Centre for European Law and Governance
The Centre for European Law and Governance is a vibrant international centre for the study of EU law and European governance. Its research and teaching excellence have been recognised by the European Commission through the award of a Jean Monnet Chair in EU Law and Governance. Our expertise has been actively sought by key European institutions, such as the European Commission, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working, the European Economic and Social Committee, and the European Committee of the Regions.
Our team includes internationally renowned scholars in the field of EU law and European governance such as Stijn Smismans (holder of the Jean Monnet Chair), Daniel Wincott, Jiri Priban, Jo Hunt, Sara Drake, Urfan Khaliq, Melanie Smith and Vito Breda, while several other members of the Law School equally address aspects of EU law within their area of specialization.
Our expertise covers many areas of EU law and policy-making, including EU constitutional and administrative law; labour law, social and employment policy; internal market and competition law; citizenship; environmental law; fundamental rights; and external relations and enlargement. Both our teaching and research have an interdisciplinary perspective, placing the study of EU law in a wider context, including approaches from legal philosophy, political theory, and political science. Our Centre builds on Cardiff Law School's long-standing tradition in socio-legal studies. Our interdisciplinarity is further strengthened by our collaboration with other schools and institutions at Cardiff University, in particular the School of European Studies, the Wales Governance Centre and WISERD (the Wales Institute of Social & Economic Research, Data & Methods).
Our EU teaching covers both undergraduate and postgraduate modules and we offer a specialized LLM in European Legal Studies. We welcome PhD students with an interest in our areas of expertise.
Cardiff Law School is not only one of the leading research-based law schools in the UK (see our RAE results 2008), it is also the main Law School in Wales. Due to our position in a regional capital with strongly devolved powers, we pay particular attention to analysing the implications of European law for both national and regional authorities, and to studying the changing nature of governance and citizenship in the multi-level European polity. We profit from close institutional relationships, such as those with the National Assembly for Wales (in particular the European and External Affairs Committee), the European Commission Representation in Cardiff, and the Cardiff European Documentation Centre.