European Public Law And Public Policies

European integration is largely achieved through law. A European public law emerges from three mutually reinforcing circles: European Union law, the law of the European Convention on Human Rights and the various national laws. These three sources are fed by mutual exchanges and interactions, in particular through the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Court of Human Rights, the constitutional courts and the supreme courts of the European states. By studying the above frameworks together, we can see the European legal model taking shape, in all its diversity, originality and strength. For Europe, which is based on the rule of law and inspired by the democratic ideal, this new legal system, which expresses its values, is a major asset. The aim of the course is to examine in depth various issues of European public law, understood as focused on European Union law, while linking the latter with national and international law. The idea is to analyse the originality of European Union law, how it differs, if at all, from traditional international law, its constitutional features, its evolving character and its relationship with the constitutional rights of the Member States and with general international law. Given that the target audience has already benefited from courses on European Union law in the winter semester (Introduction to EU Law, Instructor: Professor P. Grigoriou), the aim is to further exploit the students' knowledge and to opt for a dynamic rather than a simple systematic approach. The approach is also intended to be case-based, allowing students to address a range of specific issues concerning European public law, based on a number of practical cases, which have concerned the CJEU and other EU institutions. At the end of the course, students should be able to develop a reasoned position on the major issues of European public law. This means that European law has a special force over national law. That is, it prevails over national law – in principle at all levels – and is directly applicable in national legal systems, without the need to be transformed into national rules. No area of public law escapes the influence of European law. The structure of the course is based on an in-depth study of European Union legislation and the case law of the European Court of Justice, concerning the specific actions that imposed transformations in a system in which public undertakings were traditional organs of the state. The state uses them as instruments of its economic policy in a way that implied a certain opacity but also the freedom of the entire management. European law has also had an impact on the law governing unilateral administrative acts and, more generally, on the law of administrative procedure. It has imposed certain advances in terms of the transparency of public data and the participation of citizens in the preparation of public decisions. Typical field of reference: The EU framework for public procurement with enhanced transparency, participation, supervision and control by national and European institutions.