Postgraduate Course: Fundamentals of EU Competition Law 2 (LAWS11528)
Course Outline
| School | School of Law |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
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. |
| Course description |
Indicative Teaching Syllabus:
- Introduction to the course: 'freedom of trade', economic freedom and freedom to conduct a business in EU law
- Restriction of competition in the case law of the CJEU; from the 1960s to the European SuperLeague case
- Protecting the value of investment in competitive markets: media rights
- E-commerce, brand recognition and trademarks: AdWords, search engine and the integrity of brands
- IP licensing and competition law: a complex interaction; the example of the pharmaceutical industries
- Article 102 TFEU and the new European Commission's guidelines
- E-commerce and competition law: platform markets and price parity clauses
- New approaches to the regulation of digital markets: the Digital Markets Act and ex-ante rules;
- Algorithms and Artificial Intelligence in digital markets: the debate on algorithmic collusion
Please note that classes for this course will be jointly taught with Honours level students. Although students at both levels will study the same course materials, assessments will be graded according to the relevant benchmark appropriate to the level of study.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2025/26, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 10 |
| 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 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
A 5,000 word assignment (100%), due after the end of semester 2, in line with the applicable assessment deadlines. |
| Feedback |
Feedback on the formative assessment may be provided in various formats, for example, to include written, oral, video, face-to-face, whole class, or individual. The course organiser will decide which format is most appropriate in relation to the nature of the assessment.
Feedback on both formative and summative in-course assessed work will be provided in time to be of use in subsequent assessments within the course.
Feedback on the summative assessment will be provided in written form via Learn, the University of Edinburgh's Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Identify and discuss questions concerning the interaction between freedom to trade, genuine competition and the realisation of a single market;
- Appreciate the changing approaches to competition law in the case law of the CJEU¿especially the ¿more economic approach¿;
- Examine issues arising from the interplay between competition, open markets and the protection of investment
- Discuss questions of competition and access to digital markets and appreciate the changing nature of regulation in this area;
- Consider the impact of autonomous technologies on markets.
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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 | Contemporary Competition |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Arianna Andreangeli
Tel: (0131 6)50 2008
Email: a.andreangeli@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Susanna Wickes
Tel:
Email: Susanna.Wickes@ed.ac.uk |
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