Competition and Antitrust Law

Module title	Competition and Antitrust Law
Module code	LAWM133
Academic year	2019/0
Credits	15
Module staff	(Convenor)

Duration: Term	1	2	3
Duration: Weeks	2

Number students taking module (anticipated)	20

Module description

Competition law is an extremely complex area of law in constant evolution, and whose underpinning principles cross paths with economic and market theories. Its pervasive effects embrace every aspect of the market economy. Most industrialised countries and many developing countries have some body of more or less coherent competition laws.Generally, these take the form of laws which seek to control forms of co-operation between competitors, abuses of dominant positions, and mergers and acquisitions.

This module is designed to introduce and develop the main principles of competition law. It will mainly focus on EU competition law but also comparatively describe the main systems of competition enforcement that apply in several important jurisdictions around the world, particularly the United Sates. You are invited to focus on the rationale behind the adoption of regimes based on « free » competition and the interplay between competition law and economics.

Please note that this module is only available to those studying on the Contemporary Legal Studies in Bangkok programme.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The aim of this module is to provide the attendees with a solid knowledge of the legal underpinning principles of EU and US competition laws, with the view of solving practical problems in this area of law.

The Course will focus on the following issues:

- Legal function of Competition Laws and the interplay with the market economy;

- Art. 101 Treaty of Lisbon and The US Sherman Act §1 : the control of cartels;

- Art 102 Treaty of Lisbon and The US Sherman Act §2 : abuses of dominant position;

- European Merger Control Regulation 139/2004 and The US Clayton Act §7: the regulation of mergers and acquisitions

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

1. apply knowledge, understanding and problem-solving abilities to issues of competition law
2. explain and evaluate the rationale behind the adoption of regimes designed to protect competition
3. analyse the interplay between competition law and economics

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

4. Select, integrate and present coherently and reflectively, relevant law and legal/theoretical arguments
5. Integrate and assess information from a wide variety of primary and secondary legal sources, using this to produce reasoned arguments and analysis in relation to legal issues.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

6. Effectively, confidently and autonomously manage relevant learning resources/ information/ learning strategies and to develop own reasoned arguments and opinion
7. communicate and engage in debate effectively and accurately, in writing, in a manner appropriate to the discipline and context.

Syllabus plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

Legal function of Competition Laws and the interplay with the market economy;
Art. 101 Treaty of Lisbon and The US Sherman Act §1 : the control of cartels;
Art 102 Treaty of Lisbon and The US Sherman Act §2 : abuses of dominant position;
European Merger Control Regulation 139/2004 and The US Clayton Act §7: the regulation of mergers and acquisitions

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
40	110	0

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning & Teaching Activities	40	10 x 4hr Seminar style interactive teaching
Guided independent study	40	Preparation of seminars
Guided independent study	20	Preparation and delivery of formative assignment
Guided independent study	50	Preparation and writing of summative assignment

Formative assessment

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Seminar presentations	20 minutes	1-7	oral

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
100	0	0

Details of summative assessment

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
A problem based essay	100	5,000 words	1-7	Written feedback

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
A problem based essay	A problem based essay (5000 words)	1-7	December

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Basic reading:

Ad hoc written material by Professor Andrea Lista will be disseminated among attendees of the Course. In addition to that:

R. Whish & D. Bailey, Competition law, (7th ed. OUP, 2012)

A. Jones & B. Sufrin, EU Competition law, (5th ed. OUP, 2014);

A. Ezrachi, EU Competition Law, An Analytical Guide to the Leading Cases (3rd ed, Hart 2012)

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

Web based and electronic resources: See in particular the Web pages of the European Commission on:

http://ec.europa.eu/competition/index_en.html

Case law of the European Court of Justice available at: http://curia.eu

Key words search

Competition Law/ Antitrust Law, Cartels, Abuse of dominant position.

Credit value	15
Module ECTS	7.5
Module pre-requisites	Module only available to students on the following programmes: Contemporary Legal Studies in Bangkok.
Module co-requisites	None
NQF level (module)	7
Available as distance learning?	No
Origin date	03/07/2019
Last revision date	28/08/2019