Europa-Institut of Saarland University
Encyclopedia
Innitial focus on history & culture
The Europa-Institut was intended to be the "jewel and symbol" of Saarland University, a university itself based on the merger of German and French educational traditions, founded under the aegis of France and the University of Nancy in 1948 and boasting personalities such as Robert SchumanRobert Schuman
Robert Schuman was a noted Luxembourgish-born French statesman. Schuman was a Christian Democrat and an independent political thinker and activist...
amongst the first of its students.
The Europa-Institut dedicated itself to following the European integration
European integration
European integration is the process of industrial, political, legal, economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe...
al process from the very beginning, providing a curriculum independent of that of Saarland University and taught by personalities such as the French politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, academic and pioneer of the European movement, André Philip
André Philip
André Philip was an SFIO who served as an Interior Minister for the Free French during the war. He also served as a finance minister in 1946 and part of 1947....
.
To start with, almost all "European disciplines" were included in the study program. The focus during the first two years, namely 1951 and 1952, was on comparative literature
Comparative literature
Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the literature of two or more different linguistic, cultural or national groups...
, philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and musicology
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
. Law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
and economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
were disciplines which played a complimentary role.
The gradual integration of the European Community influenced the development of the curriculum
Curriculum
See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
so that the program began to reflect formation of the Community’s legal, economical and political character. As such, the former program description of the Europa-Institut stated that, "The moment at which Europe, driven by its historical development, becomes conscious of its unity and the reality surrounding it and where consequently new political, legal, economic and cultural organs are formed and unfold," would mark the point at which it was imperative to offer a corresponding, uniform European education.
Creation of European Communities: shift to focus on diplomacy
The importance of the Institute also grew with the development of project Europe. In 1953 a structural change led to the establishment of a diplomacyDiplomacy
Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states...
department within the Institute. The purpose of this department was to train students wishing to pursue a career in diplomacy or in the civil service
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
of the, at that time, semi-autonomous Saarland
Saarland
Saarland is one of the sixteen states of Germany. The capital is Saarbrücken. It has an area of 2570 km² and 1,045,000 inhabitants. In both area and population, it is the smallest state in Germany other than the city-states...
region. In the meantime, the law, culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
, economics and independent language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
department established themselves further.
When Saarland joined the Federal Republic of Germany in 1957, Saarland University adopted the German university system. The Europa-Institut, which up to that point was geared primarily towards cultural and literary studies, was transformed into a European research institute
Research institute
A research institute is an establishment endowed for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research...
with law and economics as the focal point. The Europa-Institut began operating with this concept in the winter term of 1957/58.
In the mid sixties, the study program was combined so as to constitute a single integrated course. The emphasis lay on the specific problems pertaining to the European integrational process and the related instruments and methods. Law-based courses formed the core of program and these were complemented by courses in history, politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
and economics.
Since 1980: focus on European Law
The postgraduate program LL.M. "European Integration" was established in 1980 by the law department of the Institute, with Prof. Dr. H. C. Mult. Georg Ress and Prof. Dr. Michael R. Will as the first to head it. In 1991, Prof. Dr. Torsten Stein from HeidelbergHeidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
and Prof. Dr. Werner Meng from Halle were appointed directors of the Institute.
In 1990 the postgraduate MBA program "European Management" was established by the economics department of the Institute.
Today, the Europa-Institut qualifies as a model program for European studies
European studies
European studies is a field of study offered by many academic colleges and universities that focuses on current developments in European integration....
and is actively supported by the German Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the German Federal Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Technology, the European Commission and the "Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft".
Master of European Law, LL.M.
The Master's program European Integration is a 12-month, full-time LL.M course centering on substantive, institutional and procedural European law and international law. To successfully complete the program, students need to gain 60 credits. The study comprises 2 semesters (9 months) of lectures (45 credits) and a written thesis (usually 3 moths, 15 credits).It offers the following specializations:
- International Dispute Resolution (since 2011, taught in English)
- Foreign Trade (taught in English)
- European Economic Law (taught in English)
- European Protection of Human Rights (taught in German and English)
- European Management (taught in German and English)
- Europäische Medienwirtschaft (till 2011, taught in German)
- Europäisches Privatrecht (till 2011, taught in German)
Students can specialize in maximum two fields. To gain a specialization, a student needs to successfully complete the given unit, i.e. gain minimum of 12 credits as well as pass unit's obligatory courses. The Insitut as well as the university use French grading system
Academic grading in France
The French grading system is based mostly on a 20-point grading scale: it is used above all in secondary schools and universities.The French high school diploma baccalauréat uses the 20-point scale, with the following mentions :...
