TY3 – Section 1 – Introduction
Rights and Responsibilities
- Septic tanks. Split shifts. Slurry spreading. High-brow stuff indeed. The impact of EU law was famously described by an English judge as “an incoming tide. It flows into the estuaries and up the rivers. It cannot be held back” (Lord Denning, 1974). We often hear of ‘faceless bureaucrats’ and ‘red tape’ coming from Brussels. But what do we know about the rights and responsibilities we have gained as EU citizens? How are these rights protected? And what freedom does a member state have to modify EU law for its situation?
- The aim of this lesson is that students learn about rights gained from EU membership, and how these rights are protected. It builds on strands of the CSPE curriculum (on Human Rights Instruments, and The Law and The Citizen) and is a primer for the Politics & Society curriculum (on Power and Decision-making at National and European Level)
- The lesson is based around a quiz, with eight real scenarios on creating, implementing, and enforcing EU law. Through these scenarios students learn about rights gained through membership. They equally learn about the responsibility which these rights create for citizens, businesses, and member state governments. By figuring the answers in the quiz, they explore the role of national and EU institutions.
- The discussion topics in the lesson tasks student to reflect on the role of citizens, courts, member states, and EU institutions in protecting EU rights. An important point is that laws (and rights) are not only about creation, but about implementation and enforcement. These are useful foundations for a Discuss, Argue, Build approach to informed and active European citizenship.
- The content and the teacher/student instructions for this lesson provide a template which you are free to alter as suits your purpose. You are well-positioned to tweak structure, content, or delivery to suit your student and teaching needs. The quiz can be run as an individual rather than small-group exercise. You might have more interesting (and less agricultural 😊) scenarios for the quiz. The discussion topics are easily tweaked for a Think-Pair-Share exercise. You will find additional content in the Resources tab. Swap in any content from here to the core lesson. For instance, you might want to select a case or two where Ireland has been a laggard in implementing EU law for students to appreciate in greater detail. If you have a query about the lesson, don’t hesitate to contact us at dabtheeu@ucc.ie