Democratic Legitimacy of the European Union

general courses

This advanced, discussion-based course will consider the set of issues related to the alleged “democratic deficit” of the European Union and its institutions.

Dates: 23, 25, 26 February and 2 and 4 March 2021, at 16:00-20:00, online

This advanced, discussion-based course will consider the set of issues related to the alleged “democratic deficit” of the European Union and its institutions. It will discuss various aspects of the structure of political and legal legitimacy of the EU, and various proposals to improve it. It will begin by a theoretical discussion of the concept of legitimacy in general. It will then move on to discuss democratic legitimacy (or its absence) of the EU in two dimensions: as applied to the institutions of the EU itself, and as applied to the relationship between the EU and the legitimacy of its member states, both in terms of democracy and the rule of law. The course, run entirely in English, will be based on:

1. Wojciech Sadurski, “Democratic Legitimacy of the European Union: A Diagnosis and Some Modest Proposals”, Polish Yearbook of International Law 32 (2012): 9-44.

2. Wojciech Sadurski, Poland’s Constitutional Breakdown (Oxford University Press 2019) chapter 8, or translation into Polish: Wojciech Sadurski, Polski kryzys konstytucyjny (wyd. Liberte 2020), rozdz. 8.

This will be an advanced course, and fundamental knowledge of the EU institutions and law is required as a condition of enrolment. The students will be enrolled only if they have completed a basic course on EU law (or equivalent) in their earlier studies. They must also read both texts listed above prior to the course. Students must have a fluent, active and passive knowledge of English, both spoken and written, in particular of English legal terminology. They must be prepared to participate actively in discussions, based on a prior knowledge of the literature required for the course.

1. Wojciech Sadurski, “Democratic Legitimacy of the European Union: A Diagnosis and Some Modest Proposals”, Polish Yearbook of International Law 32 (2012): 9-44.

2. Wojciech Sadurski, Poland’s Constitutional Breakdown (Oxford University Press 2019) chapter 8, or translation into Polish: Wojciech Sadurski, Polski kryzys konstytucyjny (wyd. Liberte 2020), rozdz. 8.

Assessment:

1. Prior to the course: All students must submit essays, in English, of minimum 5 pages, in which they will discuss critically the main ideas of the article by W. Sadurski listed above, as item 1. These essays must have reflective and critical, and not merely descriptive, character. Submission of an essay of satisfactory quality is a condition of admission to the seminar. Deadline: 17 February at 17:00. Students will be informed by 22 February whether they have been admitted to the course. The marks for the essay will carry 30 percent of the overall assessment.

2. During the course: All students must be present in all the lectures. They will be expected to participate actively in the course, and they all will be asked questions about the texts which they will be expected to read prior to the course. Class participation will carry 20 percent of the assessment.

3. After the course: At the end of the course (in its last hour) students will be required to write a written exam, responding (in English) to three questions. It will be a “closed book” exam, i.e. no use of written or electronic courses will be allowed. Each answer will be at least 3-pages long. This exam will have the weight of 50 percent of an overall assessment.