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This course is archived
Course date
June 29–July 11, 2009
Location
Budapest
Application deadline
Course delivery
In-person

The 2009 Advanced Course in European Union Legal Practice is offered jointly by the Department of Legal Studies and Summer University of Central European University (CEU), in cooperation with the Total LawTM Team. For the fifth consecutive year, the program brings together for 2 weeks around 50 participants from all over the world and from diverse legal backgrounds, i.e. law students near completion of their law degree, law graduates, and legal professionals, who are seeking further credentials and experience in the field. It may be particularly appealing to government officials and those aiming at a career in national, international, and/or European civil service, and those who wish to apply for jobs in the field of European Union law. The working language of the course is English.

Since 2005 the course has attracted participants from 33 countries, most of them coming from EU member states, 'old' and 'new', as well as from candidate countries, the US, Australia, Brazil, India, Singapore, etc.

Course Description

This advanced course is about the practice of European Union Law. Participants receive hands-on insider analysis of the functioning of the European Union. The program is designed to combine seminars on different subjects as well as workshops supporting the topic addressed in these seminars or some aspects thereof. The course will also cover the current issues of the European project such as the institutional agenda and the Reform treaty as well as the consequences of the financial crises.

The Total LawTM team, led by Joseph Weiler, University Professor and Jean Monnet Chair at New York University School of Law, is a unique blend of well-known academics and senior officials working in the European Union institutions who have also written widely in the field. The members of this team are José M. de Areilza, Professor of European Union Law and Vice Dean of Legal Studies at Instituto de Empresa, Madrid; Kieran St C. Bradley, Head of Unit in the Legal Service of the European Parliament, Brussels; Damian Chalmers, Professor in EU law at the London School of Economics and Political Science; Miguel Poiares Maduro, Advocate General at the European Court of Justice, Luxembourg and Professor of European and International Law at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, and Imola Streho, coordinator of the Team, Lecturer at Sciences Po, Paris, where she is Program Director of the Master of European Affairs. The 2009 summer course was designed and put together by the Total LawTM team. The particular composition of the team gives the seminar and the workshop both that advanced knowledge and the insider view that is so valuable for the participants.

The Total LawTM Method

The Total LawTM approach, developed by the Jean Monnet Center at the New York University School of Law, believes in contextualization: situating a legal controversy, a court decision, a Treaty provision, a Directive, or a Regulation in its economic, social, and political context. The aim is not to make participants amateur economists or political scientists but rather to give them "another perspective" on the problem. The course will improve the participants' skills by explaining how economic, social, and political contexts shape the particular legal problem addressed and impact the thinking about its legal solution. The program will equip participants with the ability to understand the economic, social, and political consequences of different legal outcomes. The discipline is Law. The focus is Law. But the premise is that Law cannot be understood, nor practiced professionally and competently, without understanding its broader contexts.

In addition to seminars and workshops, the program includes social and cultural activities, such as various thematic evenings with members of the Total LawTM team (e.g. evening in a typical Kert bar, wine tasting, karaoke in an Irish pub, or lunch in a traditional vendéglő), a visit to the Hungarian Constitutional Court or the Hungarian Parliament, a boat trip to picturesque Szentendre followed by a picnic, a cultural walking tour of Budapest, etc.

The Total LawTM approach was designed jointly by all members of the team to make the parts fit into a coherent whole and to ensure that the different methodological and intellectual approaches practiced in the course all add up so that the whole is greater than the parts. This approach is also used at other universities worldwide. 

Completed CEU Summer University Application Form

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Notes:

  • You may apply to a maximum of two summer courses. In case of being admitted, you can only attend both if the two courses do not overlap in time.
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Inquiries

If you need help or more information during the application process, please feel free to contact the SUN staff via email.

Notification

The SUN Office will notify applicants about the selection results in April. Please check the 'Dates and deadlines' section on the relevant course websites for notification deadlines planned earlier or later. The final decision is not open to appeal.