Study programme

EU law is enforced by national authorities (indirect enforcement) and/or directly by EU agencies or bodies, such as OLAF and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (direct enforcement). In this course, we address the opportunities and challenges that both models pose for effective enforcement and due process. We highlight these developments by taking two areas of EU law - anti-money laundering and the protection of the Union’s financial interests - as examples.

The European Union and its Member States are increasingly faced with external threats to security and justice on the European territory. At the legislative as well as operational levels (Eurojust, Europol), EU institutions and Member States engage in cooperation with third countries (such as the United States), international institutions (such as the International Criminal Court), and private actors (such as communications service providers or airlines) to confront the challenges that terrorism, international crimes or other threats to peace and security pose to the European legal order. This course highlights both the substantive and the procedural dimensions of the relevant EU initiatives and offers you the opportunity to critically analyse the most recent developments in this area.

The elective modules (Capita Selecta) comprise short modules of three weeks each (worth 2.5 EC), focussing on topical issues of European criminal justice. Students choose five modules out of a broader range of topics on the basis of their own preferences. The modules are designed to help you master a specific topical issue quickly (a key competency of any good lawyer) and allow you to develop your own personal profile. 
The topics of these models vary from year to year, depending on current developments and the research of our staff.

Topics include:
 

• combatting terrorism;
• combatting human trafficking;
• combatting ecocide;
• combatting cybercrime;
• combatting market abuse;
• preventing impunity for international crimes;
• criminal justice and crypto currencies;
• AI and criminal justice; evidence in criminal justice;
• criminal justice and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights;
• digital evidence in criminal proceedings;
• ​​law enforcement by EU agencies.