3 ECTS
The European Communities, from which the European Union evolved, were created in the 1950s as one (of many) experiments in addressing the problems of international cooperation in Europe. Consisting originally of 3 distinct Communities and 6 member states, it has undergone revolutionary growth and change, some organic, some by new rounds of treaty making. It underwent significant constitutional reorientation in 1993 with the entry into force of the Treaty on European Union (or Maastricht Treaty) and has since its foundation absorbed another 22 countries, including a (re)unified Germany, 6 Warsaw Pact countries of Eastern Europe and 3 erstwhile Soviet republics. It is the largest trading bloc in the world, and in December 2006 the Euro overtook the dollar as the world’s most traded currency (‘though with the economic and sovereign debt crises and the moribund Greek economy the wisdom of the Euro is coming increasingly to be questioned; this too will be considered). Anyone who had predicted this only 30 years ago would have been thought quite mad.
The Union (as it became in December 2009 with the
entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty) is now an economic (but not only
economic) quasi-federation, underpinned by the instruments which created it
(the Treaties) which, although mere treaties, have grown into its constitution.
According to the European Court of Justice (amongst many other things it does,
the Union’s ‘constitutional court’), the original Treaty ‘albeit concluded in the form of an international
agreement, none the less constitutes the constitutional charter of a Community
based on the rule of law’ (Opinion 1/91 re the EEA Agreement [1991] ECR
I-6079). The purpose of the course is to acquire an understanding of how this
came to be so, and to consider the constitutional, institutional and
substantive (economic) law of the house that Mr Monnet built.
The course is divided into two parts: the first half considers the nature of Community/Union law, its constitutional/institutional/procedural aspects, some familiarity with which is necessary properly to understand the substantive law which follows. Some consideration will be given to the changes introduced by the Lisbon Treaty, including the development of the Union’s embryonic External Action Service. The second half is the substantive law, itself divided into two halves: the law of the ‘common’ (now ‘internal’) market and the ‘four freedoms’ as it applies to public authorities (the ‘public law’ of the Treaties) and the law of the internal market as it applies to private persons – in other words, competition, or antitrust, law – the ‘private law’ of the Treaties.
We shall also touch upon 'Brexit', an event unprecedented in EU history. Was it an act of national liberation or one of crass, foolhardy recklessness? Whichever of the two, the enormity of the legal and economic difficulties of walking away are still scant understood. But it will crop up from time to time in our discussion.
- Teacher: Robert Lane
3 ECTS
This course explores the origins and content of State responsibility law as a set of secondary rules. It examines the main elements of this law as customary international law codified by the International Law Commission in its Articles on the Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts and the manner in which they are used as guidance in procedures to invoke the responsibility of a State for an internationally wrongful act. The Articles will serve as the basic legal text for students following this course.
- Teacher: Ieva Miļūna
3 ECTS
This
course covers the main developments and challenges in the Area of Freedom,
Security and Justice of the European Union (AFSJ). It discusses the origins of
the AFSJ, reasons why and how AFSJ evolved and where it is heading. It
addresses the main political cornerstones of AFSJ, constitutional foundations,
and current challenges in ensuring mobility and security in the EU and
cooperation in justice and home affairs. It will also give an insight in the
AFSJ policy actors, such as the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, EUROJUST,
EUROPOL, OLAF, and other EU agencies. It covers the Justice and Home Affairs
policy making and cooperation mechanism, such as the cooperation of judiciary,
police, and administration. The course will focus on the main sectors in AFSJ,
such as EU citizenship (EU Charter, free movement policy), asylum, immigration,
internal security, EU criminal law, internal/external border checks and
control, visa policy, European arrest warrant, fight against international
organized crime, cooperation in civil matters and data protection. It will also
cover the external dimension of AFSJ, and compliance procedure to ensure
implementation of AFSJ legislation.
