Introduction

Ministry of Education and Science, YOUTH AND SPORT of Ukraine

National University ‘Odessa Academy of Law’

Department of Constitutional Law

N. Mishyna

Constitutional Status of the NGOs

METHODOLOGICAL GUIDANCE

on the course of lectures in English for Law Students and Post-Graduates of the National University ‘Odessa Academy of Law’

Odessa 2011

The author’s appreciation goes to the President of National University ‘Odessa Academy of Law’, Academician Sergey V. Kivalov for the encouragement and development of the project of studying Legal disciplines in English and for publishing this syllabus and methodological manual

AUTHOR: Mishyna N. – professor of the Constitutional Law Department of the National University ‘Odessa Academy of Law’.

Discussed and approved at the meeting of the Academic Council of National University ‘Odessa Academy of Law’.

Protocol #____, ________________ 2011

Mishyna N. Constitutional Status of NGOs: working programme on the course of lectures / N. Mishyna. – Odessa: Feniks, 2011. - _____ p.

The aim of the course “Constitutional Status of the NGOs” is to introduce students to the constitutional status of NGOs in Ukraine in the context of the country’s recent democratic experience. Special emphasis will be placed on the comparative method in the study of civil societies of various degrees of complexity.

This course is essential for understanding of the poly-sector model of society and civil society, priorities in activity of state and municipal bodies, protection of human rights. The course is essential for the formation of the core moral values of the human beings in general and of the lawyers specifically.

The course is designed for students of the National University ‘Odessa Academy of Law’, studying legal disciplines in English.

INTRODUCTION

The course on Constitutional Law of Ukraine is the traditional course for the legal studies. All Ukrainian universities include two big units to this Course: what Constitution regulates; practical implementation of the norms concerning public bodies. Thus, the course “Constitutional Status of the NGOs” is aimed at filling the gap between studies of the constitutional norms on civil society and their practical realization.

The course is taught to the students studying legal disciplines in English at National University ‘Odessa Academy of Law’. This activity is additional to the studying of the legal disciplines in Ukrainian, and is optional. The course will be taught to the group of about 100 students of the 3^rd year of studies, at the 6^th term.

Prerequisites for the course include legal and philosophical skills. The students are expected to be acquaint with the following courses: Constitutional Law of Ukraine, Constitutional Law of Foreign States, Theory of Law. The students should also have basic training in Philosophy, Logics, Sociology, Ethics, some acquaintance with the terminology used and knowledge of basic philosophical strategies.

The fluency in English is required, as lectures, seminars and all study materials are in English.

The aim of the course is to familiarize students with the constitutional status of NGOs in Ukraine in the context of the country’s recent democratic experience. Special emphasis will be placed on the comparative method in the study of civil societies of various degrees of complexity.

This course is essential for understanding of the poly-sector model of society and civil society, priorities in the activity of the state and municipal bodies, protection of human rights.

The course is essential for the formation of the core moral values of the human beings in general and of the lawyers specifically.

Learning outcomes. What the course add to the existing body of knowledge on the subject of constitutional law is:

1. generalize a variety of theories and case studies into a holistic understanding of the nature of NGOs;

2. explain the difference between NGOs and state bodies;

3. describe the constitutional status of NGOs in Ukraine – history, contemporary situation, problems and perspectives;

4. compare NGOs in Ukraine with NGOs in selected foreign countries (mostly old democracies).

The Course Structure. The Course consists of 5 lectures and 5 seminars and is structured in 3 main blocks as follows:

1. theoretical foundations of NGOs’ legislation.

2. the constitutional status of NGOs in Ukraine.

3. constitutional regulation of NGOs: foreign experience.

Teaching Methodology. The course combines 2 basic methods of teaching: lecturing and discussions in seminars on previously assigned topics.

Lectures are organized every second week, while seminars (5) are held every week within the last five weeks. Each lecture deals with basic aspects and illuminates topics from the literature relevant to them. At the seminars students discuss and interpret legal and doctrinal sources related to the topics of the lectures (students have to read 2-3 assigned sources for each seminar).

Assessment. Student’s performance will be evaluated as follows:

Participation in seminar discussion – 15%.

Weekly summaries of the assigned readings – 35%.

Oral exam – 50%.

‘Pass’ grade should include each of these 3 assignments. If one of the assignments is failed (student receives 0% grade) – it means the course is failed.

Participation in seminar discussion is worth 15% of the final grade. The assessment includes presents at the seminars whom preparation all necessary readings and contribution to the quality of discussion.

Weekly summaries of the assigned readings is worth 35% of the final grade.

Annotation for the research Article should include: author, title, main ideas and arguments. The summaries should be submitted before each seminar. Each student should have the portfolio which includes annotations of all of the mandatory readings of the course. The students will have to do one annotation before each seminar – thus, the student’s portfolio will constantly grow.

As an additional (but not compulsory!) item of the portfolio the students can provide conference papers / book or Article reviews / comparative analysis of the legal acts. The texts should be written by students and be relevant to the content of the course. The presence of this additional item of the portfolio can give from 5 to 10% to the final grade.

The student’s portfolio should be presented before each seminar during all five weeks of the seminars, and before the oral exam. It is necessary for taking part in the seminar discussion and passing the oral exam.

Oral exam is worth 50% of the final grade. At the oral exam the student will have to answer 2 of 27 questions of the course.

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