LA2024 May B3

LLB
BSc DEGREES WITH LAW

EU law

Friday 11 June 2021

BLOCK 3 Available at: 15:00 UK time on Friday 11 June 2021.

Submit before: 20:00 UK time on Friday 11 June 2021.

You have FIVE HOURS in which to write your answers and upload them in the
required .doc or .docx format to the VLE. You are not expected to spend more
than FOUR HOURS writing your answers. The remaining hour is for
downloading, uploading, and to take short rest breaks.

You must answer FOUR of the following EIGHT questions. You must answer
all parts of a question unless otherwise stated.

© University of London 2021

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1. In December 2020, with a view to reducing carbon emissions, Poland
passed the Motor Vehicles Standards Act (a fictitious measure). The Act,
inter alia, sets out new limits for emissions from motorcycles of up to 125
CC power (“scooters”). According to the explanatory memorandum
accompanying the Act, scooters are the worst polluters given their wide
use in urban centres. Article 11 of the Act prohibits the use of scooters
in cities with a population of more than 200,000 inhabitants. Article 12
states that any scooters which violate the provisions of the Act are liable
to be seized and the owner and/or the user may be fined up to EUR
2,000. Praggio, the Italian manufacturer of the iconic Bee 50 Scooter,
seeks your advice on whether the Polish Act is compatible with EU law.

Advise Praggio.

2. ‘Direct effect and supremacy together form a powerful and

uncontroversial tool of enforcement of EU law.’

Discuss.

3. To what extent is it correct to say that the EU Charter of Fundamental

Rights has strengthened the protection of human rights in the EU?

4. Kaspar is an Estonian national, residing in Romania since birth. Kaspar

has never entered into a formal employment contract with anyone, but
has carried out odd jobs from time to time and relied on family funds. In
2018, while attending an English language course, he fell in love with
the tutor, Helen, and married her in 2019. Helen is an American national
who entered the country on a tourist visa in 2016 and never left. In 2020
Kaspar was arrested for drug possession, but was released shortly
afterwards. In 2021 he was again arrested for drug possession, and an
expulsion order was issued in his name. Helen has received an
expulsion order as well, on the grounds that, as a third country national
she can only remain in the country if her husband, an EU national, is
eligible to stay there.

Advise Kaspar and Helen whether EU law can be of assistance in their

case.

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5. Jarek, a Polish national, owns several boutique hotels in major Eastern
European cities. In January 2021 the police closed his Prague hotel (in
the Czech Republic) on the grounds that Czech gambling legislation was
breached. The hotel operated a mini casino in the basement. Even
though Jarek held a valid gambling licence, the legislation changed
overnight, with the result that only Czech citizens were permitted to
provide gambling services, and also to prohibit gambling outlets from
being operated in hotels. The Czech Government has argued that such
a measure is necessary to protect hotel customers from fraud.

Advise Jarek whether EU free movement law can assist him.

6. According to the Court of Justice of the European Union, EU law is “a

kind of legal order, the nature of which is peculiar to the EU, has its own
constitutional framework and founding principles, and a particularly
sophisticated institutional structure and a full set of legal rules to ensure
its operation”. Still, as confirmed by the Court itself, the EU is not a State
and “is, under international law, precluded by its very nature from being
considered a State”.

Do you agree? Provide at least TWO examples from your study of EU

law which support your view, and explain why they do so.

7. Jamie is an Irish national with a doctorate in English from University

College Dublin. During his studies, he married his classmate, Zelda.
After graduation, they moved to her home country, Hungary. Jamie
applied for a job as an English teacher in a high school in Budapest, but
he was rejected as, following the interview, it emerged that his
knowledge of Hungarian was only upper intermediate. Jamie has
followed an advanced course in Hungarian and has a certificate from
University College Dublin. Yet, according to Hungarian law, all teachers
working in the national education need to have an excellent level of
Hungarian, which is assessed by the employer during an interview.

Discuss whether EU free movement law can assist Jamie in this case.

8. According to the Safety of Home Chemicals Directive (fictitious), all

chemical products, including vinegar, need to be packed in containers
which have safety caps that are difficult for children to open. Bulgaria
failed to implement the Directive by the deadline. Elena is a Bulgarian
child who was playing pretend cooking one day and accidentally
splashed a lot of vinegar in her eyes. She required hospitalisation and,
while she did eventually recover, her parents had to pay high healthcare
bills. They wonder whether they can use the Safety of Home Chemicals
Directive to get their money back.

Advise Elena’s parents.

END OF PAPER

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