General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW6345 / JDOC6345 |
| Course name: | Competition Law and Labour |
| Programme offered under: | LLM Programme / JD Programme |
| Semester: | Second |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No |
| Credit point value: | 9 credits / 6 credits |
1.2 Course description
This course explores the interactions between competition and labour laws in the European Union and United States. Although they are often considered opposed regulatory mechanisms – the former enabling combinations, the latter combating them – they have both sought to govern labour markets. Consequently, they have influenced, supported, and clashed with one another in pursuit of distinct visions of labour market governance. This interface provides the subject matter of this course.
The course first situates students in the economics of labour markets and how workers and employers interact legally. Going beyond neoclassical theories of labour market competition, this first part of the course provides an overview of how workers and employers cooperate and struggle to regulate both labour and product markets. Moreover, it elaborates on the distinct regulatory mechanisms of labour and competition law, as well as their visions for labour markets.
Subsequently, the second part of the course explores the history of labour antitrust in the United States to highlight how labour and competition laws can both clash and coexist. Specifically, it traces the evolution of American labour antitrust from a union-busting tool of employers in the 20th century to a pro-labour regulatory mechanism in the 21st. To that end, it elaborates on the foundations and development of US antitrust and labour law. The focus will be on the comparative weakness of American labour laws – a weakness that first allowed union-busting and then called for antitrust interventions to protect workers.
The third part of the course focuses on European experiences of competition law enforcement in labour markets. It contrasts the comparative restraint of competition law enforcers in the 20th century with the widespread and divergent enforcement in the 21st. Moreover, it compares the institutional design of American and European competition and labour laws to explain their distinctly different enforcement experiences. Accordingly, this part also provides an overview of the foundations and evolution of European competition and labour laws.
By studying these American and European case studies, the course highlights the contentious regulations of labour markets and competition law‘s interactions with other fields of law. After completing this course, students will gain a clearer understanding of competition law’s malleability and reach beyond product markets. Additionally, students will have delved into case studies illustrating one of the core skills of lawyers and regulators: leveraging the inconsistencies within and between different fields of law to advance specific agendas.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | Alexander Burtscher | TBA | TBA | By email |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Apply competition laws to employment relations, employer conduct, and collective action by workers.
CLO 2 Use both labour and competition laws to examine the governance of specific issues in labour markets.
CLO 3 Describe and explain employment relations and labour markets with classical, neoclassical, Institutionalist, and heterodox economic theories.
CLO 4 Appreciate and utilize the conflicts between competition law and different fields of law, especially labour law.
2.2 LLM and JD Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
Please refer to the following link:
LLM – https://course.law.hku.hk/llm-plo/
JD – https://course.law.hku.hk/jd-plo/
2.3 Programme Learning Outcomes to be achieved in this course
| PLO A | PLO B | PLO C | PLO D | PLO E | PLO F | |
| CLO 1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| CLO 2 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| CLO 3 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| CLO 4 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Class participation | 20% | 1 | 1, 2 |
| In-class midterm exam | 30% | 2 | 2, 3, 4 |
| Take home exam | 50% | 2 | 1, 2, 3 |
| *Feedback method (to be determined by course teacher) | |
| 1 | A general course report to be disseminated through Moodle |
| 2 | Individual feedback to be disseminated by email / through Moodle |
| 3 | Individual review meeting upon appointment |
| 4 | Group review meeting |
| 5 | In-class verbal feedback |
3.2 Assessment Detail
To be advised by course convenor(s).
3.3 Grading Criteria
Please refer to the following link: https://www.law.hku.hk/_files/law_programme_grade_descriptors.pdf
Learning Activities
4.1 Learning Activity Plan
| Seminar: | 3 hours / week for 11 teaching weeks |
| Private study time: | 9.5 hours / week for 11 teaching weeks |
Remarks: the normative student study load per credit unit is 25 ± 5 hours (ie. 150 ± 30 hours for a 6-credit course), which includes all learning activities and experiences within and outside of classroom, and any assessment task and examinations and associated preparations.
4.2 Details of Learning Activities
To be advised by course convenor(s).
Learning Resources
5.1 Resources
| Reading materials: | Reading materials are posted on Moodle |
| Core reading list: | TBA |
| Recommended reading list: | TBA |
5.2 Links
Please refer to the following link: http://www.law.hku.hk/course/learning-resources/