Week 31: Competition Law and Policy

The objective of this course is to set out the foundations of competition law and policy in the EU and US and also in developing countries. Indeed, the recent years have seen a consistent spreading of competition laws all over the world. This examination is done through the analysis of the objectives pursued by competition laws and of the economic and legal technical issues coming out from the main legal provisions. A special attention will be paid to the regulation of anti-competitive agreements and abuses of dominance. The topics of the enforcement of antitrust laws, the control of mergers and State aid will aso be considered. Two case-studies – one each day - will be used to test crucial issues faced in any antitrust system. The second part of the course focuses on the relationship between competition policy and international trade rules. It includes a detailed discussion of the ways in which effective national competition policies complement and reinforce the multilateral trading system, in addition to those in which competition policy concerns and objectives are already (partially) embedded in the WTO Agreements. The significance of competition policy chapters in numerous recent regional trade agreements (RTAs) will also be noted. This part of the course concludes with a review of the debate on possibilities for more explicit and systematic incorporation of competition policy tools and approaches in the multilateral trading system, and of possibilities for the future.