Please note: there may be some adjustments to the teaching arrangements published in the course catalogue for 2020-21. Given current circumstances related to the Covid-19 pandemic it is anticipated that some usual arrangements for teaching on campus will be modified to ensure the safety and wellbeing of students and staff on campus; further adjustments may also be necessary, or beneficial, during the course of the academic year as national requirements relating to management of the pandemic are revised.

Competition Law (Semester 2) LAW4138

  • Academic Session: 2022-23
  • School: School of Law
  • Credits: 20
  • Level: Level 4 (SCQF level 10)
  • Typically Offered: Semester 2
  • Available to Visiting Students: Yes
  • Available to Erasmus Students: Yes

Short Description

This course will examine some key aspects of the European Union and United Kingdom rules on competition, a comprehensive and long- established yet dynamic and ever developing area of law.

Timetable

The course is taught by means of seminars. The class meets in the majority of weeks at 9-11am on Wednesdays

Requirements of Entry

NONE

Excluded Courses

Competition Law (Year long)

Co-requisites

NONE

Assessment

The summative assessment will be an examination taken under normal exam conditions, with the candidate required to answer one question which will have been given to the candidate at least 10 days before the examination. The candidate will not be permitted to take notes into the exam.

Main Assessment In: April/May

Are reassessment opportunities available for all summative assessments? Not applicable for Honours courses

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. For non-Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

Course Aims

This course aims to provide students with an understanding of key elements of the competition law and policy of the EU and the UK. The course examines the main competition law provisions which deal with market dominance, agreements to restrict competition and mergers. It looks at how these areas of law are implemented and enforced in a political and economic context. Students will develop their communication skills, both oral and written through this course. Group work during seminars is encouraged. The overriding aim of the course is to develop the student's capacity for critical and analytical thought.

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

By the end of this course students will be able to: demonstrate an ability to define key concepts of competition law and policy. They should possess a knowledge of key substantive rules of EU and UK competition law contained in the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU and subsequent secondary as well as the UK rules contained in the Competition Act 1998 and the Enterprise Act 2002. They should also possess knowledge of elements of procedural rules relating to the operation of competition policy within the European Union and in the UK. They should have an ability to analyse decisions of the Commission and the ECJ from the stand-point of their relationship to other competition cases, and the goals of competition policy. They should be able to demonstrate an ability to apply their knowledge to hypothetical problems in competition law, and an ability to define and explain problems which have arisen in the course of the development of EU and UK competition law, an ability to produce informed and independent criticism of the judgements of the competition authorities and courts in the area of competition law, and an understanding of the use of economic concepts underlying competition law and theory by the Competition authorities and courts.

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.