; students with average of over 15 gain the right to be admitted to doctoral
Doctor of law
Doctor of Law or Doctor of Laws is a doctoral degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country, and includes degrees such as the LL.D., Ph.D., J.D., J.S.D., and Dr. iur.-Argentina:...
study. As of 2011 the price of LL.M. program is €4,000.
Master of Business Administration, MBA
The MBA program European Management focuses on European market. As a prerequisite completion of undergraduate study of at least 240 credits as well as 2 years of corresponding working experience are required (in addition to fluency in English).It focuses on three aspects: people (their needs & cultures), markets and morals (the responsibility both towards environment and employees). It comprises 15 study units (9 months, 45 credits) and final thesis (usually 3 months, 15 credits). There is also possibility of part time study, which may take as long as four years. Students attend the 15 study units, but the extended length allows them to do it while working. Also the term for final thesis is extended to 6 months. As of 2011 the fees are €12,000 for full time study and €14,500 for part time study.
EVER Alumni Association
The alumni associationAlumni association
An alumni association is an association of graduates or, more broadly, of former students. In the United Kingdom and the United States, alumni of universities, colleges, schools , fraternities, and sororities often form groups with alumni from the same organisation...
EVER was established by current and former students of the Europa-Institut, Law Department, of Saarland University, in 1996. By means of numerous activities, the alumni association aims to:
- Establish a network of Europa-Institut graduates
- Secure the mutual exchange of information after completion of the advanced study program
- Keep in contact with former students of the Europa-Institut
- Complement the range of academic opportunities on offer at the Europa-Insitut
In addition, EVER unites students and alumni of different nationalities across professional and geographic borders and thus constitutes, alongside the study program itself, a contact forum that contributes to international understanding worldwide.
European Documentation Centre
Since 1972, the Europa-Institut holds one of 52 European Documentation and Information Centers (EDC) in Germany and forms part of a network of 600 EDZs worldwide. The goal of the EDCs is to make available to the public (both in and outside the university system) information on the European UnionEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and its policies and to support the research and teaching of the European integrational process.
All publicly available official publications of the EU (Official Gazette of the EU, documents of the Commission, case law
Case law
In law, case law is the set of reported judicial decisions of selected appellate courts and other courts of first instance which make new interpretations of the law and, therefore, can be cited as precedents in a process known as stare decisis...
of the European Court of Justice
European Court of Justice
The Court can sit in plenary session, as a Grand Chamber of 13 judges, or in chambers of three or five judges. Plenary sitting are now very rare, and the court mostly sits in chambers of three or five judges...
), as well as periodicals, brochure
Brochure
A brochure is a type of leaflet. Brochures are most commonly found at places that tourists frequently visit, such as museums, major shops, and tourist information. Brochure racks or stands may suggest visits to amusement parks and other points of interest...
s and information material are collected in the EDC. Access to numerous databases of the EU as well as to an increasing amount of electronic documentation is also provided
Publications
The Europa-Institut has been publishing its own academic journalAcademic journal
An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...
, ZEuS ("Zeitschrift für europarechtliche Studien") since 1998. It appears on a quarterly basis and is dedicated to topical problems relating to European integration, European and international law, as well as international aspects of constitutional law
Constitutional law
Constitutional law is the body of law which defines the relationship of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the legislature and the judiciary....
. It focuses particularly on European media law and on the European protection of human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, as well as on European and international economic law
Economic law
In the legal system of the Soviet Union, economic law was the legal theory and system under which economic relations were a legal discipline independent of criminal law and civil law...
. Since ZEuS contains not only German, but also English, French and Spanish contributions, it constitutes an ideal forum both for academia and practice.
Directors
- 1951–1956: Joseph-François Angelloz
- 1956–1958: Heinz Hübner
- 1958–1961: Bernhard Aubin
- 1961–1978: Léontin-Jean Constantinesco
- 1979–1989: Michael R. Will
- 1979–1991: Georg Ress
- 1991–1998: Georg Ress & Torsten Stein
- 1999 – : Torsten Stein & Werner Meng