The Gazette 1974

LEGAL EUROPE THE PLACE OF EUROPEAN LAW IN UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULA By PROFESSOR DOMI N IC LASOKf (Exeter) (Reprinted

by kind permission of the author)

Th e lecturer stressed that in academic work there can be few more exciting things than planning a new course, especially when that course has to be charted without precedents and without acknowledged textbooks. You are apparently on your own. But in the fairyland of academic freedom one is subject to limita- tions, not only of one's own intellect and conscience but also the discipline one serves and hopes to promote. On e is also subject to the exigencies and purposes of one's job. On the teaching side of the legal profession one is paid to do a job which consists of the advance- ment of scholarship and the dissemination of knowledge. With these thoughts in mind I will endeavour to ma p out one job—the job of teaching European Com- munity law. I will consider it from a practical point of view : that of the head of a department (the person in authority who bears the ultimate responsibility); that of the lecturer who does the job, and that of the student who ought to profit from the exercise. T h e head of department, whether he initiates the course or is persuaded to authorise one, ought to be quite clear of the commitment and deployment necessary, not only from the point of view of the personnel but also from the point of view of the library resources and the general pattern of instruction in his institution. It is no good advertising for a young man or woman straight from university to perform the triple task of teaching comparative law, Community law and all the com- mercial law relevant to both. Such a task is beyond the beginner: it would take a very accomplished scholar and a seasoned campaigner to pull it off. Looking at it from a lecturer's angle, the challenge is quite exhilarating. But one must not be carried away by enthusiasm into the world of fantasy, as seemed to be the young man who wrote to me some time ago saying that he wanted to write a textbook on European Community law. He was dissatisfied with the standard of teaching, with the fossilised minds of university teachers (though he was discreet enough not to reveal the name of his alma mater) and he wanted to fill the gap with a book every student was waiting for. Having heard that we teach Community law in Exeter, he merely asked for our syllabus, the reading list, the list of cases, the bibliography and any other matter which might be relevant to his task. Clearly enthusiasm is not enough. And now the student. We all are perpetual students and throughout our lives accumulate useless knowledge, but the one who is under our care for a short period only must be given the benefit of our experience. We must tantalise his thirst for knowledge and tax his intellect, but above all we must make him realise that what we are doing makes sense and that the drud- gery to which he is often subjected in the study of law is relevant to a career. But to what career? I for one would object to the law school being treated merely as a preparatory school for the legal profession,

but I would with equal conviction deplore the study of law for its own sake at the taxpayer's expense. Ours is an applied discipline and its practical application ought to be reflected in the syllabus. Tu r n i ng to Community law, it is, at least as far as this country is concerned, largely a branch of the law in books and not, as yet, in actual practice. Our practising lawyers have yet to learn how to earn their European fees. T h e professional know-how will follow. Th e greatest challenge to our system since 1066, and all that, has to be met first in the class-room as we have to contribute to the education of a new generation of lawyers skilled in three fields of activity : Civil Service, commercial and legal practice. T h e teaching of Com- munity law has to be geared to these three areas of application. Lawyers in the Communities T h e three Communities (Coal and Steel, Euratom, and the Common Market) were brought about by unique treaties of a self-executing character. Th ey were drafted by continental lawyers and their institutions were fashioned and worked by civil servants drawn from the member States. Since legal studies are regarded on the Continent as the most appropriate background for the Civil Service, it is not surprising that lawyers form a considerable proportion of the European bureaucrats and technocats. These lawyers have managed to over- come the language barriers and, through working to- gether with those who initiate and carry into effect the various projects and policies, have developed their own style. Th ey also perfected their skill of working with non-lawyers and this is of prime importance as they, together with the policy makers, shape the Secondary Law of the Community. Like all the continentals they share the common legal philosophy and heritage of Roman law in their national variations. Their legal training i-s focused not merely on the law as a craft in a narrow technical sense but on the law as a regulatory force operating in the economic and social life of the society. A lawyer who has not studied economics and sociology is potentially a social menace. We shall not re-write the T r e a ty of Rome, as sug- gested by a flamboyant politician in a moment of foolish oratory, but we may contribute to the drafting of Com- munity laws by the institutions in Brussels if we send able lawyers over there. However, they have to be trained before they can make their impact. From a national as well as a Community point of view this is extremely important because of the law-making poten- tial concentrated in Brussels. T h e commercial world seems better prepared as we have ma ny lawyers working in commerce and industry *An address given to the Annual Conference of the Association of Law Teachers, April 6, 1973. fL. en Dr., Ll.M., Ph.D., Dr. Juris, Barrister, Professor of Law in the University of Exeter 100