Graduate - Law (Melbourne JD)
Competition Law (JD)*
Associate Professor Caron Beaton-Wells and Arlen Duke
This is a highly sought after subject offered in the Melbourne Law School's JD optional programme. The subject is about the legal regulation of markets as a means of preserving and promoting competition in Australia. The subject focuses on the way in which anti-competitive practices are regulated under Part IV of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. Students also learn about enforcement mechanisms as well as the roles played by regulatory authorities and the courts in enforcing provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act. While it canvasses the policy objectives and challenges of competition regulation, the subject is applied in its orientation in that it encourages students to explore the practical applications of the law in the context of real-life trade and commerce.
* offered annually
Comparative Anti-Cartel Law (JD)*
Associate Professor Caron Beaton-Wells
The effective regulation of cartel conduct (price fixing, output restriction, market sharing and bid rigging between competitors) is now recognised internationally as a distinctive speciality within the broader field of competition law and enforcement. It is regarded as posing the most serious threat to the system of free market competition that underpins economies, domestically and globally. At the same time, it is recognised as posing special challenges for detection and prosecution of offenders by enforcement authorities. In part, this is because, at the most serious end of the spectrum of such conduct, perpetrators go to significant lengths to conceal their activities from authorities and in part because it is increasingly cross-border in scope and effects and hence necessitates substantial cooperation between national and regional authorities to ensure that it is tackled in more than a piecemeal fashion.
This subject is based on the premise that it is no longer sufficient for Australian practitioners and scholars to be familiar with Australian cartel legislation and case law only. A comparative approach, based on an advanced understanding of the key elements of selected overseas jurisdictions, is required. In particular, it is important to appreciate the similarities and differences between the US and EU models. There is also useful scope for comparison on specific issues with jurisdictions such as the UK, Canada and New Zealand.
* to be offered in 2013
Optional subjects from the Melbourne Law Masters program
JD students with an interest in Competition Law can also take a subject from the competition law suite of subjects offered as part of the Melbourne Law Masters program.