Fundamentals of a Law Degree: EU Law

As you all will know the EU has been a very popular area of discussion for people over the last couple of years with many people holding different views on the topic. This blog will, however, move away from these arguments and look at the laws created by the EU, how they have affected our own lives and why it’s important for us to study this on our law degree making it a fundamental module on a law course.

Fundamentally, the EU has had a hand in every law we have made for over 40 years. Within the UK our law has to comply with the rules and laws set out by the EU itself. If we fail to comply with this as a nation, there can be many fines and heavy trade penalties. With the EU having such a strong effect on our legal system this is my main argument for why it should be classed as a ‘fundamental module’ of a law degree. The way the EU has been constructed law over the years has become ingrained into society for the last 40 years and the way we go about law-making is unlikely to change for a long time after we leave. The process of making law is a really important concept for law students to understand and apply within their course. The process set out by the EU is a very good case study for how we go about making our laws as we have set rules to follow. EU law has a wealth of cases from The UK and abroad that students can use to understand the law-making process and how to apply this to your degree and exams. Being able to understand how laws are constructed is vital in your assessments are very much about understanding certain laws and being able to pick apart areas of that law as well as how a judge may have applied that law in a case you have been given. This skill is not only vital for assessments but for any future law job you seek as you have to understand and determine the meaning of laws and judgements.

Another positive of studying EU law and a reason I believe its vital for us to study is the fact that studying the law created in the EU gives you a very in-depth understanding of how other countries create and develop their laws and how different nations have different needs and interests to be satisfied within there own society. Studying this allows you to see laws from different perspectives and you can see how we make laws in our own country and the positives and negatives of this process. This can only stand you in good stead when you assess the positives and negatives to certain laws not only in this module but across your whole degree.

Studying EU law keeps you up to date with the legal goings-on across our continent and shows to a future employer that you can adapt your understanding of the law and when asked upon you can adapt your work to fall in line with EU Regulations or working on international jobs between EU countries. This is a great marker of your future potential in this area and a good grade in this module gives future employers a good idea that you can handle law outside of the country you work in and can work on the international stage. This a trait that most law firms feel is vital for you to have to land the top jobs.

However, you may say that surely us leaving the EU will mean this module isn’t needed any more. I disagree and argue that even though we are leaving the European Union (at some point) the law we have created by their rules will remain and will still guide future law made in this country. I argue that there will be more law jobs created for people working in this area as many of the laws within the EU have to be translated into the British legal system and this may be one of the trickiest things we have to do after we leave the European Union. So, for the meantime jobs will be available for competent students who are well versed in their EU law and know exactly what’s going on with the Union.

In conclusion, we may as a country be leaving the European Union but that does not mean as lawyers that our opportunities will be effected in a negative in fact I feel that after Brexit law in this area will blossom and availability for work will increase too as laws have to be transferred into the UK legal system. Ultimately, I feel that EU law is positive for our degree and legal system and allows for the developments of our legal understanding as students to expand, ultimately making it a fundamental element of law degrees in the UK.

What do you think about EU law and how its taught? Do you agree that it’s a vital module for the degree and allows us to develop our overall understanding of law as a concept? We love to hear your own opinions on the matters we talk about so feel free to leave a comment below with your own opinions and feelings.