Jean Monnet Chair in European Law

The Jean Monnet Chair in EU Law was awarded by the European Commission (Erasmus + programme) to Professor Panos Koutrakos (Professor of EU Law) for the period 2019-2022. In fact, this has been the second time that such a Chair has been awarded to Professor Koutrakos at City, University of London (the first was for the period 2014-2018) and the third time overall (while he was Professor of EU law at University of Bristol).

The objectives of the Jean Monnet Chair in EU Law include the following:

• Promote debate on topical issues of EU law by organising conferences, workshops, and seminars with eminent scholars, practitioners and policy-makers across Europe;
• Participate actively in shaping cutting-edge research in EU law
• promote intra- and inter-disciplinarity in EU law scholarship by bringing together law scholars with practitioners and decision-makers
• innovate in the delivery of the postgraduate curriculum by enabling students to place the study of law in its practical and policy context and exposing them to non-traditional ways of teaching
• promote doctoral research.

Current members:

Research students currently supervised in EU law include:

Eva Pander Maat

Past events

• Could Brexit deliver Silicon Valley upon Avon? 18 November 2020. This webinar was hosted jointly by Professor Panos Koutrakos, Jean Monnet Chair in EU Law, and Reed Smith LLP.  Panellists included James Lockett (Lockett International LLC), Stephanie Noel (S Noël Law Office, Geneva), Dr Orla Lynskey  (Associate Professor, LSE), David Henig (European Centre for International Political Economy, Director of UK Trade Policy Project) , Katalina Bateman (Counsel, Reed Smith LLP, London), and Sabina Ciofu (TechUK, Head of EU and Trade Policy).
• Foreign Subsidies in the EU Internal Market: The European Commission’s White Paper 17 June 2020 7 July 2020. This webinar brought together eminent lawyers who discussed the content, context, and implications of the European Commission’s White Paper on levelling the playing field as regards foreign subsidies. The event was chaired by Professor Panos Koutrakos and the speakers included Sir Jonathan Faull (Brunswick Group, Former European Commission Director General), Isabelle Van Damme (Van Bael & Bellis, Brussels), Frank Hoffmeister (European Commission Directorate-General for Trade), and Carolina Dackö (Mannheimer Swartling, Gothenburg).
• Trade with Northern Ireland under the Withdrawal Agreement: Legal and Policy Issues 16 July 2020. This webinar brought together eminent lawyers, academics, and trade specialists in order to discuss the provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement on trade with Northern Ireland and their legal and policy implications for the UK and the EU as well as Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The event was chaired by Professor Panos Koutrakos and the speakers included Timothy Lyons QC BL (39 Essex Chambers), Dr Katy Hayward (Queen’s University Belfast and UK in a Changing Europe), Dr Anna Jerzewska (UK Trade Policy Observatory), and  
  Dr Vincent Power (Partner at A&L Goodbody, Dublin).
• UK-EU Negotiations for an Agreement on Their Future Relationship: What, How, When, and Why? 12 February 2020. This panel discussion brought together experts of unparalleled experience to discuss the negotiation between the UK and the EU for an agreement on their future relationship. Drawing on their insights into negotiating with the EU, they will address questions about both the substance and process of this new episode of Brexit. The speakers included:  Professor Sir Alan Dashwood QC (Henderson Chambers), Sir Ivan Rogers (Former UK Permanent Representative to the EU) Christophe Bondy (Former Senior Counsel to Canada in the Canada-EU CETA negotiations).
• Book launch: Judicial Independence – Memoirs of a European Judge by Carl Baudenbacher 5 March 2019. This book launch was for the book Judicial Independence – Memoirs of a European Judge (Springer, 2019) by Carl Baudenbacher (former President of EFTA Court; Monckton Chambers). The event was chaired by Professor Panos Koutrakos and the speakers were the author himself, Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws, and Tim Ward QC (Monckton Chambers)
• Beyond Uber: The sharing economy as a challenge for EU law 21 March 2018. This was a guest lecture by Professor Vassilis Hatzopoulos, Professor of EU Law and Policies at the Panteion University, Athens; Provost of Undergraduate Studies at the European Law and Governance School, Athens; Visiting Professor at the College of Europe, Bruges (Belgium).
• Refugee Rights in Europe: current weaknesses, possible ways forward 19 May 2017 This workshop is interdisciplinary (bringing together academic lawyers, political studies specialists, media experts, NGOs), intra-disciplinary (the speakers include international, EU, and human rights lawyers), and practice-oriented (presentations will focus, amongst others, on experience on the ground). Presentations will be short and focused on specific arguments and perspectives.
• The View from the EU Bench: A conversation with Judge Lars Bay Larsen (European Court of Justice) 21 February 2017 - Judge Bay Larsen will held a conversation about his role as a Judge of the European Court of Justice, a position which he has held since 2006, with Professor Panos Koutrakos, Professor of European Union Law and Jean Monnet Chair in EU Law at City Law School.
• Jean Monnet Doctoral Workshop: Interactions Between European Union and International Law 23-24 June 2016 City London is proud to host the second Jean Monnet Doctoral Workshop on 23 - 24 June 2016. It follows the successful organisation of the first Jean Monnet Doctoral Workshop by the University of Geneva in September 2015.
• The View from the EU Bench: Judge Allan Rosas (European Court of Justice) 10 February 2016
  Judge Rosas held a conversation about his role as a Judge of the European Court of Justice, a position which he has held since 2002, with Professor Panos Koutrakos, Professor of European Union Law and Jean Monnet Chair in EU Law at City Law School.. Chaired by Professor Sir Alan Dashwood, The City Law School, City University London
