49240 - Procedure Law in the European Union

Learning outcomes

The course is aimed at offering a general overview of European Civil Procedure throught a critical analysis of the subject. The presence during the course of foreign students makes easier the exchange of experiences between students of different nationalities and juridical cultures.

Course contents

The programme will cover the following topics:

1. The European Jurisdiction: The Court of Justice and the General Court.

2. Actions before the Court of Justice: Direct actions and Preliminary rulings.

3. How to become a Judge of the European Union. The Advocates-General.

4. Judges and Parties. The costs of the process.

5. The essential features of the European trial.

6. The Ordinary Proceedings: General Features, the Written Stage, Evidence, the Oral Stage and the Decision.

7. Evidence. 

8. Judgment and res judicata.

9. The Proceedings of Appeal and Review of the Decisions and Interim Relief.

10. The preliminary reference procedure.

11. How to deal with a case in the Europe.

12. Most important  EU Regulations on civil matters

 

Objectives:

The course aims to provide students with a in-depth understanding of the discipline of proceedings before the Court of Justice of the European Union, both from a theoretical and practical perspective and dealing with with a case in Europe.

Particular attention will be devoted to providing students with the necessary tools to train a professional who wishes to practice as an advisor or counsel in proceedings before the European courts.

To achieve these objectives, participation in the moot court will be crucial.

 

 

 

 

 

Readings/Bibliography

There are different studying materials for attending and non-attending students:

A) For attending students (even Erasmus attending students) the programme will be:

1. A paper, which will be made available to students, focused on the study of the rules of the process that takes place before the Court of Justice of the European Union.

2. P. BIAVATI-M.A. LUPOI, Regole europee e giustizia civile, 4° ed, Bologna University Press, 2022 (as indicated by the professor). 

B) For non-attending students (even non-attending Erasmus students):

1. C.RASIA, Civil Procedure in the European Union, Kluwer International, 2022 (only part I, II, III, IV).

2. . BIAVATI-M.A. LUPOI, Regole europee e giustizia civile, 4° ed, Bologna University Press, 2022 (only chapters 1,2,6,8).

or

P. BIAVATI-M.A. LUPOI, European Judicial Cooperation In Cross-Border Litigation, 1° edizione, Bologna University Press 2024 (only chapters 1, 2, 6, 8).

 

In both cases, up to date consultation of the relevant law and jurisprudence is strongly recommended through the use of the following websites: http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/jcms/Jo1_6308/

Teaching methods

The course will be conducted partly according to the classical lecture model and partly in seminar form, with the active participation of students.
Attending the lectures is not compulsory, but strongly recommended, in order to enhance the potential offered by an advanced course such as this one, intended for an “audience” of students from different countries and backgrounds, each of whom can make his or her personal contribution in deepening the topics covered.

Class attendance, for exam purposes, will be ascertained by signature on the appropriate list.


For those students actively attending the Course:
- A trial experience will be conducted (EUROPEAN LAW MOOT COURT), in which students will be engaged in drafting documents and in oral argument.
- A visit to the Court of Justice in April/May 2025.

To take the exam, students enrolled in the Master of Laws degree program must have taken the Civil Procedural Law exam.

Assessment methods

The final exam will be oral.

The course will take place during the second semester and all students may therefore sit for the exam starting from May 2025.

Only for students who have attended at least 75% of the lessons it will be possible to sit the exam at an earlier "extra-exam session", even throught a written exam, usually at the end of April. Further details will be provided by Professor Rasia at the beginning of the course.

The assessment will take into account the knowledge of the relevant institutional framework, the ability to analyse doctrinal and jurisprudential opinions and, to single out connections between the relevant topics, to critical reasoning, as well as the clarity of presentation and critical thinking.

By way of example, the following criteria will be used to assign the final mark (that will be out of 30/30):

• knowledge of a very limited number of topics, extensive support by the interviewer to address and answer the questions, basic yet appropriate language à 18-19/30;
• knowledge of a limited number of topics, ability to autonomously address basic legal problems, use of appropriate language → 20-24/30;
• comprehensive knowledge of the programme, ability to autonomously and critically analyse legal problems, use of specific terminology → 25-29/30;
• extensive knowledge of the programme, ability to reason autonomously and critically analyse legal problems, make connections between the topics, ability to master the specific terminology and ability to present legal arguments. → 30-30L/30.

Teaching tools

The teacher will use the e-learning Platform.

Office hours

See the website of Carlo Rasia