UiB : Juridisk Fakultet : Reglementer : Studieplan for mastergradsstudiet

JUS356 - Competition Law - 30 ects points

Litteraturlisten endret av SU i møte 18.01.06, hjelpemiddel til eksamen endret i møte i SU 11.06.06.

Course Coordinator: Postdoktor Tore Lunde

Content and Objectives:
Description of the Course:
Competition law (Norwegian "Konkurranserett", German "Wettbewerbsrecht" "Kartellrecht") addresses law on commercial activities by market transactions which may affect competition within the relevant market as well as measures taken in relation in between market competitors. Competition law has both private law and public law aspects, generally with a strong impact of public surveillance and monitoring regulated by statutes or secondary regulations on EU level as well as on on national level.

Competition law regime adopts first of all a legal framework for a market ideology based on the idea that both major, medium and small enterprises should compete under common and equal framework conditions, both in the cross border and domestic trade. The idea is that free competition, based on common rules, will enable more effective exploitation of social resources. In a European dimension rules on free competitive cross border trade has a strong link to other inner market rules and principles, such as ban on discrimination on national basis, rules securing the right of free establishment within the EU area and provisions prohibiting trade restrictions and thus enabling the "four free movements" principles for goods, services, persons and capital.

Agreements, decisions and arrangements ("concerted practice") which restrict, prevent or undermine competition are at the outset prohibited (rule of "cartels"). Similar prohibition applies to the abuse of dominant market positions allowing major market undertakings to squize smaller competitors out of the market in unreasonable ways. These ideas belong to the heavy public law aspects in competition law, reflecting widespread regulatory competences on monitoring, surveillance and legal basis for administrative forced intervention. The overriding challenge for legislator and competition authorities lies in the need to balance out the harmful effects of contra-competitive activities against the cases where limitation of competition should be allowed due to an overall assumed beneficial effect in the relevant market, for instance because market regulations in the private sector are deemed to have positive effects for consumers and thus deserve general public policy policies' approval.

Competition law is also about state aid measures which in substance and effect undermine free market competition.

The main areas of competition law are subsequently listed:

(1) Substantive and procedural statutory provisions on market activities prohibiting contra-competitive agreements, decisions, joint ventures and similar "concerted practice" for undertakings. Inherent in this are EU Treaty provisions and secondary EU legislation on cartels, merger control and the supervision of joint ventures which potentially may undermine competition, harming small and medium enterprises (SME). Furthermore attention should be had on provisions prohibiting abuse of dominant market positions such as strategic predatory extortion of smaller market competitors, such as pricing products in a way which forces such undertakings to give in. Provisions on these aspects are found in the EU Treaty (Articles 81 et seq) as well as in EU secondary legislation.

(2) The public administrative procedural parts of competition law address the formal legal bases for surveillance and the distributions of competences on EU and national levels, such as general rules on market monitoring, intervening measures, procedures for interventions in business premises, infliction of private and penal remedies available on all such levels. In the EU scenario main attention isto be had on the recent Regulation 1/2003/EC and numerous secondary legal acts filling in that regulations, both before and after 2003.

A special feature is inherent in the fact that competition law violations are of relevance even in a private law perspective, both in provisions declaring agreements null and void and in principles on tort liability both for third parties harmed and even for parties to the disapproved agreement.

(3) Related competition law rules deal with the contra-competitive effect of monopolies and protective state aid supporting trade or industries, cf restrictions expressed in the EC Treaty Articles 87 et seq.

Course objectives (requirements for exam):
For exam purpose the requirement is thorough knowledge of material EU competition rules and on the interaction between EU and national level for monitoring and surveillance concerning provisions on contra-competitive activities, merger control, abuse of dominant market positions and state aid. In addition is required thorough knowledge on provisions regulating surveillance and monitoring of competition activities, that is procedures and intervening measures taken by E Commission ("DG Comp") national competition authorities. This includes also provisions and procedures for sanctions and remedies both of a private and of a penal nature (prohibitions, penalties and fines, invalid private arrangements, rules on economical liability for infringements).

All tuition and course literature are in the English language.

Exams will at the outset be performed as standard written paper exams, that is requirement to elaborate on a given topic within the exam requirements, with restricted access to literature except statutory treaty material and secondary legislation at hand. Papers may be submitted in English as well as in any Nordic language.

Literature and materiale:

Main literature:

R Whish Competition Law (4th ed 2003) 878 pages

Material - Annual Text Folder – (accepted for use under written exam ("lovlig hjelpemiddel til eksamen"):

The faculty will publish and maintain annually a collection of relevant competition law statutory material, allowed for use under written exam (Competition Law Selected Texts Bergen, september 2004. ed. Kai Krüger)

A. EU Treaty (consolidated) and select secondary legislations (regulations, Com docs etc)
B. ECJ Index Competition law
C. Oil and Gas Law competition law dimension

Supportive literature (UBB L-catalogue L-564):

Valentine Korah EC Competition Law and Practice (7th ed London 2000)
D G Goyder EC Competition Law (4th ed 2003)

Valentine Korah: An Introductory Guide to EC Competition Law and Practise (8th ed. London 2004)

Sist oppdatert 27.06.06 av AT Kommentarer til denne siden.