Wouters v Algemene Raad van de Nederlandse Orde van Advocaten

Wouters v Algemene Raad van de Nederlandse Orde van Advocaten (2002) C-309/99 is an important decision of the European Court of Justice concerning competition law and the freedom of establishment. In both of these areas, the ECJ held that restrictions could be justified on the grounds of legitimate public policy, in this case ensuring the impartiality of the legal profession, if the measures taken were both necessary and proportionate (and in the case of restrictions on competition, purely ancillary) to that objective.