St Mary’s Law Students Visit EU Court of Justice and EU Parliament

Since its launch in September 2012, the Law (LLB) Undergraduate Programme at St Mary’s University College, Twickenham has been a success with the second cohort of students enrolled this September. As part of the course, students are able to get first-hand experience with a trip abroad to study aspects of EU law. The trip forms part of the Law of European Union module on the programme, which is designed to allow students to develop their understanding of the work of EU institutions and EU law. Students and staff recently travelled to the European Parliament and European Commission in Brussels and the Court of Justice in Luxembourg. They enjoyed sitting in on a hearing of an English employment law case, raising questions of the interpretation of the EU’s Working Time Directive which gives employees the right to paid holiday each year. They also had the opportunity to attend meetings to learn about the work undertaken by an Advocate General and a Judge of the General Court. Programme lecturer Vanessa Beever said, “These visits really allow students to appreciate for themselves how issues of interpretation of EU law are resolved within the Court of Justice and provide extremely valuable learning opportunities.”