develop the skills of academic legal research, particularly by the written presentation of arguments in a manner which meets relevant academic conventions and to assist those students who are minded to pursue academic research at a higher level in acquiring a sophisticated grounding in the essential techniques involved by following specialized modules in research methods. Finally, the program will assist those students who intend to pursue a career in the area of European integration.
II. Learning Outcomes
By the end of the program, the students will have knowledge and understanding of: the institutions of the European Union and the interrelationships between these; the substantive law relevant to a range of key areas of European Law; the theoretical perspectives and academic debates which underlie the substantive areas of Law; the methodology of European Comparative Law; the key concepts, policy issues, principles related to codification of European law in Member States and Accession Countries.
The graduate will be able to effectively apply the knowledge of European law to a wide range of situations where relevant practical or theoretical issues are under consideration. He will also be able to identify best practices in EU Member States and solutions to issues related to the accession of SEE countries in the EU. He will be able to evaluate issues according to their context, relevance and importance and gather relevant information and access key sources by electronic or other means. He will be able to evaluate issues and find solutions related to implementation of EU Law both in Member States and pre-accession countries, to formulate arguments on central issues and areas of controversy, and be able to present a reasoned opinion based upon relevant materials. He will be able to recognize potential alternative arguments, and contrary evidence, to a student’s own opinion and present a reasoned justification for preference. In addition he will be able to demonstrate an independence of mind and ability to offer critical challenge to received understanding on particular issues. Finally, he will be able to reflect constructively on their learning progression.
Teaching and Learning. Primarily, the listed intellectual skills are developed through seminar preparation and participation. This provides the opportunity for different interpretations of law and policy to be critically scrutinized and for alternative positions to be comparatively assessed. Seminar presentations may usefully be directed towards those areas which allow most scope for discussion and debate, and corresponding feedback. In addition, module assessments allow for, and encourage, evaluative discussion and the presentation of such discussion in accordance with the conventions of academic writing.
Lectures and seminars. Normally, modules are taught through two-hour sessions which take place on a weekly basis and comprise a combination of lecturing and seminar teaching. Broadly, the lectures provide an opportunity for the module convenor to convey an account of the general context of the subject, an exposition of the key issues and to identify areas for seminar discussion. This knowledge is consolidated by prescribed reading, particularly for seminar preparation. Seminars are focused upon more detailed discussion of particular matters and usually based upon students presenting papers and introducing a discussion of critical issues. Seminar presentations require students to formulate their views on the area under consideration, and provide important feedback from staff and fellow students.
Assessment of modules is based upon a combination of written assessments (mid-term and final examinations), comprising essays of 4,000 to 5,000 words, which must be submitted for each taught module which is followed, mid-term and final examinations.
The later part of the Program requires students to research, write and submit a dissertation of 15,000 to 20,000 words on an agreed topic in European law, under the supervision of a member of staff with expertise in the subject area. The exercise of researching and preparing a dissertation provides students with a high level of research skills in finding and using diverse materials. The supervision arrangements allow students individual feedback on the progress of their work on a regular basis.
Students are also encouraged to develop relevant skills to a high level of sophistication in their dissertations and this provides an important opportunity for diverse skills to be brought together in a sustained written presentation exercise.
The final dissertation accounts for 50% of the final mark. The remaining 50% is given by the GPA of the courses attended.
III. Program and Curriculum Description
The LLM in European Law is offered on both a full-time and part-time basis. Full-time students complete the Program over one academic year and part-time students over two academic years. Study is divided between taught modules and dissertation work. For full-time students, eight modules must be followed during the first two terms and supervised dissertation work, on a relevant agreed subject, is undertaken during the remainder of the academic year. Two of them are optional (one for each semester) and need to be chosen from the International Commercial Law stream (see program description for 2nd Cycle Studies in International Commercial Law leading to a LLM degree). For part-time students, three modules are studied in each academic year and supervised dissertation work is undertaken in the later parts of each academic year. Each taught module which is successfully completed carries 30 credits and the dissertation carries 30 credits. In total, therefore, the Program requires 90 credits for the LLM to be awarded.
Semester 1 |
1 EU Constitutional and Institutional Law (8 credits) 2 EU Economic and Company Law (8 credits) 3 EU Social Law: European Labour Law and European Social Security Law (7 credits) 4 Electives (2) (7 credits in total) |
Semester 2 |
1 Environmental Law (8 credits) 2 EU Competition Law (8 credits) 3 Judicial Protection in the European Union (7 credits) 4 Electives (2) (7 credits in total) |
Semester 3 |
|
Electives
Electives (3 or 4 credits): bi-annual
- European Private and Contract Law (4 credits)
- European Family Law (3 credits)
- European Fiscal Law (4 credits)
- External Action of the EU (4 credits)
- European Migration Law (3 credits)
- European Consumers Law (4 credits)
- European State Aid Law (3 credits)
IV. Admission Requirements
In addition to general SEEU 2nd cycle program requirements, the perspective student must have:
1) 1st cycle (Bachelor Degree) in Law and/or appropriate employment or practical experience Computer Engineering, Computer Sciences, Informatics and Communication Sciences and technologies (240 credits)
2) Excellent English proficiency (TOEFL 600; IELTS 6.5, A in the Cambridge Advanced Certificate in English)
3) Approval from the Admission committee (Students with degrees in other disciplines may be required to take undergraduate prerequisites as part of their program).
