Insegnamento a.a. 2022-2023

General principles  and basic concepts:

• A brief history of competition law
• The goals of EU competition law.
• Competition law and economics.
• The EU enforcing system. Private and Public enforcement.
• The EU remedies against anticompetitive business practices.
• Market power and market definition.

 Specific business practices:

• Agreements.
• Abuses of a dominant position.
• Mergers.

At the end of the course student will be able to...

Students are required to:

• Identify the goals of competition law and distinguish them from those characterizing other pieces of business regulations.
• Understand the role that economics plays in competition law.
• Know the EU enforcing system.
• Know the remedies that in the EU can be applied against anticompetitive practices.
• Use the notion of market power and the rules about agreements, abuses of a dominant position, and mergers to develop the reasoning necessary to assess different market scenarios.
• Understand the limits of antitrust and its relationship with our public policies (industrial policy, unfair trade practices, consumer law, protection of national interests, etc.)

At the end of the course student will be able to...

• Understand the various goals of competition law and policy and their implication for enforcement.
• Identify the possible antitrust risks inherent to different market scenarios.
• Solve hypothetical cases concerning the lawfulness of, and risks connected to different business practices.
• Suggest methods of self-evaluation of business activities to avoid or limit the risk of subsequent antitrust liability.
• Discuss, analyze e design possible solutions to competition law mock cases.
• Prepare concise presentations in which the bulk of a decision/judgment is highlighted and explained in simple terms.
• Prepare short written memos or essays on the antitrust viability of some business practices and/or on the different reasons why a certain behaviour or transaction should be considered an infringement from a competition law perspective.
• communicate with appropriate legal (antitrust) vocabulary.

• Face-to-face lectures
• Online lectures
• Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
• Case studies /Incidents (traditional, online)
• Group assignments
• Interactive class activities (role playing, business game, simulation, online forum, instant polls)

• The course hosts one or more guest speakers, such as antitrust lawyers, economists, and officials, to explain general antitrust consulting and enforcement activities. Furthermore, if possible given the actual pandemic, we will host young scholars that will discuss with you some of the European antitrust leading cases/judgments
• Case studies and real decisions/judgments are assigned to groups of students, discussed with the instructors, and eventually presented and analyzed in class to teach students how to assess market scenarios. 
• Some groups of students will be requested to write short essays in form of memos, briefs, etc., highlighting the pros and cons (and/or the main strengths and weaknesses) of some business practices and/or behavior from a competition law perspective.
• At the end of each of the course’s main sections (agreements, monopolistic practices, and mergers), the instructors will prepare a mock exam showing how to solve both theoretical and scenario questions.
• Despite the current pandemic, committed and proactive attendance is highly encouraged.
• For those who are not able/willing to attend class, we will organize a couple of specific "in distance office hours and course reviews".

ATTENDING AND NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS

The exam is written and is a closed-book exam. Students can bring the relevant antitrust laws and regulations (I publish more information on the Bboard).

• The written final exam consists of 2 scenario questions and some multiple-choice questions. Scenario questions have the aim of examining the ability to address and set up the solution to a hypothetical case (for instance by identifying a possible line of defense in an antitrust investigation); theoretical questions aims to reveal the understanding of complex legal concepts and issues, as well as demonstrating how they are actually applied and interpreted by antitrust authorities or in the case law. Multiple-choice questions (each correct answer is worth one point; no penalization for wrong answers) aim at assessing the general understanding of competition law and policy.
• Students that successfully presented in class the main issues and core of a decision/judgment and students that participated in the writing and presentation of short essays on scenario questions can skip the multiple-choice section.

Powerpoint presentations that are available on the Bboard (compulsory).

Main legal provisions that are available on the Bboard (compulsory)

Materials/papers/presentations/mock questions/resumes of decisions on the Bboard

R. WHISH, D. BAILEY, Competition Law, tenth edition, Oxford Un. Press, 2021 (recommended); N.B.: the book is a complete guide to EU antitrust law (and also, UK competition Law) a sort of safety net, useful if you want to deepen or better understand our slides, and for the preparation of class presentations and short essays.

if you need something shorter, this is a good alternative:

J.W. VAN DE GRONDEN, C.S. RUSU, Competition Law in the EU, Elgar, 2021.