| Unit name | Competition Law of the European Union |
|---|---|
| Unit code | LAWDM0009 |
| Credit points | 30 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Sufrin |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | University of Bristol Law School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
This unit provides an overall view of EC competition law and policy. The unit aims to be practical as well as theoretical, so that students understand how EC competition law applies to common business practices and transactions and how it affects the conduct of firms and the agreements and arrangements into which they enter. The unit covers the objectives and economics of competition law; agreements between undertakings; control of firms with market power; concerted practices and oligopolies; and merger control; and extra-territoriality and globalisation.
By the end of the unit a successful student will be able to explain:
a)the economic and theoretical ideas which underlie competition laws and the role of competition laws in the globalised economy;
b) competing theories as to the objectives of EU competition law;
c) the application of EU competition law to common business practices;
d) the effect of EU competition law on the conduct of firms and the agreements and arrangements into which they enter; and
e) how competition law is enforced in the EU by the European Commission and the national competition authorities of the Member States.
In relation to (c) and (d) they should be able to explain: the interpretation and application of Article 101 (in particular its application to vertical agreements and to cartels) and of Article 102 (in particular the meaning of ‘dominant position’ and the application of Article 102 to the pricing policies of dominant firms, refusals to supply, and other exclusionary abuses), and the procedure and criteria by which mergers with a Community dimension may or may not be allowed to proceed. In relation to (e) they should be able to explain the content and significance of Regulation 1/2003, the main stages of the Commission's procedure, including the use of the leniency policy in respect of cartels, and the way in which Commission decisions may be reviewed by the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Students should be able to extrapolate their knowledge: a) to specific areas of EU competition law not covered in detail by the unit; b) to understanding systems of competition law in jurisdictions outside the EU.
By the end of the unit students should be able to understand the economic and legal concepts used in EU competition law, state the law accurately insofar as it is clear, and explain the problems and controversies where it is not. They should be able to apply legal principles to problem case scenarios, and to think critically about the law and about how it could be improved and/or clarified.
Students should have become familiar with using the website of the Competition Directorate General of the European Commission and finding and reading the relevant case law of the Court of Justice and the General Court.
Eleven two-hour seminars.
One three hour examination in May/June in which students answer three questions out of a choice of 9 or 10. The question include both essays and problem questions.
Jones & Sufrin, EU Competition Law: Text, Cases and Materials (4th edn, Oxford University Press, 2011); Middleton, Blackstone’s UK and EU Competition Law Documents (7th edn, Oxford University Press, 2011); Whish, Competition Law (7th edn, Oxford University Press, 2012)
