Competition Law Dissertation Topics for 2026

The following questions are drawn from real student forums, academic discussion threads, and university research boards. They reflect what students genuinely ask when searching for dissertation guidance in competition law.

• What are the best competition law dissertation topics I can actually research for my level?
• Which hot dissertation topics in competition law are relevant for 2026?
• Can I find competition law dissertation topics for a PhD that are original and researchable?
• Where do I find competition law project topics for an undergraduate thesis that are not too broad?
• Are there competition law thesis topics for an MSc dissertation focused on UK or EU law?
• How do I structure a dissertation topic in competition law with proper aims and objectives?
• Is there a competition law dissertation topics PDF I can download and review before committing?
• What competition law research paper topics for students in the UK are most relevant right now?

Choosing the right dissertation topic in competition law is one of the most consequential decisions a law student will make. Competition law sits at the intersection of economics, regulation, and public policy, which means the field is constantly evolving. Merger control reforms, digital market investigations, and global enforcement cooperation are reshaping what regulators expect and what academics debate. A well-chosen topic allows you to contribute meaningfully to that conversation.

This guide has been written for students at every academic level, from undergraduate to doctoral, who want to select a topic that is academically rigorous, timely, and genuinely researchable. Whether you are exploring antitrust enforcement, abuse of dominance, or state aid rules, this post will give you the structure, the ideas, and the confidence to move forward.

Download Competition Law Dissertation Topics PDF

Students who need a personalised, expert-curated list of competition law dissertation topics pdf can access one prepared by academic specialists. After completing a brief academic preferences form, you will receive a downloadable PDF containing topics matched to your level of study, research interests, and jurisdiction of focus. The PDF is put together by researchers familiar with current academic expectations at UK and international universities.

Why Choosing the Right Competition Law Dissertation Topic Matters

Competition law is a living discipline. Enforcement agencies in the UK, EU, and globally are continuously adapting their frameworks to address market failures that did not exist a decade ago. Digital platforms, algorithmic pricing, green agreements, and cross-border cartels are all generating active legal debate and new scholarly literature. Choosing a topic that reflects these developments signals to your examiners that you understand the field beyond its textbook foundations.

A well-defined topic also makes research more manageable. Students who begin with a broad question such as “how does competition law work?” often struggle to produce focused analysis. By contrast, a narrow, specific question enables you to build a clear argument, select appropriate methodology, and produce a dissertation that examiners can assess fairly. If you are looking for online dissertation help, beginning with a strong topic saves you significant time later in the writing process.

Students at undergraduate level are typically expected to demonstrate understanding of foundational principles and apply them critically to a defined issue. Master’s students are expected to engage with academic literature and produce independent analytical arguments. PhD candidates must offer an original contribution to knowledge. The topics in this guide are organised to support all three levels.

Key Research Areas in Competition Law

Before selecting a topic, it helps to understand the established subfields within competition law. Each of these areas generates active scholarship and offers opportunities for original research.

• Antitrust and cartel enforcement covers how competition authorities detect and sanction price-fixing, bid-rigging, and market-sharing arrangements between firms.
• Abuse of dominance examines how firms with significant market power behave and when that behaviour becomes unlawful under Article 102 TFEU or its national equivalents.
• Merger control looks at how regulators assess whether proposed business combinations will harm competition, and what remedies they impose.
• Digital markets and platform regulation has become a central research area, particularly following the introduction of the Digital Markets Act in the EU and the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 in the UK.
• State aid law addresses when government support for businesses distorts competition within the internal market.
• Vertical restraints and distribution agreements explores how agreements between suppliers and distributors can restrict or facilitate competition.
• Private enforcement and damages actions considers how individuals and businesses use civil litigation to claim compensation for competition law infringements.
• International and comparative competition law examines how different jurisdictions coordinate or diverge in their approach to enforcement.

Five Example Competition Law Dissertation Topics with Aims and Objectives

The following examples demonstrate how a strong competition law dissertation topic is structured at academic level. Each example includes a clear research aim and two to three focused objectives.

1. The Effectiveness of Leniency Programmes in Detecting Cartels in the Post-Brexit UK

Research Aim

To evaluate whether the Competition and Markets Authority’s leniency regime remains an effective tool for cartel detection following the UK’s departure from the EU.

Research Objectives

• Analyse the structure and incentive mechanisms within the CMA’s leniency programme.
• Compare post-Brexit leniency outcomes with equivalent EU enforcement data.
• Identify legislative or procedural reforms that could strengthen leniency uptake in the UK.

2. Algorithmic Collusion and the Limits of Article 101 TFEU

Research Aim

To determine whether existing EU competition law is adequate to address price coordination facilitated by pricing algorithms without direct communication between firms.

Research Objectives

• Examine the legal requirements for establishing a concerted practice under Article 101 TFEU.
• Assess whether algorithm-driven parallel pricing satisfies those requirements.
• Propose doctrinal or regulatory reforms to close any identified enforcement gaps.

3. Merger Control in Digital Markets: Is the SIEC Test Fit for Purpose?

Research Aim

To assess whether the Significant Impediment to Effective Competition test adequately captures harm in acquisitions involving data-rich digital platforms.

Research Objectives

• Review the application of the SIEC test in selected digital merger cases before the European Commission.
• Identify structural features of digital markets that challenge traditional merger analysis.
• Evaluate proposed reforms, including the use of innovation harm as an analytical lens.

