Опис курсу

Aims and Objectives. The course concentrates on the analysis of one field of EU policies – the field of justice and home affairs (now – Area of Freedom, Security and Justice), which directly affects the lives of European citizens.

The course is organized around three major sub-themes: historical perspectives, actors, and policies. Historical perspectives on the AFSJ: overview of both the legal and political milestones and of the power dynamics at play in the construction of the AFSJ. The main actors of the AFSJ: recap of the main EU institutions (e.g. European Commission, European Parliament, Court of Justice, European Council and Council of the European Union) with a focus on their specific roles and competences related to the AFSJ. Presentation of AFSJ-related institutional actors: EUROPOL, EUROJUST, the European Data Protection Supervisor, CEPOL, FRONTEX, etc.; and brief overview of non-institutional actors (e.g. private actors, interest groups, NGOs’) and of key international players. The main policies of the AFSJ: introduction to the key AFSJ policy fields: asylum, immigration, management of external borders, judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters, police cooperation, personal data protection. Focus on the diverse policy and regulatory tools at play in the AFSJ and their uses and limitation in defining and enforcing policy agenda. Finally, discussion of the external dimension of the AFSJ policies, and the role of non-European actors in influencing or challenging its policies.

Learning outcomes. At the end of this course, students should be able to:

• To acquire a global knowledge and understanding of the subjects of the course.
• To understand conceptual and practical perspectives of JHA and the AFSJ.
• Critically assess the dynamics underpinning the historical development of JHA policies.
• To be aware of the main legal and political issues at stake in those areas.
• Analysis in class of legal or policy documents like directives or regulations, Commission communications, conclusions of (European) Council, decisions of the Court of justice, among others.
• To describe and explain the major developments in the field of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters as well as immigration, asylum and external borders co-operation.

Improve argumentation and writing skills during the seminar sessions.