This study explores the place of the principle of private (economic) autonomy in the European internal market. Indeed, it goes further to explore the parameters of its protection within both its legal and regulatory framework. Looking at the coexistence of and interaction between varying manifestations of private autonomy, it offers the first truly comprehensive review of the protection of private autonomy at the normative core of the internal market. In addition to plotting a systematic approach to the question, it introduces a new framework to apply to those still unresolved areas within the internal market normative framework such as free moment rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Ambitious and innovative, this important new study offers a fresh perspective on the normative framework of the internal market.