LWMCL: Competition Law

Module code: LWMCL

Module provider: School of Law

Credits: 20

Level: 7

When you’ll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Dr Jing Wang , email: j.wang13@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2025/6

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: No

Last updated: 3 April 2025

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module explores EU Competition Law (and comparing with other jurisdictions where relevant), focusing on the rules for undertakings involved in economic activities. It looks at

• why the EU, like many other jurisdictions worldwide, view Competition Law as important;
• what goals of Competition Law are;
• how the Law is enforced; and
• how undertakings economic activities may harm competition,

which includes Agreements among undertakings, economic activities by Dominant undertakings, and Mergers between undertakings.

By the end of the module, students will understand Competition Law and its interpretation, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the EU Competition Law, especially when it faces new challenges in the digital market. Comparisons with other jurisdictions will be made where relevant, and students will assess the EU Competition Law and think about possible improvements.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Understand in principle the application of Articles 101,102 and 106 TFEU and EU merger control regulation. 
2. Understand the enforcement or application of EU Competition Law and their equivalents in US and UK law in order to analyse concrete problems in a commercial environment. 
3. Demonstrate ability to identify accurately competition issues which require researching; to identify and retrieve up-to-date legal information; and to use primary and secondary legal sources relevant to the topic under study. 
4. Demonstrate ability to communicate clearly in spoken and writing in a mature, structured, critical and convincing way, including ability to use legislation, case law, and academic sources.

Module content

This module covers all key areas of EU Competition Law, as well as introducing comparisons with other jurisdictions where relevant.

The topics that will be discussed in this module, include: 

1. Goals of Competition Law
2. Agreement
3. Abuse of Dominant Position
4. Merger
5. Antitrust Enforcement

Those topics discussed in the class will be adapted to reflect current issues in the Competition Law area.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

• A list of required and recommended readings
• Weekly 2-hour Seminars
• Guided independent study
• Group study
• (Drop-in) Student feedback hours

Study hours

At least 30 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 50% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: /cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

In-class peer assessment for individual/group presentation.

Reassessment

Additional costs