European Union Law

Graduates of PhD. studies in the European Union Law study program are familiar with the scientific methods of basic and applied research in legal sciences, which serve as a basis for carrying out research and development and creating new scientific knowledge in the field of law, while the graduate is focused on the legal branch of European Union Law or a combination with related legal branches, primarily civil law, administrative law, international law. In the given areas, they present knowledge at the highest level, which is primarily represented by their publishing activity.

The graduate can analyse, synthesize, and compare the legal institutes of the legal branch of European Union Law, as well as related legal branches, with the aim of creating proposals de lege ferenda, in the interest of their more effective application in the legal order. They are capable of using all supporting scientific methods of research in scientific work, while they are able to connect not only the legal institutes of European Union Law, but also to think critically and interdisciplinary. At the same time, they can identify the implementation of legal institutes from other legal systems of the European Union states into the legal system of the Slovak Republic. The graduate is also familiar with conceptual, analytical, and synthesizing knowledge in the field of European Union Law, with wide application in legal science and practice. With their personal scientific contribution, graduates can shape the further development of European Union Law on a national, and partly international, scale. They are capable of applying acquired knowledge in practice with knowledge of choosing alternative conceptual or individual solutions.

The graduate applies their own findings of their theoretical analysis and their complex scientific research in solving problems in social relations at the national, EU and international level. Based on their outputs and findings, they can propose, verify, and implement new scientific knowledge. Within the legal branch of commercial and financial law, they are able to identify its shortcomings, propose their solution by methods of interpretation or law creation, and compare the current state of knowledge in the legal branch of commercial and financial law with the legal systems of other countries. In a given context, the graduate presents the most advanced and specialized skills and techniques, including the ability to synthesize and evaluate, which are required to solve fundamental problems in the field of research and/or innovation and to extend and redefine existing knowledge or professional practices.

The graduates have independent critical and analytical thinking, which they apply in changing social conditions and they are able to independently present the results of research and development in the field of law in the legal branch of commercial and financial law, as well as in related legal branches, before the scientific and professional community in the Slovak Republic and abroad.

The graduate acquires the ability to work scientifically and pedagogically at the required methodological level in the field of law, in the legal branch of commercial and financial law, as well as in related legal branches, based on which he is prepared to work qualifiedly within the pedagogical process at universities in the given fields.

The subject of study and research in the field of European Union law can be defined by the scope of the set of rules created by the Treaty on the European Union, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, including their legal predecessors and any subsequent changes, and acts issued on their basis. In this corpus of rules, it is necessary to include the results of the external activity of the European Union, including deepened economic integration with third countries (including the creation of the European Economic Area). Despite the fact that national law and the law of the European Union, as well as the application of international obligations form a uniform order in individual countries, the boundaries between legal branches are clearly delineated.

One of the characteristic features of European Union law, which is even explicitly confirmed by the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union, is the independence of European Union law, which is manifested by independent terminology and interpretation of concepts and the self-sufficiency of the legal order. The law of the European Union contains institutions that have no equivalent in national law or in international law, such as the transfer of powers, the principle of priority, the principle of direct effect, the principle of indirect effect and the like. Another sign of the independence of the law of the European Union is the creation of its own structure of institutions, whose decision-making and legislative powers exceed the nature of the powers that the bodies of international organizations usually have. The Treaty on the European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union define exclusive powers that completely push national legislation out of the legal space, and the European Union in these areas fully demonstrates the autonomy and independence of the legal order of the European Union.

The subject of study and scientific research of European Union law mainly includes:

- general principles of European Union law and institutional law,

- the legal system of the European Union,

- the judicial system of the European Union,

- citizenship of the European Union, the issue of fundamental rights and freedoms in the area of the European Union,

- internal market and other sectoral policies,

- an area of freedom, security and justice,

- economic and monetary union,

- external relations of the European Union.

