I.0 Introduction to Part I

33. The body of legislation by which the European Union confers rights and imposes obligations upon private parties and through which it interferes in horizontal legal relationships is ever-increasing. A large part of such legislation does not provide for specific remedies in case the rights stemming from Union law are infringed. Therefore, Member States, and especially national courts, have to provide for effective judicial protection of these rights by determining remedies for infringements of Union law in horizontal legal relationships on the basis of national law.1 By this course of events, domestic law is of pivotal importance for the effectiveness and effective judicial protection of Union law. Part I is dedicated to this synergy of Union law and domestic private law.

In the next three chapters a selection of seminal judgments of the Court of Justice is analysed. The aim of the case studies is twofold: First, to illustrate the various horizontal effects of instruments and rules of Union law in horizontal legal relationships, and second, to illustrate how national courts (can) determine, on the basis of national law, the consequences of a particular infringement of Union law for the horizontal relationship in question. The case studies give insight into the dual character of the effective judicial protection of private parties confronted with an infringement of Union law in the context of a horizontal legal relationship. To add to the second aim, for each case discussed the possible remedies under Dutch patrimonial law in general are discussed too.

34. The selection of cases is based upon several enumerative selection criteria, namely: (i) the innovative character of the ruling of the Court of Justice, (ii) the availability of national rulings delivered after the preliminary procedure, (iii) the language in which those rulings are available, (iv) the (practical) relevance of the judgments of the Court of Justice and the national courts and, lastly, (v) the ruling’s originality – i.e. the extent to which the ruling contributes to demonstrating, in relation to the other rulings selected, the variety of instruments and horizontal effects by which Union law interferes in horizontal legal relationships. Further, this selection of cases reflects the role of Union law for both contractual and non-contractual legal relationships between private parties. As a result, both contractual and non-contractual remedies are discussed. This contributes to generating the bigger picture of the varied effects of Union law and remedies for infringements of Union law in horizontal legal relationships.2

35. The Part is set up as follows: on the basis of Angonese and Laval Chapter 3 deals with restrictions of the free movement of workers and the freedom to provide services in horizontal legal relationships. Taking Mangold, Kücükdeveci, AMS and Dansk Industri as a point of departure, Chapter 4 focuses on the effect of general principles and Charter provisions in horizontal legal relationships. Lastly, on the basis of Dominguez and Test-Achats, Chapter 5 highlights the various ways in which directives have an impact on horizontal legal relationships in which a subjective right conferred by the directive has been infringed.