Internal Market / Free Movement
Freedom of movement is the basic pillar of the single economic area the EU has been building since its inception. The EU's treaty provisions, secondary legislation and court decisions, recognise four fundamental freedoms protecting the ability of goods, services, capital and persons to move freely within the internal market of the EU.
Directives on free movement have consistently thrown up major EU constitutional and intra state actions. Our practitioners have been involved in many of the leading cases in this field. Early examples include the groundbreaking Factortame and Sunday Trading litigation. More recently, the breadth of application of free movement arguments has been shown in cases with subject matter as diverse as tax avoidance legislation, the transfer of human sperm and the fox-hunting ban in England and Wales.
We have experience in a wide variety of sectors, including shipping, healthcare, taxation, immigration, broadcasting and media.
Recent cases of note include:
- Viking Lines v International Transport Workers Federation (ECJ)
- Thin Cap Group Litigation v Commissioners of Inland Revenue (Ch Div, ECJ)
- Glaxo v Dowelhurst (ECJ and Court of Appeal)
- R (Derwin) v Attorney General (Div Ct, Court of Appeal, House of Lords)
