The central aim of this module is to develop a deep student understanding of competition law and its enforcement in the UK and the EU. This will prepare students for tackling some of the key contemporary problems facing business enterprises. The law and economics approach followed in this module will help prepare students to approach complex problems from a multidisciplinary perspective in a business environment.

(LO1) Students will be able to demonstrate knowledge about the key objectives, functions and operation of competition rules including the basic economic incentives and philosophies behind these rules.

(LO2) Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of common methods through which economic operators restrict competition.

(LO3) Students will be able to critically analyse how competition law can detect and deter the abovementioned practices.

(LO4) Students will be able to develop a critical understanding of the benefits and risks of using economic concepts and models in the field of competition law.

(LO5) Students will be able to identify conflicts and trade-offs between different public interest objectives in the enforcement of competition and intellectual property rules.

(S1) Communication (oral and written) skills – students will be encouraged to actively participate in the group discussion in seminars. This will help them develop oral communication skills. In the final assessment students will be asked to write a critical essay on a challenging question. This will help students develop written communication skills.

(S2) Academic writing (including referencing) skills – students will develop this specific communication skill through writing the coursework.

(S3) Research skills – students will be asked to do independent research to engage with literature and other resources not directly recommended in the reading lists to prepare for the seminars and to write the coursework. This will help them develop independent research skills.

(S4) Improving own learning, performance and reflective practice – for each seminar students will be provided with a set of questions which they will prepare answers for before the seminar. In the seminar, through group discussion they will find out whether their answer was correct. This will help them develop skills to reflect on their own understanding of how the law in question applies to specific problems.

(S5) Critical thinking and problem solving - Critical analysis skills – students will be provided with materials and questions that will not only inform them about the operation of competition laws but also about the key paradoxes and inefficiencies in the operation of these rules. As a result, students will develop skills to not take the law in face value and to think about it critically.

(S6) Global citizenship - Relevant economic/political understanding – by engaging with some of the key economic and political problems facing markets (such as market concentration and the economic and political power that come with it) students will be able to develop an understanding about the operation of global capitalism and some of its key problems.

(S7) Commercial awareness - Relevant understanding of organisations – By engaging with the incentive structures behind the violations of competition rules, students will develop an understanding of some of the key operational dynamics of business enterprises.

The syllabus is indicative only and it may change depending on the priorities and expertise of staff members teaching in this module in one particular year as well as recent developments in competition law. Subjects taught in this module will include the following:
• Schools of competition, aims of competition law and different competition models
• The structure of competition law and basic concepts
• Anticompetitive agreements, vertical and horizontal agreements, block and individual exemptions
• Abuse of a dominant position
• Mergers and acquisitions, oligopoly and tacit collusion
• The relationship between competition law and intellectual property law
• Public enforcement of competition rules by competition authorities
• Private enforcement of competition rules through damages actions
• International aspects of competition law

Teaching Method 1: Seminars

Scheduled Directed Student Hours: 11 x 2 hours (22 hours)

Description: Interactive seminars based on a reading and question list communicated to students before the seminar in light of the module syllabus

Attendance Recorded: Yes

Self-Directed Learning Hours: 180 hours

Description: This includes self-study for the seminars as well as independent research for and writing of the final assessment.