Course 2011-2012 a.y.

Course Objectives

This advanced course considers specific legal issues related to the EU legal environment including European competition law and policy, the composition, functions, jurisdictions of the European Courts, and current issues related to the European Monetary Union (EMU), the excessive deficit procedure and the Stability pact. 

The course focuses on:

• EU Competition policy; the topics being discussed address the fundamental functions and enforcement procedure of the EU Competition policy; the regulation of restrictive practices and abuse of dominant position; the control of merger policy and the relation between State regulation and EU competition policy.
• the European Courts, the composition, functions, jurisdictions, preliminary rulings.
• Economic and Monetary union in the light of the purpose of ensuring a gradual but irreversible movement of the Member States towards full economic and monetary union in accordance with the prescriptions of the Delors Report of June 1989.

The main objective of this course is to provide students with technical tools enabling them to efficiently handle in practice, in their professional future, legal competition and intellectual property issues and cases. Secondly, aims at stimulating the students to consider the current role of the EMU, the excessive deficit procedure and the stability pact in the light of fragmentary macro-economic policy-making framework of the EMU.

Course Content Summary

• Competition Law and Policy: Introduction. The aims of EU Competition law: the economics and politics of competition law; peculiar aims of EU Competition policy; enforcement by the Commission; resettlement of competition authorities according to the so called "modernization regulation"; private enforcement. Restrictive practices: Scope of Application of Art. 101 ECT; agreements, decisions and concerted practices; substantive assessment; vertical restraints. - Abuse of dominant position, market definition, dominance; exploitative practice; exclusionary practice. - Merger policy. - State Regulation and Competition law of the EU
  
  
• The European Courts: the composition, functions, jurisdictions, preliminary rulings in light of the EU Law and the relevant case law
  
  
• Economic and Monetary Union: - Liberalizing payments and the movement of capital; the move to economic and monetary union: early attempts to achieve a monetary unification; the Delors blueprint of the EMU; Economics of monetary unification and the Maastrictht convergences criteria- Economic policy coordination in Europe:the fragmentary macro-economic policy-making framework of the EMU; the excessive deficit procedure and the stability pact. - The Institutions of the Monetary Union: the European Central Bank and the European System of Central Banks.

Detailed Description of Assessment Methods

Written exam.
Active participation during classes is taken into consideration for the final mark.
Depending on the active participation by students seminars may be organized.

Textbooks

Textbooks will be provided at the beginning of the course.

Prerequisites