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EU Competition Law (LAWS90090)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
August
Lecturer
Professor Mel Marquis, Coordinator
Email: law-masters@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 8344 6190
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au
Overview
Availability(Quotas apply) | August |
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Fees | Look up fees |
European Union competition law is often emulated by other competition systems around the world and hence is a crucial area of study and practice for competition lawyers and enforcement officials beyond Europe. At the same time the ‘template’ nature of the EU system may obscure the degree to which thinkers, policy makers and decision makers at various levels in Europe embrace different and sometimes contradictory visions of the goals and functions of competition law - resulting in fractures and incoherence within the EU system. This subject will provide students with advanced in-depth insights into the origins and development of competition law in Europe, while challenging them to grapple with the theme of the ‘contestedness’, as manifest in the ‘reformation’ of EU competition law’s substantive and enforcement aspects, and in the ‘counter-reformation’ movement. Various processes of ‘modernisation’ will be studied, for example in relation to Article 101 and Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), in order to illustrate discontinuities of varying degree between legal doctrine and day-to-day practice, and between law and policy.
The teacher in this subject is one of Europe’s leading competition law scholars who has published extensively and taught around the world.
Principal topics include:
- Competition law in the context of the European integration process
- Intellectual origins of EU competition law
- The law on vertical restraints in a common law context
- The rise of alternative visions for EU competition law and for the European Commission
- Article 101 TFEU – reformation and counter-reformation
- The activation of EU competition law enforcement at the level of the Member States
- Article 102 TFEU – reformation and counter-reformation
- The Member States as ‘subjects’ of competition law
- Current trends in the law and enforcement of EU competition law: institutionalising contestedness.
Intended learning outcomes
A student who has successfully completed this subject will:
- Have an advanced and integrated understanding of the debates regarding the goals and functions of EU competition law; the historical reasons for those debates; and how the debates may shape policy and judicial choices as well as case outcomes
- Be able to articulate the EU law principles and criteria that apply in a variety of contexts relating to restrictive commercial agreements, concerted practices and unilateral conduct
- Be able to critically examine and analyse those principles and criteria from different perspectives, including, among others, a welfare perspective, a ‘competitive process’ perspective and an internal market perspective
- Have an advanced understanding of the EU’s multi-level enforcement system, its historical evolution and its current process of reform
- Have the cognitive and technical skills to develop critical and creative ideas in relation to particular problems that arise in different kinds of cases---including for example those where the effects of commercial conduct are efficiency-enhancing, and where a decision-maker may therefore have to go beyond a simple application of rules to facts
- Be able to clearly articulate and convey complex information regarding both those areas in which EU competition law exhibits coherence and those areas where underlying differences lead to inconsistencies in the law, such as for example in the context of Article 102 TFEU
- Be able to demonstrate an advanced understanding of the distinctive Treaty-based and judge-made disciplines under the law that constrain certain rent-creation and rent-seeking behaviour by, respectively, the EU Member States and commercial operators privileged by them
- Be able to demonstrate autonomy, expert judgment and responsibility as a practitioner and learner in the field of EU competition law
- Display an excellent understanding of the latest trends that are shaping the law and enforcement practice of competition law in Europe.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
Melbourne Law Masters Students: None
JD Students: Successful completion of the below subject:
Code | Name | Teaching period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
LAWS50063 | Competition Law |
Summer Term (On Campus - Parkville)
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Recommended background knowledge
Prior studies or work experience in the area of competition law will be helpful to students taking this subject.
Applicants without legal qualifications should note that subjects are offered in the discipline of law at an advanced graduate level. While every effort will be made to meet the needs of students trained in other fields, concessions will not be made in the general level of instruction or assessment. Most subjects assume the knowledge usually acquired in a degree in law (LLB, JD or equivalent). Applicants should note that admission to some subjects in the Melbourne Law Masters will be dependent upon the individual applicant’s educational background and professional experience.
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Assessment
Additional details
- Class participation (10%)
- Take-home examination (5,000 - 6,000 words) (90%) (22 - 25 September 2017)
or - 7,500 - 9,000 word research paper (90%) (8 November 2017) on a topic approved by the subject coordinator
A minimum of 75% attendance is a hurdle requirement.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Quotas apply to this subject
Dates & times
- August
Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours 24-26 hours Total time commitment 150 hours Pre teaching start date 12 July 2017 Teaching period 9 August 2017 to 15 August 2017 Last self-enrol date 30 June 2017 Census date 9 August 2017 Last date to withdraw without fail 22 September 2017 Assessment period ends 8 November 2017 August contact information
Lecturer
Professor Mel Marquis, Coordinator
Email: law-masters@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 8344 6190
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au
Time commitment details
136-150 hours The pre-teaching period commences four weeks before the subject commencement date. From this time, students are expected to access and review the Reading Guide that will be available from the LMS subject page and the subject materials provided by the subject coordinator, which will be available from Melbourne Law School. Refer to the Reading Guide for confirmation of which resources need to be read and what other preparation is required before the teaching period commences.
Additional delivery details
This subject has a quota of 30 students. Please refer to the Melbourne Law Masters website for further information about the management of subject quotas and waitlists.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Specialist printed materials will be made available free of charge from the Melbourne Law School prior to the pre-teaching period.
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
Type Name Course Graduate Diploma in Competition and Consumer Law Course Graduate Diploma in Legal Studies Course Juris Doctor Course Master of Commercial Law Course Master of Competition and Consumer Law Course Master of Laws - Links to additional information
law.unimelb.edu.au
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
Additional information for this subject
If required, please contact law-admissions@unimelb.edu.au for subject coordinator approval.
Last updated: 3 November 2022