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Global Issues in Competition Policy - LAWS7003
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Faculty: Faculty of Law
 
 
School:  Faculty of Law
 
 
Course Outline: See below
 
 
Campus: Kensington Campus
 
 
Career: Postgraduate
 
 
Units of Credit: 8
 
 
EFTSL: 0.16667 (more info)
 
 
Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 0
 
 
Fee Band: 3 (more info)
 
 
Further Information: See Class Timetable
 
 

Description

This course provides a comparative overview of the principles of competition (antitrust) law in Australia, New Zealand, the United States and the European Union. It focuses on the role that competition plays in society and the ways in which courts and regulatory agencies such as the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC), the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice and the European Commission have applied competition rules. Whereas international trade policy largely addresses protectionist conduct on the part of states, competition policy analyses anticompetitive behaviour engaged in by companies and other business entities. Substantive legal issues covered in the course include the mechanisms for regulating monopolistic conduct, cartels and horizontal restraints among competitors, vertical restraints between business entities, both upstream (eg. manufacturers) and downstream (eg. retailers). While the interface between intellectual property protection and competition law receives detailed attention, the course does not cover price control provisions or industry specific regulations developed for the electricity, telecommunications or other industries. It will be assumed for the purposes of this course that students have had no prior exposure to competition law.


LLM Specialisations

Corporate and Commercial Law; Corporate, Commercial and Taxation Law; Media, Communications and Information Technology Law; International Business and Economic Law.

Recommended Prior Knowledge

None

Course Objectives

A candidate who has successfully completed this course should be able to:
  • Appreciate the similarities and differences between national competition systems
  • Understand the fundamental elements of competition rules and competition policy analysis in the jurisdictions selected
  • Engage with the current issues of principle and policy underlying the increasingly trans-national application of competition law and the international regulation of competition

Main Topics

  • Convergence and divergence in the treatment of the concepts of: market definition; market power; barriers to entry
  • The interaction of competition, efficiency and consumer welfare
  • The interface between intellectual property protection and competition
  • Differing approaches to: refusals to deal or license; recoupment of losses by alleged price predators; the problem of collusion and co-ordination; rules of reason versus per se rules and the tension between fairness and certainty

Assessment

Workshop participation Preparation and engagement in class 30%
Exam Take home exam 70%
 

Course Texts

Prescribed
A selection of cross jurisdictional reading materials will be made available on enrolment.
There are no textbooks that cover all the course.

Recommended
A selection of cross jurisdictional reading materials will be made available on enrolment.
There are no textbooks that cover all the course.

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© The University of New South Wales (CRICOS Provider No.: 00098G), 2004-2011. The information contained in this Handbook is indicative only. While every effort is made to keep this information up-to-date, the University reserves the right to discontinue or vary arrangements, programs and courses at any time without notice and at its discretion. While the University will try to avoid or minimise any inconvenience, changes may also be made to programs, courses and staff after enrolment. The University may also set limits on the number of students in a course.