ABSTRACT
This chapter is dedicated to the development of the policy and the legislation and case-law on passenger rights in the framework of the European Union. It is divided into four parts. First, the legal system of the EU is introduced with a particular emphasis on the fact that the EU legal system is not independent, but it has to be understood, interpreted, and applied in the light of the interdependency of EU law and the relevant national law of member countries and also international law. The competence of the EU in the field of transport is shared with the member states. The second part deals with the primary law of the EU as the legal framework. The freedom to provide services in the field of transport is governed by the special provisions of Part Three, Title VI of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union relating to transport. A number of activities have been carried out to improve these basic rules. Passenger rights legislation has long been underestimated. The transport policy of the EU is presented in the third part. Several programmatic documents of the EU institutions have been adopted; they have no legal value outside the EU institutions, but they may have an influence on the activities of other EU institutions to follow them in a legally binding form. Finally, the fourth part presents an overview of the EU secondary legislation on passenger transport. Some common legal issues are underlined concerning the application or interpretation of EU law. The problems of coexistence of EU rules with the rules of international law and those of the national legal system are analysed, mostly referring to the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