V. Instructors:
Course Descriptions
Compulsory Courses
EU Constitutional and Institutional Law
The course may be regarded as an introduction to the basic foundations of EU Law providing students with the basic tools to understand principles and concepts which will be dealt into details during the rest of the programme. It focuses on the basic legal principles of Constitutional Law of the European Union and its institutions. The basic freedoms (free movement of persons, goods and capitals) and rights of EU citizens are outlined. Issues related to the direct applicability of EU Law in Member States are also analysed into details. Special emphasis is given to the new Constitution of Europe and the challenges posed by the process of national ratifications and referendums will reinforce the ongoing debates about the European Union’s constitutional issues.
EU Economic and Company Law
The course is divided into two parts. The first one focuses on the very heart of the European Community policies by dealing into details with principles on free movement of goods, persons, services and capital destined to ensure an ever closer economic, monetary and political union. While concentrating particularly on the free movement regimes applicable to goods and services, the module investigates the interaction of these key policy areas with other issues such as competition, social welfare and fundamental rights. References to the state of the implementation of such principles within the Macedonian legal order are made.
Using as background principles on freedom of establishment granted to national companies formed within the Community the second part of the course outlines community rules on formation, disclosure, representation, nullity, capital protection, mergers, accounting and corporate governance. Special emphasis is given to European legal vehicles specifically aimed at facilitating the creation and management of companies having a European dimension, namely the European Economic Interest Groupings and the European Society.
EU Social Law: European Labour Law and European Social Security Law
This module is concerned with EU principles relating to the employment relationship. The first part of the course focuses in particular on basic entitlements of workers (equal pay, equal treatment, enforcement of equality rights, pregnancy, maternity and leave for family reasons, sexual harassment), free movement of workers and right of establishment. It also deals with employment rights on restructuring of enterprises in relation of transfer of undertakings, collective redundancies and insolvency. The second part deals with aspects of European Social Security Law and Pensions such as Regulation 1408/71 on Social Security, Directive 79/7 on Equal Treatment in Social Security, EU Directives and case law on equality in relation to retirement and pensions.
Environmental Law
This module provides an account of the policy and legislation of the European Community in relation to the environment and ecological protection. An initial focus is upon foundational issues including the nature of the Community, basic principles of Community environmental policy and law and problematic issues such as the tension between free trade and environmental protection. The course covers also elements of substantive Community legislation and case-law on chemical and waste, air and water quality, acidification, natural and natural resources and ozone and climate change.
Judicial Protection in the European Union
This course deals with enforcement of rights guaranteed under Community Law and the available remedies in national courts. After refreshing principles on direct applicability of EU Law already analysed in EU Constitutional Law, the course focuses on rights of private parties when they seek either to enforce or challenge laws emanating from the European legal order. The following topics are covered: private parties and Article 230 EC Treaty (and relevant provisions contained in the Constitution of Europe) action for annulment, validity review under Article 234 and damages under Article 288(2) EC Treaty, rules of procedure before the First Instance Tribunal and the European Court of Justice. The course concludes by comparing legal remedies under EU Law with remedies granted by the European Convention of Human Rights.
EU Competition Law
The course provides participants with a sound knowledge of EU Competition Law and its jurisprudential evolution. It covers the main features of Articles 81 and 82 EC Treaty (and relevant provisions contained in the Constitution of Europe), both from a substantive and a procedural perspective, including block exemptions, government-induced distortions of competition, Article 86 EC Treaty, the relationship between EC and national competition law, merger control, and the rules on state aids (Articles 87-89 EC Treaty). References to the state of the implementation of such principles within the domestic legal order are made.
Theme clinics on coherency of Macedonian Law with EU Law
The Republic of Macedonia is the first country in the region to have signed the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the European Communities and their Member States on 9 April 2001 in Luxemburg. The course offers a case-study related to the implementation of specific aspects of EU legislation and issues reconnected to the harmonisation of Macedonian legislation with the EU one. Case-study topics will be chosen from the subject matters of the Association Agreement that is to say Human Rights Standards and principles on free movement of goods between the Republic of Macedonia and the European Union, Payments, Competition and other Economic Provisions.
