Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) EU Law Syllabus

EU Law syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for EU Law in Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Institutions and Sources of EU Law

   4 topics

   • The EU Institutions
     • Commission, Council, European Parliament and CJEU
   • Sources of EU Law
     • Treaties, regulations, directives and decisions
   • Competences and Subsidiarity
   • The UK's Relationship with the EU Post-Brexit
     • Retained EU law and the Withdrawal Agreement
2. 2

   Supremacy and Direct Effect

   4 topics

   • Supremacy of EU Law
     • Costa v ENEL and the primacy principle
   • Direct Effect
     • Vertical and horizontal direct effect (Van Gend en Loos)
     • Direct effect of directives
   • Indirect Effect and State Liability
     • The Marleasing principle
     • Francovich damages
   • Preliminary References under Article 267 TFEU
3. 3

   Substantive EU Law

   4 topics

   • Free Movement of Goods
     • Customs duties and charges having equivalent effect
     • Quantitative restrictions and MEQRs (Dassonville, Cassis de Dijon)
   • Free Movement of Persons and Citizenship
   • EU Competition Law
     • Article 101 TFEU: anti-competitive agreements
     • Article 102 TFEU: abuse of dominance
   • Enforcement Actions Against Member States

EU Law flashcards for Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL)

24 of 57 cards from the EU Law deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What are the seven institutions of the European Union as listed in Article 13 TEU?

   The European Parliament, the European Council, the Council (of the EU/Council of Ministers), the European Commission, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the European Central Bank, and the Court of Auditors.

2. What is the role of the European Commission, and what is its key power regarding legislation?

   The Commission is the EU's executive and 'guardian of the Treaties'. It holds the (near) exclusive right of legislative initiative (proposing legislation), enforces EU law (including bringing Article 258 TFEU actions), manages the budget, and represents the EU externally.

3. Distinguish the European Council from the Council of the EU.

   The European Council comprises the Heads of State/Government plus its President and the Commission President; it sets the EU's general political direction and priorities but does not legislate. The Council of the EU (Council of Ministers) comprises national government ministers and is a co-legislator with the Parliament.

4. How is the European Parliament composed, and what are its principal functions?

   It is directly elected by EU citizens (MEPs). Its functions are legislative (co-legislating via the ordinary legislative procedure), budgetary (jointly adopting the EU budget with the Council), and supervisory (scrutinising the Commission, which it can dismiss by a motion of censure).

5. What is the role of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)?

   To ensure that 'in the interpretation and application of the Treaties the law is observed' (Art 19 TEU). It rules on preliminary references, enforcement actions against Member States, judicial review of EU acts, and appeals. It comprises the Court of Justice and the General Court.

6. What is the 'ordinary legislative procedure' and which institutions are involved?

   It is the EU's standard law-making procedure (formerly co-decision) under Article 294 TFEU, in which the European Parliament and the Council act as co-legislators on a proposal from the Commission, each able to amend and ultimately block the measure.

7. What are the primary sources of EU law?

   The Treaties (TEU and TFEU), the Charter of Fundamental Rights, and general principles of EU law. These rank highest and bind the EU institutions and Member States.

8. List the three principal forms of secondary EU legislation under Article 288 TFEU and how each takes effect.

   Regulations (binding in their entirety and directly applicable in all Member States without transposition); Directives (binding as to the result to be achieved but leaving form/method to Member States, requiring national implementation); Decisions (binding in their entirety on those to whom they are addressed).

9. What is the difference between a Regulation and a Directive in terms of application?

   A Regulation is directly applicable and automatically becomes part of national law on entry into force, needing no transposition. A Directive sets out a result Member States must achieve but must be implemented into national law within a transposition deadline, leaving choice of form and method to the state.

10. What is the legal effect of a Recommendation or Opinion under Article 288 TFEU?

    Recommendations and Opinions have no binding legal force ('soft law'), though national courts may take them into account when interpreting national or EU law.