In cases where the regulation of the European Union in a certain legal area overlaps with national regulation (a typical example is the harmonization of rules related to the internal market), it is necessary to perceive the subject of study and research of European Union law in the transnational approach to regulation, the legal basis of such regulation, adequacy of such adjustment, the effects of regulation on national legal systems. In cases where the regulation of the European Union in a certain legal area is intertwined with international law (typical examples are the rules of international trade, the common foreign and security policy, the area of freedom, security and justice), it is necessary to perceive the subject of study and research of the law of the European Union in that how the European Union acts in the international space as a subject of international law and implements its international obligations.

The graduate acquires the ability to demonstrate considerable authority, innovation, independence, scientific and professional integrity, and assumes a permanent commitment to developing new ideas or practices. The components in question are primarily reflected in the graduate's ability to determine the focus of research and coordinate a team in the scientific field of commercial and financial law, as well as in related legal branches, and in regular publication activity, the quality of which corresponds to the standards of the Internal System for Ensuring the Quality of Higher Education of the Comenius University in Bratislava (Internal Regulation No. 23/2021), as well as the standard of Internal Regulation No. 5/2021, which regulates the internal system of quality assurance of higher education at the Comenius University in Bratislava, the Faculty of Law and the Standards for the Internal System of Quality Assurance of Higher Education of the Slovak Accreditation Agency for Higher Education (hereinafter all three documents will be referred to as "Quality Standards") and which the graduate presented during their doctoral studies.

The educational goals in the European Union Law study program are achieved through the following measurable educational outputs in individual parts of the study program, which consists of a teaching part, a scientific part and a pedagogical part.

Teaching part - mainly teaching within profile subjects:

Methodology of science

Methodology of qualitative legal research

Within the above-mentioned subjects, it is ensured that the individual study programs of doctoral studies are strengthened in the study part in a common basis from the point of view of the methodology of science.

Within the Methodology of Science subject, student outputs are presented by the ability to formulate research hypotheses, by deepening skills in the application of methods of analysis and synthesis when writing scientific works, by complying with the requirements of the Quality Standards.

As part of the subject Methodology of qualitative legal research, the student will learn the method of qualitative research, which is in the context of determining the purpose and goals, the collection of data, the process of their analysis up to the writing of the final report, aimed at understanding and interpreting the meanings that the researching persons assigns to their experiences and perceptions . The goal is the search for causes and connections in the worlds of individuals and subsequent inductive prediction leading to answers to research questions.

Basics and application of legal education: methodology of the pedagogical process

By completing the subject, the student acquires core knowledge and relevant information, on the basis of which he is able to formulate the goals and content of their own pedagogical process. They control the organizational forms, didactic principles and teaching methods that are profiling for the pedagogical process, while they are capable of selecting them flexibly and correctly depending on the requirements of the pedagogical process, the taught subject and the target group. Based on their own knowledge, he identifies individual general and special requirements for the preparation of partial parts of the teaching process, emphasizing the specifics of teaching focused on legal education.

Institutional law of the European Union - scientific aspects

By completing the subject, the doctoral student will acquire core knowledge and relevant information about the international legal basis of the EU institutions, about decision-making processes inside and outside the institutions, as well as about inter-institutional cooperation. Within the framework of the issue, the doctoral student is led to independent work, the result of which should be the processing of a short scientific output focused on the functioning of institutions, a critical view of it and the proposal of solutions to the existing.

Legal order of the European Union - scientific aspects

The aim of the subject is to scientifically cover the theoretical background and judicial interpretation of the principles of application of EU law, as well as the doctrines, methods and tools of the implementation of EU law into the legal order of the member states

Within the framework of the issue, the doctoral student is led to independent work, the result of which will be the processing of a short scientific output focused on the issue of the legal order of the European Union, application issues and the effect of the EU legal order within the legal regime of the EU member states, a critical view of the EU legal order and the proposal of solutions to the existing issues.

The judicial system of the European Union

The student will deepen his knowledge of the organization and functioning of the EU judicial system, detailed knowledge of individual types of proceedings before the Union courts and skills in the field of legal writing, argumentation and the creation of court filings. In addition, a good knowledge of the procedures for the creation of EU jurisprudence will deepen the general knowledge and understanding of the EU legal system and provide a basis for its scientific research.

