Revision and Change of EU Treaty Law: Selected Issues and Recent Developments
Course Level
intermediate - advanced / 3rd - 4th year
Course Language
English
Course Classification
This is a Themis course. It is also open to non-Themis students.
Teaching Mode
The course is taught face-to-face.
Contact Hours
approx. 2 hours per fortnight
ECTS-credits
1,5 (if course has been attended regularly and exam has been passed)
Frequency
This course is being taught for the first time in the summer term 2024.
Time Schedule and Course Venue
please see our electronic course catalogue
Course Content
In this brief course on EU treaty law, we will review the main modes of development of EU primary law. After a longer period of “semi-permanent” treaty revision starting with the Single European Act in the mid-1980s, in which the EU’s constitutional was was formally amended every few years (SEA, Maastricht, Amsterdam, Nice and Lisbon), no ordinary treaty revision has occurred in the last 15 years, despite the growing challenges and demands for the EU legal order in the “polycrisis”. This course will discuss why the process of European integration does no longer primarily rely on ordinary treaty-revision than on other modes of development. In 7 2-hour sessions, we will discuss the “rigid”, the “stable” and the “constant” constitution of the EU. First, we will discover the reasons for the end of formal treaty change and tracing modes of autonomous treaty amendment. Furthermore, we will talk about the role of the European Council as a de facto constitutional law-maker, about the role of the ECJ in deferring to the decisions of technical or political actors, all paving the way for other, less visible forms of treaty development. Finally, we will discuss if and how the 2023 proposal of the European Parliament might create a new momentum for the first ordinary treaty amendment since the Treaty of Lisbon. The class will require reading preparatory materials for each session and will encourage active participation in the form of short presentations. Readings will be announced and distributed through the Blackboard learning website. For inquiries, please contact andreas.orator@fu-berlin.de.
Restricted Enrollment
no (that means that everyone signing up for this course on time can take part in this course)
Course Registration
You can find the course under the module "Fakultatives Lehrangebot im Schwerpunktbereich 7".
registration period: 2 April 2024, 9 a.m. - 3 May 2024, 12 a.m. (midnight)
De-Registration from this Course
regular drop period: 2 April 2024, 9 a.m. - 3 May 2024, 12 a.m. (midnight)
After the regular drop period you can only drop this course with a valid cause until 14 days prior to the exam. Please contact the International Office at the Law Department if you have to use this option.
Type of Exam
Evaluation will be based on a presentation.
Exam Date and Place
The presentation is to be handed in in written form at the end of the semester.
Registration for the Exam
Students will automatically be registered for the exam when they sign up for this course.
De-Registration from the Exam
Students who drop this course via Campus Management are automatically de-registered from the exam. Students who do not drop this course via Campus Management and do not take the exam, are going to finish this course with a non-passing grade (0 points).
Grade Release