76027 Restrictive Trade Practices (UG)

This subject is an introduction to the field of legal regulation of restrictive trade practices. This area of the law is also known as competition (by economists and European) or anti-trust laws (in the USA). It is based on the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth), which is singularly the most important piece of legislation for any business or company besides the Corporations Act 2001 and taxation legislation. The Act is also a hybrid attempt at business regulation since the Act and especially Pt IV of the Act is wholly dependent on economic concepts.

The Trade Practices Act 1974 has become a very complex piece of legislation and as such, this subject only looks at at Pt IV Restrictive Trade Practices. This subject is taught from a student-centerd perspective, with an emphasis on case and policy analysis. It is Australian-laws focused and cases chosen for readings and discussion reflect this bias.