Lectures on European Union Law
All students of the Faculty of Law, including exchange students, are cordially invited to the lecture course 10-01-515 EU Constitutional Law, which is taking place in the winter semester of 2026/27.
Course Description
The European Union is currently comprised of twenty-seven countries located in Europe. It was founded after the Second World War as an ambitious and far-reaching project meant to prevent further devastating conflicts by means of close market integration. Since then, the reach of its law has expanded to many more areas, its institutional structure has become more complex, and its law currently represents an intricate and unique system with numerous sub-disciplines. The EU continues to develop and grow, gaining more and more importance for the hundreds of millions of Union citizens. A legal system of its own kind, EU law finds itself sometimes in tension with both international and national law, challenging legal scholars and offering plenty of exciting opportunities for research and studies.
This lecture course offers a sound introduction to the law of the European Union. The lectures start with an overview of the history of European integration. The course then guides the participants through the basic tenets of EU law, its theoretical underpinnings and key legal categories, with the aim of explaining how this legal system functions and develops. The course pays particular attention to the competences of the Union, its institutions, the hierarchy of the sources of EU law, its direct applicability and direct effect, the principle of primacy, and the intricacies of the enforcement of Union law. The course also includes an overview of the four market freedoms, the enlargement of the Union and the main theories of European integration.
The lecture course is suitable for beginners who have little or no prior knowledge of EU law at all, as well as for advanced students who wish to deepen and refresh their knowledge, offering ample space for the discussion of the latest trends, newest judgments and current intellectual debates in the field of Union law. The language of instruction is English.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course, participants will be able to
– recall the main events in the history of European integration
– understand the key legal concepts of Union law
– navigate the institutional structures of the EU
– delineate the competences conferred upon the Union
– know the main principles of EU law
– explain how Union law is enforced
– understand the basics of the four market freedoms
– navigate key theories of European integration
Registration, Course Instructor, Contact
Registration is currently open and can be done on STiNE. The lecture course is taught by Dr. Serhii Lashyn, Postdoctoral Fellow at the Faculty of Law of the University of Hamburg. For enquiries, contact the instructor at the following email address: serhii.lashyn@uni-hamburg.de.