FE-1 Law of the European Union study guide
FE-1 Law of the European Union · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
FE-1 Law of the European Union is one paper in the Final Examination – First Part suite sat by graduates seeking entry to professional barrister training in Ireland. It tests whether you can reason with EU law as a practitioner rather than recite it: identifying the applicable Treaty provision or measure, selecting the controlling case law of the Court of Justice, and applying both to a dense factual scenario under pressure. The FE-1 Law of the European Union study guide has 9 sections and about 2,729 words.
01Constitutional Foundations and Sources of EU Law
This domain tests whether you can identify the EU legal sources, their hierarchy and the constitutional principles that constrain them. The EU is a legal order based on conferral: the Treaties are primary law, and secondary law is valid only if it has a Treaty basis.
323 words, about 2 min02Institutions, Decision-Making Procedures and Competence
This domain tests the institutional architecture, the principle of conferral and how EU legislation is adopted. Article 13 TEU lists the institutions: European Parliament, European Council, Council, Commission, Court of Justice, European Central Bank and Court of Auditors.
299 words, about 1 min03Supremacy, Direct Effect and Consistent Interpretation
This domain tests the mechanisms that make EU law effective in national courts: primacy, direct effect, indirect effect and State liability. These are judge-made principles, now reflected in the Treaties and case law.
302 words, about 2 min04Free Movement of Goods
This domain tests the customs union and the prohibition of non-tariff barriers. You must distinguish fiscal charges, internal taxation and regulatory obstacles, and apply the justification framework.
292 words, about 1 min05Free Movement of Persons, Establishment, Services and Union Citizenship
This domain tests the personal and economic freedoms and the citizenship overlay. You must identify the correct Treaty freedom, the beneficiary, the restriction and the justification.
300 words, about 2 min06Competition Law and State Aid
This domain tests Arts 101 and 102 TFEU and the State aid regime. You need the legal elements, the economic reasoning and the procedural consequences.
304 words, about 2 min07Enforcement Actions and the Preliminary Reference Procedure
This domain tests the judicial architecture: infringement proceedings, annulment, failure to act and the preliminary reference. Know who can bring which action, the time limits and the division of labour between national courts and the CJEU.
308 words, about 2 min08Remedies, State Liability and Effective Judicial Protection
This domain tests how EU law is enforced before national courts and when a Member State must compensate loss. The focus is procedural autonomy, equivalence and effectiveness, and the Francovich conditions.
300 words, about 2 min09Fundamental Rights, General Principles and Equal Treatment
This domain tests the EU Charter, unwritten general principles and the prohibition of discrimination. You must know when the Charter applies and how limitations and justifications work.
301 words, about 2 min