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EU Law

The EU legal order frames the most advanced system of regulation beyond the state that operates in the world today. Built on a strong research-teaching nexus, the EU law research area at Edinburgh Law School investigates and offers courses over a wide spectrum of topics at the forefront of what is currently happening in the field.

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European Union law has always been central to Edinburgh Law School’s international reputation. The Europa Institute was founded as the Centre of European Governmental Studies in 1968. It is now a multi-disciplinary research centre within the University of Edinburgh devoted to the study of the governance, institutions, law, and policies of the European Union, and of Europe more broadly.

Members of the EU law research area have expertise in areas such as EU constitutional law, free movement law, citizenship, competition law, EU criminal law, EU fundamental rights, and immigration law. The world-leading research carried out at Edinburgh Law School is reflected in scholarly publications, externally funded research projects, and a commitment to engaging with local, national, and international institutions.

This goes hand in hand with a cutting-edge curriculum at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, expressed through innovative methods of teaching and assessment: a variety of theoretical approaches and the involvement of practitioners in our teaching are combined with forms of evaluation that include oral presentation and the drafting of legal opinions.

Zeineb Alsabeehg, Global Citizenship Research Assistant

Arianna Andreangeli, Senior Lecturer

Rachael Craufurd-Smith, Reader in EU Law

Andrew Farrer, Teaching Fellow in EU Law

Timothy Jacob-Owens, Early Career Fellow in Citizenship Law

Robert Lane, Senior Lecturer in EU Law

Leandro Mancano, Senior Lecturer in European Union Law

Veronica Ruiz Abou-Nigm, Senior Lecturer in International Private Law 

Drew Scott, Professor of European Union Studies

Niamh Nic Shuibhne, Professor of European Union Law

Jo Shaw, Salvesen Chair of European Institutions

Journal articles

What Keck and Mithouard should have said: Preventing substantial barriers to market access
Nachtnebel, Niklas; Langrée, Antoine; Rodger, Fraser et al. In: European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, Vol. 8, No. 1, 13.07.2023, p. 363-372. View article

Protecting the legal heritage of former Union citizens: EP v. Préfet du Gers
Nic Shuibhne, Niamh. In: Common Market Law Review, Vol. 60, No. 2, 29.03.2023, p. 475-516. View article

Integration, membership and the EU neighbourhood
Cremona, Marise; Nic Shuibhne, Niamh. In: Common Market Law Review, Vol. 59, 01/12/22. p155-180. View the article

A theory of justice? Securing the normative foundations of EU criminal law through an integrated approach to independence
Mancano, Leandro. In: European Law Journal: Review of European Law in Context, 17.10.2022. View article 

Restricting human movement during the COVID-19 pandemic : New research avenues in the study of mobility, migration, and citizenship 
Jacob-Owens, Timothy; Piccoli, Lorenzo ; Dzankic, Jelena; Ruedin, Didier et al, In: International Migration Review, 15.11.2022. View article

Book chapters

Economic activity and EU citizenship law: Seeding means-based logic in a status-based freedom
Nic Shuibhne, Niamh. Revisiting the Fundamentals of the Free Movement of Persons. ed. / Niamh Nic Shuibhne. Oxford University Press, 2023. p. 87-126 (Collected Courses of the Academy of European Law). View chapter

Imperial citizenship and the weaponisation of international law
Jacob-Owens, Timothy. Weaponised Citizenship: Should international law restrict oppressive nationality attribution?. ed. / Neha Jain; Rainer Bauböck. European University Institute, 2023. p. 24-27 (RSC Working Paper; Vol. 2023, No. 54). View chapter

'When Citizens Move, They Do So as Human Beings, Not as Robots': Opinion of Advocate General Sharpston in Ruiz Zambrano
Nic Shuibhne, Niamh. Shaping EU Law the British Way: UK Advocates General at the Court of Justice of the European Union. ed / G Butler & A Łazowski. 1.ed. Hart Publishing, 2022, p. 455-465. View article

Edited Collections

Revisiting the Fundamentals of the Free Movement of Persons in EU Law 
Nic Shuibhne, Niamh (Editor). Oxford University Press, 2023. 224 p. (Collected Courses of the Academy of European Law). View Collection

Europa Institute
The Europa Institute is a multidisciplinary research centre withing the University of Edinburgh devoted to the study of the governance, institutions, law, and policies of the European Union, and of Europe more broadly.
Visit the Europa Institute website

Edinburgh Centre for Data, Culture & Society
The Edinburgh Centre for Data, Culture & Society (CDCS) aims to support data-led research across the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. As new technologies enable us to develop novel methods, scale up our questions, and tackle interdisciplinary challenges, research is moving in exciting directions. CDCS helps its community stay at the forefront of developments in data-driven research, and highlights the vital contributions its researchers have to make to contemporary cultural debates and social issues.
Visit the Centre for Data, Culture & Society website

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