Elective Courses
European Private and Contract Law
The course is divided into two parts. The first one focuses on private international principles which have been developed by the EC institutions, in the form of conventions, regulations, directives and case law. The emphasis is on rules of jurisdiction, enforcement and applicable law with special emphasis on the Convention of Rome on the Law Applicable to Contractual Obligations, the Convention of Brussels on Jurisdiction in International Disputes, related texts (Convention of Lugano) and subsequent amendments. The second part places special attention on the Principles of European Contract Law (PECL) drafted by the Commission on European Contract Law, better known as the Lando Commission. Since the Principles have drawn from a number of legal traditions a basic understanding of the differing contract concepts to be found in Member States is given. References are made also to the UNIDROIT Principles for International Commercial Contracts and the UN Convention on International Sales of Goods (Vienna Convention). An overview of relevant case-law pertaining to the aforementioned legislative instruments is also provided.
European Family Law
The course focuses on specific aspects of Family Law contained in the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and legislative instruments (and relevant case-law) deriving from the EU legal order such as Regulations (EC) No 1347/2000 of 29 May 2000 Brussels II Regulation and (EC) No 2201/2003 of 27 November 2003 new Brussels II Regulations. The subjects covered in this course are the following: the nature of marriage (including, for example, polygamous or same sex marriage) and the legal protection of cohabitation; the conditions under which divorce is forbidden; matrimonial and property regimes when couples part; inheritance regimes; maintenance; the establishment of legal relationships between parents and children (the Marckx case); the special position of non-marital children (discrimination, inter alia, in inheritance); custody of and access to children when parents part; adoption and fostering; the use of assisted procreation techniques, the rights of children to proceed in their own right in family law matters; the rights of children to take decisions; the right of a person to know his or her biological origins; child protection measures in constitutional perspective; the concept of discrimination in family law, inter-country adoption and the legal regulation of parental child abduction. Furthermore, attention is given to the issue of harmonisation of family law and the way in which this could be achieved.
European Fiscal Law
The course deals with tax implications of European Integration and Community tax harmonization policy, EU tax rules in force and pending and EC Court's case law in tax matters. Its contents may be divided into six main themes: consequences of general (non-fiscal) Community Law for national tax law as shown by the case law of the Court of Justice of the EC (non-discrimination and non-restriction and the distinctions between resident and non-resident taxpayers and between domestic and foreign source income, State aid and tax incentives, the OECD Model Tax Treaty and the EC Treaty Freedoms, Community Loyalty, tax treaties with third States; Community tax harmonization policy (the White Paper, the Ruding Report, harmonization of indirect taxes, the Monti Paper, the Package to tackle harmful tax competition; Tax Co-ordination); current and pending secondary Community Law concerning indirect taxes (Value Added Tax, Community Customs Code, Excises, Capital Duty); current and pending secondary Community Law concerning direct taxes (Parent-subsidiary Directive, Merger Directive, Arbitration Convention; proposed Directives on loss roll-over, intragroup interest and royalty payments and effective taxation of savings income); tax aspects of the European Economic Interest Grouping (EEIG) and the European Company ( Societas Europaea : SE); Administrative assistance between tax administrations of different Member States.
External Action of the EU
The course analyses the role of the EU as a global player and its specific foreign policy philosophy which one could term "effective multilateralism". Special emphasis is placed on issues related to the enlargement of the EU in the Balkans. The wide range of legislative instruments which are particularly suited to respond to relations with non EU countries is analysed into details (Association agreements (with particular attention on the Association Agreement between the Republic of Macedonia), agreements as preparation for accession to the Community or for the establishment of a customs union, Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA), international agreements). Other aspects about the external action are considered in the second part of the course, in particular external trade, humanitarian policy and development policy. Contractual and legal instruments normally adopted (tender procedures and relevant procurement legislation and regulations) to support development and humanitarian actions are analysed.
European Migration Law
This course focuses on aspects of migration law and policies. After analysing the concept of European citizenship, European Community rules related to the free movement of persons in relation to non-EU citizens and citizens of new EU Member states are analysed and discussed. The last part of the course concentrates on European migration policy. In this context the position of third country nationals, refugees and asylum seekers is analysed into details.
European Consumers Law
Consumer policy is a core component of the Commission strategy objective of improving the quality of life of all EU citizens mentioned in the EC Treaty. The course focuses on the main legislative instruments and relevant case law on consumer law (and relevant case-law) enacted from the eighties on. The following topics are covered: safety of consumers with special emphasis on principles on liability for defective products; rules on safety of consumer interests with special attention on principles on unfair contractual terms and commercial practices and misleading comparative advertising; E-commerce, distance selling and doorstep selling, sale of goods guarantees and rules on EU injunctions.
European State Aid Law
The
course covers rules and regulations relating to state aid
in the EU and their role in the EU's overall competition
policy. It examines the provisions and implications of Articles
92 and 93 EC Treaty and covers both the substantive law
and the procedural questions. The following topics are covered
Substantive Law of State Aid (Art. 92 EC Treaty), Procedural
Law of State Aid (Art. 93 EC Treaty), ECSC Treaty, EEA Agreement,
Free Trade Agreement EU/Switzerland, Europe Agreements EU/East
and Central European Countries.