Undergraduate Course: Contemporary issues in Competition Law and the Single Market (LAWS10150)
Course Outline
| School | School of Law |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The course examines three selected issues arising from the interplay between the rules on competition, contained in Articles 101 and 102 TFEU, and the principles governing the single market, especially the freedom of movement of goods and services. It will include:
- From the notion of restriction of freedom to trade to the concept of restriction of competition: the evolution in the approaches to the interpretation of Article 101 TFEU in light of the evolution of the single market;
- Parallel trade restrictions under the single market principles and under the EU competition rules;
- Intellectual property rights and the EU Treaties: from patent exhaustion to ¿abusive¿ refusals to license¿reconciling effective competition, free movement of ¿valuable¿ inventions and the genuine incentive to invest and innovate.
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| Course description |
Indicative teaching programme
Theme area 1: - The notion of ¿freedom to trade¿ in the context of the EU Founding Treaties: early cases; - From ¿restriction on the freedom to trade¿ to ¿restriction of competition¿: the earlier case law in the context of the ¿old¿ Article 81 TEC; distinction between restriction ¿by object¿ and restriction ¿by effect¿;- Toward a more ¿economics based¿ approach to ¿restriction of competition¿: from the concept of ¿legal and economic context¿ to the ¿counterfactual analysis¿.
Theme area 2: - Export bans as very serious infringements of EU competition law: in the early cases; - Selective distribution and restrictions on parallel imports; - Toward a justification for blocking unofficial exports? The pharmaceutical cases in the Commission practice and EU Courts case law.
Theme area 3: - Intellectual property and the free market: the doctrine of ¿Community patent exhaustion¿; - competition law and intellectual property licensing: earlier cases; - from ¿genuine exercise¿ of IP rights to abusive refusals to license: the interplay between effective protection of intellectual property and the application of Articl 102 TFEU to unilateral behaviour; - protecting competition or protecting competitors? Intellectual property, competition law and innovative industries.
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Previous knowledge of EU law |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2017/18, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 19 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
The course will be assessed via a piece of take-home assessment which will account for 75% of the mark (4000 words). The remaining 25% will be assessed by 1) the submission of a critical review of a recent judgment of the EU Courts, in advance of the seminar in which this case will be discussed (20%, 1500 words); and 2) the submission of a rejoinder piece (500 words) reflecting on the outcomes of the seminar discussion and its impact on the piece already submitted (5%); this item of assessment must be submitted within a week of the seminar in which the discussion takes place.
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| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- 1. Knowledge and Sources of Law:
- Building on knowledge acquired in the course of Ordinary studies of EU law, explore the relation between competition law and the rules governing the common market, both in general and in respect to specific issues.
- Acquire a critical understanding of the implications arising from the application of the competition rules to economic behaviour and commercial practices affecting also the free movement of goods and services and, in particular, drawing from both scholarly debate and the dynamics of European integration;
- Identify the ebb and flow of the development of key concepts leading the application of the competition rules in these areas, e.g. the notion of ¿restriction of competition¿ and the doctrine of ¿patent exhaustion¿ for the purpose of the effective application of the rules on free movement;
- Critique the possible implications arising from the parallel application of these two apparently distinct, yet at the same time closely connected, branches of EU law for technical advancement and effective, consumer welfare-led competition. - - Subject-specific Skills:
- Analyse and critique key judgments of the Court of Justice of the EU in the area;
- Assess the legal and economic consequences, as well as the policy implications, arising from the application of Articles 101/102 to specific cases,;
- Identify and critically examine the connections between competition law and the general principles governing the single market, in light of both present trends and historical developments.
- Construe legal arguments and suggests solutions to practical competition problems; - 3. General Transferable Intellectual Skills:
- An ability to analyse and critique primary and secondary sources of law and to communicate effectively these outcomes;
- An ability to develop coherent legal arguments, to suggest solutions to theoretical questions or practical problems;
- The ability to produce independent written work showing critical understanding of the subject matter and critical engagement with existing debates;
- Building on the existing knowledge and skills acquired in the course of Ordinary studies, the ability to retrieve, assess the relevance of and to synthesise material coming from disparate sources. - 4. Key Personal Skills:
- Identify and analyse complex problems and issues;
- offer insights, interpretations and solutions to proposed problems or question;
-engage creatively in debate with others and cooperate toward the formulation of common solutions and outcomes on the basis of both individual knowledge and collective discussion. - 5. Subject-specific Legal and Ethical Values:
- ability to exercise independent judgment and operate in relative autonomy for the purpose of seminar preparation and production of written work;
- ability to identify key issues of social responsibility of enterprises vis-à-vis society in the markets they operate in and to articulate legal standards, on the basis of judgments and policy documents, destined to resolve these issues.
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Reading List
Jones and Sufrin, EU Competition Law: text, cases and materials: OUP.
Whish & Bailey, Competition Law: OUP.
Ezrachi, EC Competition Law: an analytical guide to the leading cases: Hart.
Middleton, MacCulloch, Rodger and Galloway, Cases and Materials on UK and EC Competition Law: OUP.
Marco Colino, Competition Law of the EC and UK: OUP.
Graham, EU and UK Competition Law: Pearson. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Contemp Competition |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Arianna Andreangeli
Tel: (0131 6)50 2008
Email: |
Course secretary | Ms Krystal Hanley
Tel: (0131 6)50 2056
Email: |
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