The Internal Market and Regulation
Core Course
This course is intended to give the students a thorough grounding in the core of the substantive economic law of the European Union as relevant for international business. The main focus is on the provisions in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) on the internal market, i.e. on the so-called ‘four freedoms’ (free movement of goods, persons, services and capital). A second part of the course deals with the integration on the EU level of national laws through secondary measures (i.e. measures adopted by the EU institutions). This part considers the theory of integration, and in this framework in particular harmonisation, as well as the relationship of EU Treaty law and harmonising secondary law of the EU in the context of a number of selected policy areas of the EU.
One of the main aims of the course is to thoroughly familiarize the students with the Treaty rules on the internal market, in order to prepare for the specialised courses of the second semester on e.g. corporate law and intellectual property law.
Course Objectives:
Objectives of the course:
The objective of this course is to provide students with sufficient knowledge to be able to understand the EU’s core internal market rules on the Treaty level and their relationship with more specific EU measures.
Achievement levels:
The following achievement levels apply with regard to the course:
Knowledge and comprehension: At the end of this course, students will be able to distinguish between different levels economic integration such as a free trade area, a customs union and an internal market; analyse the Treaty rules on the four freedoms; discuss different integration techniques applied by the European Union.
Application: At the end of this course, students will be able to analyse practical cases involving free movement issues under EU law; present CJEU decisions on international market issues and critically discuss them.
Analysis: At the end of this course, students will be motivated to think critically about economic integration on a high level such as that of the EU; argue practical cases relating to such matters.
Presentation: At the end of this course, the students will be able to present court cases and write papers on the issues covered.
Programme Final Qualifications
The following learning outcomes apply with regard to the course:
P.F.Q. = 1,3,4,5,6,7 & 8
Mode of Instruction:
Seminars based on the Socratic method, i.e. question and answer model, with active participation of the students.
Assessment Method(s):
25 % presentation in class and on paper of an ECJ case (from the mandatory reading list);
75 % written examination.
Oral participation in class is taken into account in order to round a grade where appropriate.
A student who fails the first exam, must take the resit. It can take the form of a written or an oral examination. The grade obtained for the presentation in class is valid also for the resit provided it is at least a 6. Otherwise, the student must answer on extra question on the resit.Students who take full part in the ELMC can be exempted from the case presentation.
Reading List:
The EU Treaty (TEU), the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and selected secondary legislation, all to be found in the EU’s legal database EUR-Lex (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html?locale=en). For students who wish to have printed materials, the
following student text is recommended: Nigel G. Foster (ed.), Blackstone's EU Treaties & Legislation, Oxford: Oxford University Press [most recent edition].A textbook on EU law. Students may find various textbooks in the Law School library. Nevertheless, we recommend that students buy the following textbook, which is excellent: Steve Peers & Catherine Barnard, European Union Law, 4th edition, Oxford: Oxford University.
Also recommended is P.J. Kuijper, F. Amtenbrink, D. Curtin, B. De Witte, A. McDonnell & S.C.G. Van den Bogaert (eds.), The Law of the European Union, Deventer: Wolters Kluwer 2018.
In addition, the following books will be useful: Christa Tobler & Jacques Beglinger, Essential EU Law in Charts and Text (2 volumes), 5th edition, Budapest: HVG-Orac 2020.
Specific required and optional reading will be indicated in the course reader to be found in the Law Faculty’s electronic learning environment.
**Disclaimer:
Currently these pages are being updated to reflect the courses for 2025 - 2026. Until these pages are fixed as per 1 September 2025 no rights can be claimed from the information which is currently contained within. Should there be any future extenuating circumstances which may impinge our teaching and assessment, these could necessitate modification of the course descriptions after 1 September. This will only happen in the event of strict necessity and the interests of the students will be taken into account. Should there be a need for any change during the course, this will be informed to all students on a timely basis. Modifications after 1 September 2025 may only be done with the approval and consent of the Faculty Board and Programme Director.