LLAW6155 & JDOC6155

General Course Information

1.1 Course details

Course code: LLAW6155 / JDOC6155
Course name: Competition Law II
Programme offered under: LLM Programme / JD Programme
Semester: First
Prerequisites / Co-requisites: No
Credit point value: 9 credit / 6 credits

1.2 Course description

NOTE: It is NOT necessary to have taken Competition Law I (which focuses on US antitrust law) before taking this course. The focus of this course is on Hong Kong and EU competition law. References to US law will be minimal (and, in any event, self-contained). The course does NOT presume any background in business or economics. Students from all backgrounds are welcome to enroll. Students who have performed well in the past have come from a variety of backgrounds.

Brief introduction to the course:

Despite being relatively new to Hong Kong, competition law has become highly pertinent in East Asia in recent years. In Hong Kong, the Legislative Council finally adopted a cross-sector competition law for the city in June 2012, and the Competition Ordinance has been in full operation since December 2015.

This course takes a comparative look at the connections and differences between Hong Kong and European Union (EU) competition law. Given the Conduct Rules of the Competition Ordinance in Hong Kong are substantially modelled after Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), the EU law (including oft law such as guidelines) on Articles 101 and 102 TFEU will provide useful guidance to the interpretation and application of the Hong Kong Conduct Rules. This course will examine in detail the First Conduct Rule and Article 101 TFEU; and the Second Conduct Rule and Article 102 TFEU. We will also consider competition law enforcement, Hong Kong specific issues, and past paper questions (to illustrate the workings of competition law). This course excludes merger review, which forms the subject of a separate course.

If students have any questions about the course, please feel free to contact the course teacher at the email below.

1.3 Course teachers

Name E-mail address Office Consultation
Course convenor Julian Nowag jnowag@hku.hk TBA By email

Learning Outcomes

2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course

CLO 1 Students will acquire a basic understanding of Hong Kong and EU competition law.

CLO 2 Students will acquire a basic understanding of the interplay between law, business/economics, and public policy in the context of competition law cases.

CLO 3 Students will develop the ability to think critically about competition law cases and issues in the local and international context.

CLO 4 Students will acquire a basic understanding of the roles of Hong Kong and EU institutions in competition law enforcement.

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 (TBC)

Assessment task Due date Weighting Feedback method* Course learning outcomes
Class attendance and participation N/A 10% To be advised 1, 2, 3, 4
Class presentation Class 3-10 20% To be advised 1, 2, 3, 4
Commentary: blogging exercise 14 & 21 Nov 2024 20% To be advised 1, 2, 3, 4
Take home exam 12 Dec 2024 50% To be advised 1, 2, 3, 4
*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 12 teaching weeks
Private study time: 9.5 hours / week for 12 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: TBA
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/