Snapshot
Build a legal-rule map before memorising terminology: authority, actor, procedure, effect and limits.
Six rule families
| Family | Core distinction | Translation risk |
|---|---|---|
| Competences | Conferral defines Union powers; subsidiarity and proportionality constrain their exercise | Turning a conditional power into a general power |
| Legal acts | A regulation is directly applicable; a directive binds its addressed Member States as to the result | Treating every directive provision as automatically enforceable against private parties |
| Institutions | The European Council gives political direction; the Council of the EU participates in legislation | Translating both bodies with one name |
| Judicial remedies | Interpretation, validity review, annulment and infringement have different objects | Replacing a procedural dismissal with a merits finding |
| Fundamental rights | Charter applicability requires a link to EU law; proportionality analysis has distinct steps | Treating every national dispute as a Charter case |
| Internal market | Free movement and competition rules have conditions, exceptions and separate tests | Replacing a restriction test with a categorical ban |
Rule-card method
For each rule, record the provision, scope, trigger, consequence, exception and official language equivalents. Example: Article 288 TFEU distinguishes regulations, directives, decisions, recommendations and opinions. A recommendation's lack of binding force does not make it a regulation that is merely difficult to enforce.
For a preliminary reference, distinguish interpretation of Union law from deciding the national dispute. Check current jurisdictional rules before assuming that every reference is handled by the same Court. Translation must preserve the question, the reasoning and the operative answer separately.