- Teacher: Laila Medina
3 ECTS
The course will offer a perspective of an insider and a practitioner on how individuals defend their rights in the European Court of Human Rights, the most common difficulties for representatives in bringing claims to the Court and the challenges faced by the Court today in Europe. The course will provide several practical ideas on how the Court works. The European Court of Human Rights is considered the most effective mechanism for the protection of human rights. The course will put an emphasis on explaining in detail the procedure before the Court. Considerable body of case-law elaborates important issues concerning admissibility of claims. During the course, participants will also study the methodology of the Court in adjudicating cases, i.e., the rules of interpretation and the relevant principles of case-law. Participants have to understand how the Court might go forward in adjudicating their case.
- Teacher: Inita Čīma
- Teacher: Kristaps Tamužs
- Teacher: Elīna Luīze Vītola
3 ECTS
The course provides students with in-depth understanding of the main principles of legal ethics, as well as the main psychological mechanisms that may influence the application of these principles. Formal requirements and theoretical principles are illustrated with practical examples. After completing the course the students should be able to identify ethically disputable situations and the corresponding psychological risk factors, and to come up with possible solutions.
- Teacher: Lauris Liepa
3 ECTS
This course focuses on the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), which by its development throughout the treaties enhanced the EU’s global actorness. The CFSP is often approached as one of the most contested policy fields: some analysts speak about ‘diplomacy without state’, others argue that the Common Foreign and Security Policy is neither common, nor can it be called a foreign policy’. In the field, however, the implementation of the CFSP has resulted in a number of concrete missions conducted in diverse locations on the world map. These military and civilian missions, which fall under the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) do not always receive extensive media attention, but they largely contribute to the EU’s status of International Actor.
Since 2016, the Common Foreign and Security Policy has received a new incentive with the new Global Security Strategy of the EU (EUGS). The permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), foreseen in the Lisbon treaty, was activated and 25 countries decided to enter in a structured and binding cooperation framework to increase and rationalize their defence spendings.
In order to understand the dynamics of the CFSP, this course addresses three main aspects of the Common Foreign and Security Policy – (1) actors, (2) policy instruments and (3) actions.
- Teacher: Kurt Engelen
- Teacher: Rodolphe van Hövell
3 ECTS
The course provides an overview of international and European human rights regimes, including the main standards and protection mechanisms. The course is structured in two parts. The first part introduces UN human rights system and examines the two Covenants and mechanisms for the protection and promotion of human rights. It discusses in detail selected economic, social and cultural rights, such as the right to health, as well as civil and political rights, such as freedom of expression. It then outlines the regional human rights systems, with a particular focus on the European system. Lastly, it introduces philosophical underpinnings of human rights and addresses some contemporary challenges to human rights.
The second part of the course focuses on the examination of the substantive human rights law, offering a comparative perspective involving a number of human rights protection instruments, with a special focus on the ICCPR and ECHR. It discusses the understanding of the obligation to protect human rights, including jurisdictional aspects and the application of human rights in times of emergency. Further, it considers such rights as the right to life, prohibition of inhumane or degrading treatment, or torture, the right to liberty and security, the right to fair trial as well as the right to private life, especially taking into account the contemporary challenges associated with armed conflicts and security threats. It also discusses the challenges regarding the compliance with the decisions of the human right judicial bodies and the redress to the victims of human rights violations.
- Teacher: Daina Mita
- Teacher: George Ulrich
3 ECTS
The aim of the course is to initiate students to the EU political system by introducing its institutions, governance, legislative processes as well as formal and informal decision-making procedures. The Lisbon Treaty offers a consolidated legal basis for a more effective decision-making. It has affected almost all policy fields in terms of competence distribution, power of the European Parliament and role of the European Commission. Member states still play a significant role in the legislative process that will be analysed step by step in the lectures and seminars. In order to distinguish differences of institutional power across different policy fields, students will prepare the course papers, reflecting the inter-institutional balance in different policy fields.
Member States are represented in the EU by national delegations that negotiate on behalf of their governments. Similarly, EU institutions empower groups of individuals to negotiate on their behalf. Accordingly, understanding bargaining situations is essential for acquiring a comprehensive understanding of the EU’s modus operandi. This course therefore includes a practical exercise of negotiations in the EU Council, i.e. negotiation simulation. The negotiation simulation is embedded in a real-life negotiation scenario on a Council document. It will allow students to better understand the functioning of the EU institutions.
