The autumn term is about to start at the Brussels School of Competition! This Friday, 26 September, Nicolas Petit (a professor at the University of Liège and director of the BSC) will give the first lecture for the 2014-2015 academic year. This in-depth programme of studies in competition law and economics is already starting its fifth year.
Philippe Lambrecht (Director-Secretary General of FEB and president of the BSC) explains: “Brussels had no specialist training in competition. FEB wanted to plug this gap by setting up a full programme of courses in competition law and economics.”
Since then, interest in this LL.M. programme of studies has grown steadily. The Brussels School of Competition, supported by a renowned staff of lecturers, has already attracted several hundred participants. The students at this unique school include corporate legal staff, lawyers, economists, legal department managers, staff from national competition authorities and the European Commission, and increasingly students from around the world.
In addition to the number of participants, the number of graduates has also been rising steadily. This is a point of pride for the organisers: “We had around 35 graduates last year, a very high number for this kind of training”, says a pleased Charles Gheur, co-director of the BSC and competition law adviser to the economy minister.
The classes (all in English) are given at FEB headquarters. “The BSC programme is a perfect fit with FEB’s mission”, explains Philippe Lambrecht. “Competition law is closely linked to corporate life. Nearly all behaviours seen on the market can be addressed by the competition authorities, whether they involve contracts, promotional activities, exchanges of information, mergers or something else.”
Hence the importance of informing businesses about the risks involved in applying competition rules. In Belgium, companies found guilty are liable to pay fines of up to 10% of the turnover made on the domestic and export markets. In 2009, for example, one telephone operator was sentenced to a fine of €66.3 million for abuse of a dominant position.
In Belgium, the Belgian Competition Authority now has the option of punishing not just the company, but also individuals, with fines of up to €10,000. The introduction of administrative fines targeting individuals in Belgian law raises a lot of questions. A company finds out that one of its sales managers has divulged pricing information to a competitor. How should this kind of situation be handled?
The training programme is compatible with participants’ work constraints. Classes are given every Friday afternoon at FEB. The programme is divided into 11 modules and 2 seminars covering the key topics and can be taken separately: cartels, abuse of dominant position, distribution agreements, mergers and acquisitions, State aid, etc.
For more information:
Valeria Bustos Sierra (Executive Manager BSC) vbs@vbo-feb.be or 02/515 09 83