Within the framework of the issue, the doctoral student is led to independent work, the result of which will be the processing of a short scientific output focused on the issue of the judicial system of the EU, a critical view of the topic, and the proposal of solutions to the existing issues.

Slobody vnútorného trhu Európskej únie – vedecké aspekty

The graduate will gain in-depth knowledge of the EU internal market with regard to the current development of jurisprudence, as well as the dynamically changing material conditions of internal market legislation. An integral part of the study is the polemic about the efforts of the states to protect their own national markets, taking into account the priorities of the member states, protection against the abuse of the internal market freedoms. The student should analyze the perspectives of deepening integration in the given area and its obstacles or limitations

Within the framework of the issue, the doctoral student is led to independent work, the result of which will be the processing of a short scientific output focused on the issue of the internal market of the EU, a critical view of the topic, and the proposal of solutions to the existing issues.

Scientific part

The minimum scope of compulsory optional scientific activity results from the Directive of the Dean of Comenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Law, which regulates the evaluation of selected scientific activities of university teachers, researchers and doctoral students at Comenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Law (Internal Regulation No. 1/2018). Pursuant to Article 6(1) of Internal Regulation no. 1/2018 the faculty of law annually prepares an overall assessment of the scientific and professional activity of the persons listed in Art. 1, including doctoral students. During the evaluated period (1 calendar year), the doctoral student of the faculty of law is obliged to achieve an evaluation of at least 30 points for the publication activity in the case of a full-time doctoral student, and at least 20 points in the case of a part-time doctoral student. A full-time doctoral student must achieve at least 35 points in the overall evaluation for the evaluated period (1 calendar year). A doctoral student in an external form of study is obliged to achieve at least 25 points in the overall evaluation for the evaluated period (1 calendar year). The specific number of points for individual categories follows from Art. 2-5 of Internal Regulation no. 1/2018: https://www.flaw.uniba.sk/fileadmin/praf/O_fakulte/Dokumenty/VP_2018/VP_2018_01.pdf

The quality of the publication activity of doctoral students, especially in the context of the Quality Standards, is evaluated annually by the Council for the Quality of Science and Doctoral Studies of the Comenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Law.

Pedagogical part

The doctoral student, at the beginning also under the supervision of their supervisor, applies and improves the skills in teaching that he previously acquired through their own observation in the mentioned subjects and within the profile subject Basics and application of legal education: methodology of the pedagogical process. 

• assistant professors and scientific workers at universities and other scientific institutions
• judges of the supreme courts,
• senior staff of analytical departments at the highest courts, senior staff in central state administration bodies and in European structures
• advocacy (head of the work team)

Required skills and requirements for admission to study:

Conditions for admission to study at the Comenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Law, according to § 57 of Act no. 131/2002 Coll. on Higher Education Institutions and on Amendments to Certain Acts as amended and information pursuant to Art. 3 par. 5 of the rules of the admission procedure at the Comenius University in Bratislava (internal regulation No. 4/2021):

https://www.flaw.uniba.sk/fileadmin/praf/Studium/uchadzac/2022_2023/PhD_pravo_2022_23_V1.pdf 

Procedures for admission to study:

Rules of the admission procedure at Comenius University (internal regulation 4/2021)

https://uniba.sk/fileadmin/ruk/legislativa/2021/Vp_2021_04.pdf

FULL-TIME STUDY

Recommended study plan:

2024/2025

2023/2024

2022/2023

2021/2022

Information sheets:

2024/2025

2023/2024

2022/2023

2021/2022

PART-TIME STUDY

Recommended study plan:

2024/2025

2023/2024

2022/2023

2021/2022

Information sheets:

2024/2025

2023/2024

2022/2023

2021/2022

Members of the board

Meetings of the Study Program Council:

Decisions: 

Framework agreement on cooperation with an external educational institution: Agreement

Descriptions of study programs and internal evaluation reports: