CALL FOR APPLICATION - SUMMER SCHOOL

EUROPEAN PAPERS - JEAN MONNET NETWORK (EP-JMN)
SUMMER SCHOOL 2022

Hosted by Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University, Law School
Paris, 6-10 September 2022

Rule of Law and Human Rights in Europe and the World in Times of Contestation

The last two decades have seen the emergence of numerous sites of resistance to the EU. The Greek opposition to austerity measures, the massive and EU-wide contestation of Covid-prevention measures, the gilets jaunes protest, not to mention the 2016 British referendum, are just a few examples of the increasing contestation of the EU integration, of - some of - its policies, and of their - perceived - impact on citizens’ rights. Such contestation, which has emerged in every member State, comes from social, political and judicial actors, from all sides of the political spectrum. The “rule of law crisis” has also shown the extent to which some Member States are questioning the way in which the EU defines the rule of law and the scope of its Human rights instruments. Moreover, contestation is both internal and external, in particular when non-EU actors question the way in which the EU applies, or imposes in its external relations, its conception of fundamental rights and of the rule of law.

The Paris EP-JMN Summer school lectures, which are mainly addressed to young scholars and PhD researchers, will take seriously the different expressions of contestation the European Union is facing. Contestation will be broadly defined, as the social practice of merely objecting to norms by rejecting them or by refusing to implement them. It is also a mode of critique through critical engagement in a discourse about these principles, rules, and values. The Summer School will thus address different but related topics. It will first ask what is the object of contestation: what the EU does or what the EU is? Is there enough space, in EU law, to institutionalize contestation? Lectures will also explore the rise of contestation as a result of the way in which we “do” and we “think” integration. To what extent is our conception of the EU as an integration through law exposed to the different forms of contestation?

To address these questions, lectures will focus on Human rights and the rule of law in times of contestation. To what extent do Human rights and the rule of law frame contestation, or limit conflicts? Have EU Human rights law and EU Rule of law become the object of contestation? The Summer school will also explore some of the problems and challenges regarding the EU’s internal capacity for safeguarding human rights, the rule of law and democracy within its own Member States, and relating to its promotion of these values and principles on the international stage. It will examine how current contestation of the European project and of a rules-based and cooperative international order may affect the EU’s ability to promote and uphold its core values, both within and beyond its borders. The nature and impact of this multifaceted legitimacy crisis will be taken into account, looking into the constraints and opportunities this may hold for the EU as a global actor.

The lectures will endeavour to present very diverse perspectives, among which everyone can find its own way. The EP-JMN Paris Summer School, will gather PhD students and post-docs, junior and senior academics experts and practitioners in this domain. Lectures and exchanges are expected to provide a stimulating and challenging teaching and learning experience.

In addition to the four days of lectures, participants will be offered the opportunity to be active members of the PhD workshops, a place in which they are invited to present (in English or in French) their research and to discuss it with more experienced scholars. Young researchers will also be given the chance to exchange and reflect on legal thesis methodologies.

Finally on Saturday 10 September, a round-table will gather senior academics, practitioners of the EU institutions and members of the civil society. They will address the tensions between social and environmental justice in EU law.

The Summer school is organized with the help of the Institut de Recherche en Droit International et Européen de la Sorbonne (IREDIES), Paris 1 University and with the financial support of the Erasmus + programme of the European Union.