• The referendum on EU membership: pivotal issues 16 June 2016 - The debate covered issues like The UK-EU relationship post Brexit, Trade with the rest of the world, Sovereignty, Immigration, Issues for the UK regarding Scotland and Ireland, Peace and Security. Speakers included: Rt Hon Lord Hannay GCMG CH, Sir lan Dashwood, Sir William Cash MP, Chaired by: Panos Koutrakos, Professor of EU Law and Jean Monnet Chair in EU Law.
• Legal Implications of the Referendum on EU membership symposium. 2 December 2015. Monckton Chambers and The City Law School are pleased to announce a symposium on the legal implications of Britain withdrawing from the EU. This conference is organised under the auspices of the Jean Monnet Chair in European Law at The City Law School.
• Whither, whose and why TTIP?. 12 September 2015. This inter-disciplinary research seminar with participants from European Union law, European Private Law, EU External Relations, public international law and International Economic law takes a broad look at the state Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations across a range of subjects.
  Welcome: Professor Panos Koutrakos (Jean Monnet Chair of EU law, The City Law School)
  Speaker: Professor Harm Schepel (University of Kent)
  Discussant: Dr Andrew Lang (LSE)
  Other Panellists: Professor David Collins, Professor Sir Alan Dashwood (The City Law School)
  Moderator: Dr Elaine Fahey (The City Law School)
• UK Exit from the EU and Constitutional Implications, 19 February 2015. Speakers at the event: Sir David Edward QC (Former Judge at the European Court of Justice), Lord John Kerr (Former UK Permanent Representative to EU and Head of the Diplomatic Service) and Professor Sionaidh Douglas-Scott (University of Oxford). The event was chaired by Sir Konrad Schiemann QC (Former Judge at the European Court of Justice).
• Benefits and EU Law - the law behind the story. The event on 26 January 2015 took form of a round table discussion. The notable panel consisted of: Professor Damian Chalmers (LSE), Jacqueline Minor (Head of EU Commission Representation in UK), Professor Niamh Nic Shuibhne (University of Edinburgh), Professor Philippa Watson (City Law School and Essex Court Chambers). The roundtable discussion was chaired by Professor Panos Koutrakos (Professor of EU Law at the City Law School and Jean Monnet Chair in EU Law)
• The migration crisis in the Mediterranean: legal and policy issues arising from the EU response. 29th July 2015. The EU has been considering taking extraordinary measures to deal with migrants, and their smugglers, travelling by boat to Europe. Some of the ideas being suggested would involve the EU itself assuming a more direct enforcement role than ever seen before. This seminar will consider the legal issues that are raised by some of the proposed policies in terms of their compliance with EU law, human rights law and international law on the use of force.
• The paradox of multilateralism and the WTO - the role of the EU in the WTO . The event on 2 December 2014 was the first 'Law Meets Practice' Lecture organised under the aegis of the Jean Monnet Chair in European Law. The event, chaired by Panos Koutrakos (Professor of EU Law and Jean Monnet Chair in EU Law), hosted the speaker Mr Angelos Pangratis, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the EU to the World Trade Organisation.
• Scotland's Independence and EU Membership. 19th March 2014, In a recent interview on the Andrew Marr Show, Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, said it would be "extremely difficult, if not impossible" for an independent Scotland to join the European Union. City University London hosted a special panel of leading legal experts to debate Scotland's independence and its implications for EU membership.
• Workshop on 'Exceptions from EU movement law: Derogation, Justification, and Proportionality'.The event on 20-21 February 2014 was hosted by Professor Panos Koutrakos and organised jointly with Professor Niamh Nic Shuibhne (University of Edinburgh) and Dr Phil Syrpis (University of Bristol).
  An array of distinguished figures in the area of EU law was brought together, including leading academics, the former and present judges of the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg (Sir David Edward QC and Allan Rosas), legal practitioners and government legal advisers.The workshop was closed and the discussion took place under Chatham House rules. It was very successful and will lead to the publication of an edited collection essays by Hart Publishing (forthcoming in 2015).

2017 Working papers

No.01.17 Thomas Verellen

Federalism and Treaty Enforcement in the European Union: Letters from America

No. 02.17 Liisa Leppävirta & Diliana Stoyanova

Access to Information in International Organizations: The EU and UN

No. 03.17 Joyce De Coninck

Incongruity in Accountability- Contesting EU DeFacto Impunity for International Human Rights Violations in the Field of Asylum and Migration:The EU-Turkey Statement

No. 04.17 Lorenzo Gasbarri

The International Responsibility of the European Union and the Legal Nature of the Rules of International Organizations

No. 05.17 Sejla Imamovic

The Court of Justice of the EU as a Human Rights Adjudicator in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice

No. 06.17 Athanese Popov

Issues Raised by Investor-State Dispute Settlement under intra-EU BITs and European Union International Investment Agreements about the Autonomy of EU Law

No. 07.17 Dominik Moskvan

Protection Against Expropriation in Investment Treaties, the European Convention on Human Rights, and the EU Charter

The City Law School offers a comprehensive range of modules associated to EU law, on different levels of study. The modules are examined in their wider political and legal context, with reference to current affairs and feature visits from decision-makers and influential figures who have shaped the development of EU law.

Below are some examples of the modules and Specialist LLMs offered: