Professor Carol Harlow

Professor Richard Rawlings

This course is available on the Master of Laws and Master of Laws (extended part-time study). This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

The course is open to students with and without a law degree. Students of public administration are welcome. This course is capped at 30 students. Students must apply through Graduate Course Choice on LSEforYou.

Specialisms: European Law and Public Law.

A knowledge of the structure of European Institutions is desirable. It is not essential to have studied either EU law or administrative law. Guidance and introductory reading is provided for those who are new to these subjects.

The objective of our course is to reflect on issues that are of interest and concern to administrative lawyers within the framework of a particular polity, the EU. We shall watch the development of an appropriate administrative law for the EU - a challenging task! Central to modern administrative law systems and to EU administration are directive principles of good governance, sponsored by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) through its SIGMA programme sponsored by the European Commission. These values are central to the Commission White Paper on European Governance (2000) and are now incorporated in the Lisbon Treaty and European Charter of Fundamental Rights (ECFR), which creates a right to good administration. The course deals with EU administration in the sense of administration by the European Commission and agencies, shared administration with Member States acting on behalf of the EU and in the increasing number of administrative ‘networks’ with which the EU cooperates. It aims to identify and evaluate the principles and values of administrative law and their application to EU administrative procedures.

Objectives:

• To instil knowledge of public administration outside the state and more particularly in the EU

• To promote knowledge of modern administrative law and its problems

• To encourage group learning

• To promote spoken facility

• To familiarise students with comparative administrative law materials and teach research methods

20 hours of seminars in the MT. 2 hours of seminars in the ST.

20 hours of seminars in the MT. 2 hours of seminars in the ST.  Please note that this course will be taught in Weeks 2-11.

This is a joint UCL/LSE course, open to students of each. It is separately examined according to the examination regulations of each institution. It is taught at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies in Russell Square.

Students are expected to submit a 2,000 word essay during the course, to be returned with detailed comments. Note that student participation and group cooperation is very important in this course and opportunities will be provided for student presentations with feedback.

where appropriateThe recommended text is C Harlow and R Rawlings, Process and Procedure in the EU (Oxford: Hart Publishing, 20134) is made available electronically. Two excellent reference books, P. Craig, EU Administrative Law (Oxford: OUP) 2nd edn, 2012 and H. Hofman, G Rowe and A Turk, EU Administrative Law and Policy (Oxford: OUP, 2011) are available in LSE, UCL and IALS libraries.

There is also much legal periodical literature in: the Common Market Law Review, European Law Review European Law Journal, European Public Law and European Review of Public Law (ERPL) and many political science journals: Journal of European Public Policy , Journal of Common Market Studies and West European Politics. All these journals are available in the IALS and college libraries and on line. There are also useful on line journals, notably the German Law Journal and Italian Journal of Public Law and sets of papers, such as the Jean Monnet working papers (see weblinks).

Many additional materials are easily accessible through the websites of the EU. References to these are given throughout the course and a general list of weblinks and blogs is provided.

Relevant writings by the teachers include: R Rawlings, 'Engaged Elites. Citizen Action and Institutional Attitudes in Commission Enforcement', 6 European Law Journal 4 (2000); C Harlow, 'Francovich and the Problem of the Disobedient State', 2 European Law Journal (1996); ‘Three Phases in the Evolution of EU Administrative Law’ in P Craig & G de Burca, The Evolution of EU Law (Oxford, 2nd edn, 2011); C Harlow and R Rawlings, ‘Accountablility and Law Enforcement: The Centralised EU Infringement Procedure’ 31 European Law Review (2006) 447; 'Promoting Accountability in Multi-Level Governance: A Network Approach' (2007) 13 ELJ 542; and ‘National Administrative Procedures in a European Perspective: Pathways to a Slow Convergence?’ (2010) 2 Italian J of Public Law 215.

Exam (100%, duration: 2 hours, reading time: 15 minutes) in the main exam period.