Apart from their assigned mod courses, 1L students may only enroll in courses offered as 1L electives. A complete list of these courses can be found on the 1L Elective Listings page. 1L students must use the 1L class number listed on the course description when enrolling.
261.98 sec. 001 - The European Union's Transformation: From Brexit to Breakthrough (Spring 2026)
Instructor: Katerina Linos (view instructor's teaching evaluations - degree students only | profile)
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Units: 2
Grading Designation: Graded
Mode of Instruction: In-Person
Meeting:
Tu 3:35 PM - 5:25 PM
Location: Law 134
From January 13, 2026
To April 21, 2026
Course End: April 21, 2026
Class Number: 34196
Enrollment info:
Enrolled: 23
Waitlisted: 0
Enroll Limit: 36
As of: 01/27 11:27 PM
This course examines the European Union's remarkable institutional and regulatory renaissance following the crises of the 2010s, with particular emphasis on the EU's expanding extraterritorial reach and its growing impact on California's legal and business landscape. Once written off as a failing experiment after Brexit and the eurozone crisis, the EU has emerged as a global regulatory superpower, fundamentally reshaping international law, technology governance, and cross-border commerce. Students will explore how the EU transformed perceived institutional weaknesses into unprecedented strengths, moving with surprising speed to enact comprehensive legislation across multiple domains—from the €750 billion Next Generation EU recovery package to landmark digital regulations including the AI Act, Digital Markets Act, and Digital Services Act. The course analyzes the institutional mechanics behind this transformation, examining how geographic decentralization of EU institutions away from national capitals created unique conditions for federal innovation and rapid decision-making that offer valuable lessons for democratic governance in complex, divided societies.
Students will examine how the EU accomplished seemingly impossible feats of policy coordination, such as implementing comprehensive migration reforms despite rising anti-immigrant sentiment across member states—from the rapid response enabling millions of displaced Ukrainians to live and work freely across the EU, to the April 2024 migration pact that shifted asylum and refugee policy from fragmented national approaches to coordinated EU-wide mechanisms for burden-sharing during crises. The course draws extensively on the CJEU/Borderlines podcast archive to provide unique insights into the European Court of Justice's role in shaping this transformation, offering students access to expert commentary and behind-the-scenes analysis of landmark cases that have defined the EU's contemporary legal landscape.
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Requirements Satisfaction:
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Exam Notes: (P) Final Paper
(Subject to change by faculty member only through the first two weeks of instruction)
Course Category: International and Comparative Law
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