11. What is meant by the principle of conferral (attributed competence)?

    Under Article 5 TEU, the EU may act only within the limits of the competences conferred upon it by the Member States in the Treaties to attain the objectives set out therein; competences not conferred on the EU remain with the Member States.

12. Distinguish exclusive, shared, and supporting competences of the EU.

    Exclusive (Art 3 TFEU): only the EU may legislate (e.g. customs union, competition rules for the internal market, monetary policy for the euro, common commercial policy). Shared (Art 4 TFEU): both EU and Member States may legislate, but states act only where the EU has not (e.g. internal market, environment). Supporting (Art 6 TFEU): the EU may only support/coordinate Member State action (e.g. health, culture, tourism).

13. State the principle of subsidiarity and where it is found.

    Under Article 5(3) TEU, in areas of non-exclusive competence the EU may act only if and insofar as the objectives of the proposed action cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States but can, by reason of scale or effects, be better achieved at EU level.

14. State the principle of proportionality in the context of EU competence.

    Under Article 5(4) TEU, the content and form of EU action must not exceed what is necessary to achieve the objectives of the Treaties; EU measures must be suitable, necessary and not impose excessive burdens relative to the aim.

15. What mechanism allows national parliaments to police subsidiarity?

    The 'yellow card'/'orange card' Early Warning System under Protocol No. 2: national parliaments can issue reasoned opinions that a draft legislative act breaches subsidiarity, and if enough thresholds are met the Commission must review and may amend, maintain or withdraw the proposal.

16. On what date did the UK formally leave the EU, and what governed the transition that followed?

    The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020 under the Withdrawal Agreement. A transition (implementation) period then ran until 31 December 2020, during which most EU law continued to apply to the UK.

17. What did the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 do to EU law in the UK?

    It repealed the European Communities Act 1972 and converted the body of existing EU law into 'retained EU law' (now 'assimilated law') so it would continue to apply domestically after exit, subject to amendment by Parliament.

18. What is the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) and when did it take effect?

    The EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement is the free trade and cooperation treaty governing the post-Brexit relationship; it applied provisionally from 1 January 2021 and entered into force on 1 May 2021, providing for zero tariffs/quotas on qualifying goods but reintroducing customs and regulatory checks.

19. What did the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 change?

    It renamed 'retained EU law' as 'assimilated law', ended the supremacy of EU law and most general principles of EU law in the UK from the end of 2023, and gave ministers powers to revoke or reform assimilated EU law; it replaced the original 'sunset' of all such law with a specified schedule of revocations.

20. State the principle of supremacy (primacy) of EU law and the leading authority establishing it.

    EU law takes precedence over conflicting national law of the Member States. Established in Costa v ENEL (1964), where the CJEU held that the Treaty created its own legal order integrated into national systems which national courts are bound to apply.

21. What did Internationale Handelsgesellschaft (1970) establish about supremacy?

    That EU law prevails even over the constitutional law of a Member State, including fundamental rights provisions in a national constitution; the validity of an EU measure cannot be judged by national constitutional standards.

22. What did Simmenthal (1978) require national courts to do where national law conflicts with directly effective EU law?

    A national court must give immediate effect to directly effective EU law and set aside (disapply) any conflicting national provision, without waiting for that provision to be repealed by legislative or constitutional means.

23. How was the supremacy of EU law given effect in the UK pre-Brexit, per Factortame?

    In R v Secretary of State for Transport, ex p Factortame (No 2), the House of Lords disapplied provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act 1988 that conflicted with directly effective EU law and granted interim relief against the Crown, giving practical effect to supremacy via the European Communities Act 1972.

24. Define the doctrine of direct effect and identify the case that created it.

    Direct effect allows individuals to rely on provisions of EU law directly before national courts to enforce rights. Established in Van Gend en Loos (1963), where the CJEU held that the Treaty creates rights for individuals which national courts must protect.

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