EUROPEAN COMPETITION LAW AND POLICY

Pre-requisites or Co-requisities: None

Aims and objectives

This course introduces students to the competition law and policy of the European Union. The background to the course is provided by:

• standard economic analyses of competition policy, which have been developed within the EU and elsewhere,
• the place of competition policy in the broader canvass of EU policies,
• and the role of the state in the market economy.

Competences and learning outcomes

Substantive

• general requirements for establishing a breach of Articles 85 and 86 EC;
• basic economic principles which can be applied to the application of Articles 85 and 86, including rule of reason, notions of efficiency, and market definition;
• appreciation of the Commission’s discretionary powers;
• role of the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance, including Article 230/232 actions and Article 234 references;
• framework of enforcement by the Commission;
• enforcement by private parties and role of national courts; possibilities of enforcement by national courts;
• awareness of breadth of powers under Regulation 17;
• structure of clearance and exemption under Article 81(1)/(3);
• situation of complainants;
• development of merger control, and conditions of control of mergers under Merger Control Regulation;
• general direction of Commission policy, e.g. vertical agreements, high technology areas such as telecommunications, de minimis doctrine, enforcement role of national authorities and the subsidiarity doctrine, and dealing with an excessive caseload.

• application of rules to given facts, bearing in mind the types of policy approach the Commission is likely to adopt;
• discursive and critical argument; reactions to the nature of Commission policy, to the role of the ECJ, and to the relationship of competition policy to the market integration project (in outline);
• critical analysis of decisions and judgments;
• ability to compare and contrast, as between the different areas of studied - i.e. multi-functional knowledge, not just in discrete packages.

The course is taught by seminars.

Detailed Syllabus

Topic One
General introduction to the course; what is competition law? principles of the legal regulation of the economy; the concept of ‘competition’; competition and free enterprise; workable competition; schools of economic analysis; courts, administrative authorities and competition law; competition law and policy in the European Union including the institutional dimension; competition law and the single market; competition law in a global economy; the control of public and private enterprises; merger control; the limits of public regulation of the economy; the control of state aids.

Topic Two: Article 81 EC
Prohibition of anti-competitive agreements under Article 81(1); exemption under Article 81(3). The idea of a ‘rule of reason’ and the shifting scope of Article 81.

Topic Three: Article 82 EC
Abuse of a dominant position under Article 82; concepts of collective dominance; difficulties of applying Article 82 to intellectual property cases.

Topic Four: Mergers
Evolution of EU merger control regime; the one stop shop; principles of control.

Topic Five: Selected topics on the enforcement of EC competition law
Investigations, decision-making and sanctions; limits on the investigative role of the Commission; complainants and complaints; role of national authorities and national courts.

 Assessment

1 x 3000 word essay.

Course Co-ordinator: Prof. J. Shaw

Inquiries can be made by to J.Shaw@Leeds.ac.uk

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