Europa-Institut Saarbrücken
The European Institute in Saarbrücken , Department of Law, is an institute of the Law Faculty of the University of Saarland . It offers a postgraduate course leading to a Master of Laws . The training focuses on European and international law.
history
Even before the Treaty of Rome was signed , the institute was founded in 1951 at Saarland University. It should be the “crown and symbol of the entire university”. The Europa-Institut was the second institution of its kind in Europe and has accompanied the process of European integration since it was founded. His special assignment within the university has been preserved to this day. Professor Joseph-François Angelloz, the first director of the Europa-Institut and second rector of the university, named the goal “to scientifically research the Europe of the future, to convey this Europe to a youth trained according to the teaching methods customary in the various countries, for everyone to be educators who think European in these countries and perhaps shortly to train the leading forces of Europe. "
The institute, whose first professors included the French politician, scientist and pioneer of the European movement André Philip , was initially set up as an independent university institute. A two-year course was offered, which could be completed with a diploma in the first year and a diploma in European studies in the second year if the participants were successful. The institute also enabled the graduates to devote another year exclusively to scientific research and to do their doctorate at the institute.
At the beginning almost all “European disciplines” were the subject of the course. In the first two years of 1951 and 1952, the focus was on comparative literature, philosophy, history and musicology. Law and economics studies were also part of the program. The integration of Europe is reflected in the history of the Europa-Institut. Due to the progressive integration of the European Communities, the legal and political dimension of the training at the Europa-Institut was increasingly strengthened. In the program of the Europa-Institut at the time, it was stated that “at the moment when Europe, driven by historical development, is again becoming aware of its reality and its unity, where new political, legal, economic and cultural organisms are being formed and developed “, It seems urgent to enable a comprehensive European education.
In 1953, with the establishment and affiliation of the diplomatic section to the institute, an organizational change took place. The diplomatic section was supposed to train students who wanted to pursue a diplomatic career in Saarland, which was politically partially autonomous at the time, or who wanted to enter the administrative service. In addition, the legal department, the cultural department, the economics department and the language department were established. When Saarland joined the Federal Republic of Germany in 1957, Saarland University took over the German university system. The previously more cultural and literary-oriented Europa-Institut was transformed into a European Research Institute, more strongly oriented towards jurisprudence and economics, which began teaching in the 1957/58 winter semester. In the mid-1960s, the study program was combined into a uniform training. The focus was on the specific problems of European integration, its instruments and methods. The core of the program consisted of legal courses, which were supplemented by historical, political and economic courses.
In 1980 the Faculty of Law established the postgraduate course “European Integration”. The management of the institute was entrusted to Georg Ress and Michael R. Will. In 1991 Torsten Stein from Heidelberg and in 1999 Werner Meng from Halle were appointed directors of the institute. In 2012 Thomas Giegerich replaced Torsten Stein and in 2015 Marc Bungenberg took over for Werner Meng, who has since passed away.
Master's program in European and International Law
The course is designed as a one-year master’s course in European and international law, which leads to the internationally recognized title of Master of Laws . Five modules are offered - Module 1: European Integration and Modules 2 to 5 with their focus areas European Economic Law, Foreign Trade and Investment Law / Foreign Trade and Investment, International Dispute Resolution and European and International Human Rights Protection / European and International Protection of Human Rights.
Accreditations
As part of the system accreditation of Saarland University, the Europa-Institut was extensively assessed and certified by the international accreditation agency ACQUIN. The Europa-Institut has also received the “Certificate for Quality of Internationalization (CeQuInt)” for its successful internationalization strategy in its master’s program.
Alumni Association EVER eV
The alumni association EVER was founded in 1996 by active and former students of the Europa-Institut law section at Saarland University. The aim of the alumni association is through numerous activities
- to promote the development of a network of graduates of the Europa-Institut,
- to ensure the mutual exchange of information even after the completion of the postgraduate course,
- to maintain contact with the students at the Europa-Institut and
- to support the educational offer of the Europa-Institut.
Furthermore, EVER brings together students and alumni of the Europa-Institut from different nations across disciplines and national borders and offers a contact point to contribute to international understanding outside of the study program.
The European Documentation Center
Since 1972 the institute has been one of over 40 European Documentation Centers in Germany that are part of a global network of 656 EDCs. The aim of the EDZ is to make information about the European Union and its politics accessible to the public inside and outside the universities and to support research and teaching on the subject of "European integration". All official publications made available by the European Union (Official Journal of the EU, documents of the Commission, the case law of the ECJ) but also magazines, brochures and information materials are collected and access to several EU databases and an ever increasing number of electronic ones Documents offered.
The publications
Since 1998 the institute has published the “ Journal for European Law Studies ” (ZEuS). It is published quarterly and is devoted to all current problems of European integration, European law and international law and focuses on European media law, European human rights protection and European and international business law. With German and English contributions on current developments, ZEuS offers a forum for science and practice. Younger scientists and students whose considerations are worth introducing to a broader audience should also have their say. Overall, all contributions go through a quality assurance process and for this purpose are independently reviewed by two members of the editorial team (peer review).