About

Founded in 1974, the Centre of European Law (CEL) is one of the oldest research centres of its kind and a global leader in European legal scholarship—an especially vital role in today’s political landscape.

Members of the Centre have a long and proud tradition of influencing the development of European law and policy, both inside the EU institutions and more broadly throughout the legal systems of the Member States. Many of the Centres’ alumni hold prominent positions at international, regional and national institutions.

Our work focuses on many different aspects of European law. Recently, the Centre has been engaged in work on the relationship between domestic and European law, on dialogue between courts, and on EU external relations, with a particular emphasis on trade.

The Centre offers world‑class teaching across undergraduate, postgraduate, and professional development programmes. We also offer two highly competitive and prestigious scholarships for PhD research into European law. The CEL is also heavily involved in student activities, such as mooting and organising trips to the European institutions.

Part of our mission as an internationally renowned centre for the study of European Law is to regularly bring together a large community of practitioners, officials, scholars and students through our events programme. We organise a series of seminars and workshops related to our current research in European law, with many such events leading to first rate publications with leading publishing houses and esteemed academic journals. The highlight in the academic calendar is our annual lecture and annual conference, which is attended by around 550 delegates from across Europe and beyond.

In recent years, Members of the Centre have been at the forefront of academic and broader political discussions about the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union. Since Brexit, the CEL’s core objectives of providing world leading teaching and research in European law remain unchanged. There continues to be strong demand from students, academics and members of the legal profession to study and learn about European law.

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