Finally, the course addresses the issues of deepening of the EU through looking at different integration theories. In the proactive exchange with the audience the professors will introduce various scenarios for future development of the EU. Brexit issues will be analysed as a part of this discussion.
- Teacher: Filip Cyunczyk
- Teacher: Adam Waldemar Czarnota
3 ECTS
This course introduces students to new scholarship in international adjudication which is broader than the focus on a few well-known permanent courts. It maps many if not all of the international adjudicative bodies that exist (or have existed) and groups them according to their respective missions or mandates. It also explores the different dispute resolution systems that rely on adjudication, both the familiar “open” systems and the so-called “closed” ones.
Teaching is based on (the modern American law school version of) the “Socratic method”, blurring the distinction between lecture and seminar. The course is, from beginning to end, interactive and classes require preparation.
- Teacher: Tjaco Theo van den Hout
3 ECTS
To describe and analyse the EU in the context of economic integration. The European project’s two main features in the context of economic integration are the Single Market (Internal Market) and the Single Currency (the Economic and Monetary Union/the Eurozone). These may be seen as facilitating the idea of “one” Europe: One market, one currency. The course aims at analysing the benefits and drawbacks of these ideas, not least in the context of imperfect integration. The main focus will be on the economics of the EU but the course will add a political dimension, too.
- Teacher: Vjačeslavs Dombrovskis
3 ECTS
The part on international humanitarian law will examine the main principles and sources of IHL as well as its scope of application. At the outset, the course will examine the definition and scope of international humanitarian law, and then explore the lex specialis character of international humanitarian law in situations of armed conflict. It will further deal with the vital distinction between international armed conflicts, non-international armed conflicts and internationalized armed conflicts. The course will then examine the qualifications of laws applicable to each of the actors operating on the battlefield and address the principle of distinction between combatants and non-combatants. Further, students will get an insight into the practical aspects of conducting operations, namely, principles of international humanitarian law and methods and means of warfare. The course will end with the complex situations of detention and occupation.
The course will then examine the operationalization of international humanitarian law through international criminal law by discussing modes of responsibility and liability. The origins of international crimes will be presented, as will the core international crimes: aggression, war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Furthermore, the genesis of international criminal tribunals, including the International Criminal Court, will be covered, as well as modes of cooperation and complementarity between national and international courts and jurisdictional issues.
- Teacher: Leon Castellanos-Jankiewicz
3 ECTS
The aim of the course is to keep the students up to date as concerns recent debate and developments in international law. The course through several examples of current international events will focus on treaty law, including the general rule of interpretation of treaties, the formation of rules in international law as well as their enforcement. More specifically the following fields will be dealt with: subjects of international law, UN and international courts, jurisdiction, including territorial waters and State immunity, State responsibility, including countermeasures. The students will have to form a better idea on the nature of international law as a coherent legal system. For this reason, the criticism addressed towards international law will be part of the discussion of the selected topics. This criticism will be addressed through an in-depth and up to date understanding of sources of international law, their legitimacy and normativity. It will also be tackled through a more in-depth learning of how States interact in bilateral and multilateral fora. This discussion will be placed in a broader reflection with regards to the idea of the emerging global law and the mistake of distinctions between national and international as well as public and private.
- Teacher: Timo Koivurova
- Teacher: Ineta Ziemele
3 ECTS
This course is designed as a comprehensive foundation course introducing and explaining the key concepts of banking and financial markets and covering regulatory, supervisory and transactional areas from Latvian and European perspective providing an insight into the interaction between financial law and business practice. While an emphasis is placed on a step-by-step review of each subject-matter, the theoretical part is supplemented with practical exercises enabling students to strengthen their legal skills in selecting, interpreting and applying respective legal acts and norms.
- Teacher: Jaroslaw Beldowski