General Prerequisites
Students that are going to attend this course are suppossed that they have already taken the course "EU Law" and have successfully participated in the relevant exams and, as a result, they have become familiar with the basic principles, on which the organisation and function of the EU is (presently) based. Moreover, they should have developed a special interest for the institutions of Commercial Law, since, in the context of this course, we are going to examine the harmonisation of EU Law in some of those, as, for example, in the area of concerted practices, mergers and acquisitions, reciprocal recognition of companies etc.
Learning Outcomes
The aim of the course is, on the one hand, to present the essential steps of harmonization of EU Law in some of the most significant areas of trade, and, on the other, to examine the application and judicial evolution of the fundamental freedoms of the EU, that have contributed to the establishment and function of the internal ("common") market. In this context, the studetns are given the chance, through the study and presentation of important decisions of the EUCJ, as well as of the General Court, to deepen their knowledge in the afore-mentioned areas of EU Law and to become familiar with matters connected to the free circulation of goods within the EU,the reciprocal recognition of companies, the freedom of establishment and provision of services e.t.c. Additionally, for the first time in the course of their undergraduate studies, the students come in touch with the constantly progressing area of EU Antitrust Law and understand its decisive influence on the completion of european integration. Finally, they realize the impact imposed by EU Law and, more precisely, (by) its interpretation by the EUCJ on the evolution of Greek Commercial Law.
Course Content (Syllabus)
The course "EUROPEAN COMMERCIAL LAW" includes the following sections:
1. Introductory lesson: General reference to the establishment of the European Union (EU) legal order, the sources of EU Law, the Organs of the EU and their acts, to the extend this reference is necessary for the better understanding of the special provisions and principles that consisute the so-called "European Commercial Law". It should be noted, that the study of the above mentioned topics is based on the provisions of the Treaty of the Functioning of the Europena Union (TFEU), which replaced thew Treaty of the European Community (TEC), in combination with with those of the Treaty of the European Union (TEU).
2. The liability (contractual - nonconractual) of the EU and the member states and the procedure of preliminary rulings in the context of Art. 267 TFEU (ex: Art. 264 ECT).
3. The principle of the free movement of goods: focus on the analysis of Art. 34 and 36 TFEU (ex: Art. 28 and 30 ECT), especially through the study and presentation of significant decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union (EUCJ - ex: ECJ), that refer to the interpretation of the above provisions and have essentially contributed to the judicial evolution of the terms and notions they contain (i.e. the notion of : "measures of equivalent effect", or "quantitative restrictions" etc).
4. Introductory remarks on EU - Antitrust Law. Subjects of rights and obligations in the context of the prohibitive rules of Art. 101 and 102 TFEU (ex: 81 and 82 ECT). The notion of "enterprise" in the context of Antitrust Law.
5.Categories of concerted practices (Art. 101 § 1 TFEU): study and analysis, mainly based on important judicial cases.
6.Legal consequences of the application of the pohibitive rule of § 1 of Art. 101 TFEU, as they are defined in § 2 of the same provision. "Exceptions", i.e. concerted practices (agreements and decisions of enterprises) on which the provisions of Art. 101 § 1 TFEU may be declared inapplicable. Focus on the meaning and the legal results of the application of § 3 of Art. 101 TFEU after the entry into force of Regulation (EC) no. 1/2003.
7.Abuse of dominant position according to Art. 102 TFEU (ex: Art. 82 ECT).
8.Control of mergers and acquisitions.
Keywords
free movement of goods, measures of equivalent effect, quantitative restrictions, freedom of establishment and (of) provision of services, transfer (relocation) of company's seat, reciprocal recognition of companies, enterprise, concerted practices, abuse of dominant position, mergers and acquisitions
Description
Students are evaluated in two ways. Firstly, through their active participation in the course of teaching and, more specifically, through their oral presentations in class, in which students present judicial decisions of the EUCJ, (that) they have previously studied and reviewed. In this context, students are encouraged, but not obliged, to prepare and distribute a written abstract of their presentation to their co-students and teachers. Apart from the above procedure, however, the successful participation of the students in the final (written or oral) exams of the course is still the basic "method" of evaluation. These are taking place at the end of the semester and are aiming at testing the breadth of knowledge srudents have acquired through the course, as well as their ability to use it critically and apply it in practice.
Course Bibliography (Eudoxus)
1. Καρύδης Γ., Ευρωπαϊκό Δίκαιο Συναλλαγών, 1η έκδοση, εκδ. Νομική Βιβλιοθήκη, 2012 [ISBN: 978-960-562-048-6, Κωδ. ΕΥΔΟΞΟΣ: 22767697]
2. Κοτσίρης Λ., Ευρωπαϊκό Εμπορικό Δίκαιο, 3η έκδοση, εκδ. Σάκκουλα, 2018 [ISBN: 978-960-568-830-1, Κωδ. ΕΥΔΟΞΟΣ: 77111606]