Short Course on Advanced EU Competition Law

Aims

• To assist in the definition of legal strategies and assessment of risk within organisations.

• To provide an in-depth and systematic overview of some fundamental aspects of EU competition law.

• To define a framework for the analysis of legal matters and evaluation of potential outcomes in practice.

Target audience

• Legal practitioners and civil servants who work on EU competition law matters and want coherent and comprehensive exposure to key and recent developments.

• In-house lawyers who are regularly exposed to competition law issues and would benefit from an understanding of the major trends in the field and the potential risks that might arise in practice.

• Professionals, scholars and students who are familiar with competition or antitrust law in their own jurisdiction and want in-depth knowledge of the EU approach to key issues.

Structure and delivery

• Four 4-hour sessions to be delivered over four consecutive Fridays in November.

• Capacity: the short course will be capped at 25 students to maximise interaction.

• Timing: 2pm to 6pm London time.

• Delivery: the executive course will be delivered online.

Topics

• Relevant considerations when evaluating the lawfulness of agreements under EU competition law.
• Potential for unilateral practices to infringe provisions on abuse of dominance.
• Major trends in the field and likely evolution of the discipline (agreements, unilateral practices, merger control). 
• Practical implications of some of the most recent case law developments.
• How courts perform judicial review in EU competition law and which legal arguments tend to prevail.
• Theories of harm considered by competition authorities in merger control.
• Novel issues raised by practices implemented in digital markets.

• The role of intellectual property and its impact on legal and economic assessment in light of recent developments.

Pablo Ibáñez Colomo is Professor of Law at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is also an Ordinary Member at the Competition Appeal Tribunal, a Visiting Professor at the College of Europe (Bruges) and one of the Joint General Editors of the Journal of European Competition Law & Practice (Oxford University Press). He received a PhD from the European University Institute in June 2010 (Jacques Lassier Prize). Before joining the EUI as a Researcher in 2007, he taught for three years at the Law Department of the College of Europe (Bruges), where he also completed an LLM in 2004. He has been a Visiting Professor at several institutions around the world, including Aix-Marseille University, Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, Kobe University and Torcuato di Tella University.

Day 1: Advanced Issues on Agreements (Friday 9 May 2025, 2pm-6pm)

• The evaluation of agreements under Article 101 TFEU.
• The role of the relevant economic and legal context in the assessment.
• Factors that impact the anticompetitive risk of certain practices.
• Recent developments in relation to vertical restraints, horizontal agreements and intellectual property (both patents and copyright).

Day 2: Advanced Issues on Abusive Practices (Friday 16 May 2025, 2pm-6pm)

• The practical evaluation of potentially abusive practices under Article 102 TFEU.
• How anticompetitive effects are considered by EU courts.
• The progressive shifts in the case law, and the role of the various tests.
• Sectoral overview of key developments and their implications

Day 3: Focus on Digital Markets (Friday 23 May 2025, 2pm-6pm)

• Ongoing developments and emerging case law in digital markets.
• Interaction between competition law and regulation.
• Underlying theories of harm and novel legal issues raised by them.
• Comparative overview of approaches taken across Europe.

Day 4: Advanced Issues on Merger Control (Friday 30 May 2025, 2pm-6pm)

• The changing jurisdictional landscape in EU merger control: Illumina/Grail, Towercast and beyond.
• Non-coordinated effects before courts: legal and economic challenges.
• New theories of harm in merger control: ecosystems and the revival of non-horizontal mergers.
• Merger control in digital markets.

• For further information, including registration and fees, please contact Amanda Tinnams, Course Manager. Email: A.Tinnams@lse.ac.uk.
• On completion of registration and payment received in full, you will receive a Zoom link and a set of pre-course readings.
• Fees: £1,500. If you have any special requirements, please contact Amanda Tinnams. 
• Once full payment is received, confirmation of your place will be sent by the Course Manager.

Click here for our registration form.

• A course certificate will be provided on completion of the course. 
• CPD points can be applied for.

If you need to make a cancellation, please contact the Course Manager and your place will be moved to the next available course.