This course is about the transboundary aspects of EU Water Law. In 2001 the Water Framework Directive (WFD) entered into force. This Directive, in its famous Article 4, holds environmental standards for the chemical and ecological quality of all surface water bodies on EU Territory. These standards are to be considered 'obligations of result', which means that they have to be met by the Member States within a given time frame; only few (exhaustively listed) exemptions can be made to these requirements. Building upon the 1992 Helsinki Treaty, the WFD also introduced the so-called 'river basin approach', dividing the EU Territory into a number of catchment areas (referred to as 'river basin districts') on the basis of hydrological, instead of institutional criteria. Most river basin districts are transboudary in nature; they partly cover the territory of two or more Member States. Essentially a promising approach, it has not yet proven to be as effective as desired: many surface water bodies in the EU still do not yet meet the legally required quality standards. In literature, this was partly attributed to the fact that the river basin approach in conjuction with the environemtal quality standards creates a common goal in the pursuit of which Member States are only individually, and not collectively, responsible. In other words, especially down-stream Member States (such as the Netherlands) receive water that is already 'too polluted', but are nonetheless responsible for meeting the chemical and ecological standards, leaving little room for economic activities that potentially affect water quality. Taking this problem as a starting point, the aim of this course is to discover and discuss potential coordinative, cooperative or other arrangements for bettering this situation. The course is open to students of both the SBR and EU Law Master's Programs up to a maximum of 25. Organized in the context of the SBR Master's Program, students of that program get priority over other students in case of over-registration. This course will be taught in English.

General information

In period 3 you will follow 5 modules on topics of European law. Period 3 is divided into 3 sub-periods of three weeks each. For each of the sub-periods you need to choose one or two modules from the modules offered in that sub-period. A sixth module, which is compulsory, regards the Research and Thesis Trajectory (RTT), and starts already in period 1. This module must be completed before starting the actual writing of the thesis in period 4. One week in period 3 is dedicated entirely to the RTT and no capita selecta teaching is scheduled during that week. For more information on this module, see the separate information document on Blackboard. Each of modules equals 2,5 ECTS.
 
The modules allow you to submerge yourself into a specific area of European Union law in a small-scale setting. It is an intense form of education, aimed at deepening your knowledge in a specific field of EU law and at developing a wide range of skills which will be important for your professional career. This means that none of the modules will be concluded by an exam. Instead, you will be tested in other ways. You might have to write a position paper, a case note, a weblog, a policy advice paper or you may be tested on the basis of a presentation or your input in a negotiating exercise.
 
If you fail one of the modules, you may not repair your grade within that module. Instead, a reparation module will be offered in period 4. The content and approach of that module will be announced at the end of period 3. If you fail more than one module, you will have to take the Capita Selecta course the next year.