1. The European Master in Law and Economics (EMLE) Filomena Chirico* Skopje, 31 March 2009 * European Commission. The opinions expressed represent personal views and do not bind the institution

2. 2 Outline The EMLE programme Historical overview Examples of challenges and good practices Erasmus Mundus

3. 3 The EMLE Programme Interdisciplinary Law and Economics Applying the economic method to analyse the law – Positive and normative – Which law? Law and borders Expression of the European Association of Law and Economics (academic network) Lecturers – Lawyers or economists (or both) Strong connection to research activities

4. 4 EMLE Organisational structure 8 partner universities in 8 countries + US EMLE Board – Includes Programme Director Erasmus Mundus Coordinator Coordinators of each institution – Meets twice a year Participation of student representatives Ombudsman and Quality Assurance Officer

5. 5 The EMLE year One year Master programme, October-October – Three terms in at least two locations 1 st term (NL-DE-IT) – 4 courses comparable in content across universities 2 nd term (BE-DE-IT) – partly comparable (4 to 6 courses, some differences in subjects) 3 rd term (NL/US, DE, IT, FR, UK, AT, IL) – specialisation according to universities’ strengths – Final Thesis with two supervisors, one in the 3 rd term institution, one external Mid-term meeting and Graduation ceremony

6. 6 EMLE at the origins Created in 1990, 4 participating institutions Pre-existing academic network – European L & E Association Common research interests – Several annual meetings/conferences Advocacy role Little structure and a lot of enthusiasm Need for pragmatic solutions

7. 7 The EMLE at the EUA JM Project 2003 About 100 Students per year Over 20 nationalities, mostly European 20 Partner Universities – Not all teaching centres Increasing need of coordination Sustainability issues Need for pragmatic solutions

8. 8 EMLE as Erasmus Mundus 2009 Eight Partner Institutions 100 Students – About 30% non European Higher level of harmonisation and centralisation of procedures More stable financial situation Still, need for pragmatic solutions

9. 9 The EMLE degree Who issues the degree? – Initial solution: 3 rd term institution + “certificate” of “jointness”: 1 degree – Post-EM: each institution where a student is enrolled  multiple degrees What degree? – Depending on national regulations (MA, EMLE, MLE, LLM) – Student complaints: unfairness (NB: regulated profession) – Repeated calls for a “European” label

10. 10 What Master? “The EMLE is a postgraduate course. Preference will be given to applicants who already have a first master degree.” Pre-requisite 4 years Possible admission of students with completed 1 st cycle of 3 years What kind of Master degree?

11. 11 Quality Assurance (I) Internal Procedures – Curriculum integration Horizontal and vertical consistency Multiple meetings every year – Common standards for evaluation Communication and statistical comparison – Admission requirements Flexible initially, but streamlined and centralised after EM Only one online application form – Trust among partners (mutual recognition)

12. 12 Quality Assurance (II) Substance – Content at the “right” level Outcome of partners’ agreement Common definition of learning outcomes “Jointness” – Added value: different cultural experiences, teaching methods, going beyond national laws, optimising resources

13. 13 External Evaluation and Accreditation Coping with multiple national legal and institutional contexts – NL/BE and DE cases Mutual recognition

14. 14 Funding Fundamental for sustainability of the programme Depends on national context – National legislation or institutional regulations may be unsuited for JMs EMLE Fees – Originally decentralised, depending on national regulation/institutional strategy – Divergence caused arbitrage/unfairness on students’ side – Unified after EM 4.500 Euros for EU students/8.500 Euros for non-EU Lessons: – Sustainability achieved when institutions “own” ad support the programme

15. 15 Logistics Standard administrative support may be unsuited Specific organisational support within each institution – Student ID cards – Library/IT access Key problem: short-time accommodation – Local specificities – Best practices Flexibility is fundamental

16. 16 Other organisational issues Language – English is official language of the programme (easier communication, common reading material etc.) – Courses to learn local language are much appreciated Monitoring of graduates – Not structured so far – Recent initiatives (alumni association, journal, conference)

17. 17 What did Erasmus Mundus do for EMLE? A quality label Attracted overseas students (beyond individual professors’ contact) Changes in the structure to fulfil requirements – Unified fees – Centralised admission – More comparable degrees – Multiple degrees But some partners had to drop out (ES and SE cases) Better institutional support Better funding Overall higher sustainability

18. 18 Thanks for your attention!