Jurisdiction(s):
European Union

Key definition

Law definition

What does Law mean? In legal practice, Law describes the body of binding rules governing parties’ rights and obligations in the relevant jurisdiction(s). It is not a single statutory or case-law definition; in contracts it is a descriptive catch‑all used to capture all sources of applicable law. Law includes: (a) any primary or secondary legislation (including regulations, statutory instruments and byelaws) in force from time to time that applies to a party or to the place the Services are provided; (b) the common law and, where applicable, equity; (c) any binding court order, judgment or decree; (d) any applicable industry code,

EU Law for Trainee Solicitors: Institutions, Competences, Sources, Principles, Enforcement, Remedies and the Single Market

Published by a LexisNexis EU Law expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note offers a primer on EU Law. It is written for lawyers who are new to, or lack familiarity with, EU law, especially trainee solicitors. It outlines the institutions, the institutional architecture, core principles, and mechanisms for enforcing EU law, with signposts to the pertinent provisions in EU legal sources. The focus of this Practice Note is to deliver a high-level overview of EU law. Detailed treatment of substantive areas of EU law falls outside the scope of this document. For a summary of the EU Law module, see Practice Note: EU Law-new starter guide.

EU institutional framework

The EU is a supranational polity. It is not a state, nor a federation like the United States, nor merely an intergovernmental forum such as the United Nations. It is truly distinctive. Its design fits no classical legal category and its effectiveness stems from the unconventional manner in which it operates. The states forming the EU, its ‘Member States’, remain sovereign and independent, yet they pool sovereignty to secure a collective strength and global influence they could not achieve alone. The EU possesses an institutional framework dedicated to protecting its values, aims, and interests, in EU legal sources and institutions...

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Web page updated on 27/05/2026

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