4. Green Agreements and the Article 101(3) Exemption: Balancing Sustainability and Competition

Research Aim

To examine how the Article 101(3) exemption can accommodate sustainability agreements between competitors without undermining market competition.

Research Objectives

• Analyse the current framework for exempting horizontal cooperation agreements under Article 101(3).
• Evaluate how the European Commission’s 2023 Horizontal Guidelines address green cooperation.
• Assess whether the current exemption framework provides sufficient legal certainty for businesses pursuing genuine sustainability objectives.

5. Private Enforcement of Competition Law in the UK After the Damages Directive

Research Aim

To evaluate the impact of the EU Damages Directive’s implementation on private enforcement actions in UK courts following Brexit.

Research Objectives

• Trace the implementation of the Damages Directive in UK law prior to Brexit and its retained status.
• Assess the volume and outcomes of private damages claims before the Competition Appeal Tribunal post-2021.
• Identify procedural barriers that continue to limit access to justice for competition law claimants.

80 Competition Law Dissertation Topics for 2026

The following topics are organised by subfield. Each topic is specific, academically grounded, and designed for 2026-level research expectations. Students seeking online dissertation help will find these topics suitable as starting points for developing full research proposals across undergraduate, master’s, and PhD levels.

Cartel Enforcement and Leniency

1. The declining uptake of leniency applications in EU cartel enforcement and its implications for detection rates
2. Bid-rigging in public procurement: evaluating the CMA’s enforcement record between 2019 and 2024
3. How whistleblower protections in competition law compare across the UK, EU, and United States
4. The use of dawn raids by the CMA post-Brexit: legal powers, limitations, and procedural safeguards
5. Fining methodology in EU cartel cases: does the current framework achieve deterrence?
6. Cartel recidivism and the role of compliance programmes in reducing repeat infringement
7. The effectiveness of leniency policy in developing economies: lessons for Sub-Saharan Africa
8. Cross-border cartel enforcement between the UK and EU after the Trade and Cooperation Agreement
9. Criminal penalties for cartel conduct in the UK: a critical analysis of the individual sanctions regime
10. The role of economic evidence in establishing cartels: an evaluation of econometric approaches used by competition authorities

Abuse of Dominance

11. Defining dominance in two-sided digital markets: the adequacy of market share thresholds
12. Predatory pricing in online retail: adapting the recoupment test to platform economies
13. Tying and bundling by dominant technology firms: a comparative analysis of EU and US enforcement
14. Refusal to supply and the essential facilities doctrine in data-driven markets
15. Margin squeeze abuses in regulated sectors: the case of the UK energy market
16. The “as-efficient competitor” test in exclusionary abuse cases: academic critique and enforcement challenges
17. Loyalty rebates and their treatment under Article 102 TFEU following the Intel judgment
18. Abuse of dominance in pharmaceutical markets: pay-for-delay agreements and access to medicines
19. Platform self-preferencing as an abuse of dominance under the Digital Markets Act
20. The collective dominance doctrine: can it address oligopolistic market failures in digital ecosystems?

Merger Control and Remedies

21. The role of innovation harm in digital merger assessments: evidence from European Commission decisions
22. Killer acquisitions in the pharmaceutical and technology sectors: closing the enforcement gap
23. Conglomerate merger effects and their treatment in EU merger control post-Illumina/Grail
24. The CMA’s approach to merger remedies: divestiture versus behavioural undertakings
25. Labour market effects in merger control: should the CMA adopt a buyer-power analysis?
26. Gun-jumping and procedural compliance in EU merger filings: an analysis of enforcement trends
27. The adequacy of the turnover thresholds in the EU Merger Regulation for capturing data-rich acquisitions
28. Merger control in the media sector: pluralism, diversity, and competition in UK broadcasting markets
29. Coordinated effects analysis in oligopolistic markets: methodology and evidentiary standards
30. The jurisdictional reach of the UK merger regime after the National Security and Investment Act 2021

Digital Markets and Platform Regulation

31. The Digital Markets Act as a regulatory complement to competition law: conflicts and complementarities
32. Interoperability obligations in the Digital Markets Act: technical feasibility and competitive effects
33. Data portability rights under GDPR and competition law: tensions and synergies for platform markets
34. Gatekeeper designation under the Digital Markets Act: criteria, process, and legal challenges
35. App store regulation and access to digital distribution: a competition law analysis of Apple and Google
36. Search neutrality and the obligations imposed on general search engine gatekeepers
37. The CMA’s Digital Markets Unit: jurisdiction, powers, and initial enforcement priorities
38. Algorithmic transparency as a competition remedy: can disclosure requirements restore market contestability?
39. Multi-homing and network effects: how switching costs entrench platform dominance in social media markets
40. The economics of zero-price markets and their implications for competition law analysis

Algorithmic Pricing and AI in Competition Law

41. Algorithmic price coordination in e-commerce: can tacit collusion theory close the liability gap?
42. The use of artificial intelligence in competition authority investigations: opportunities and procedural risks
43. Personalised pricing by dominant platforms: competition law liability and consumer harm
44. Machine learning in cartel detection: evaluating the accuracy and admissibility of AI-generated evidence
45. AI-facilitated hub-and-spoke arrangements: extending liability frameworks to algorithmic intermediaries
46. Big data as a barrier to entry: assessing competitive harm in data-intensive digital markets
47. The intersection of AI governance and competition regulation in the EU: coordination or conflict?
48. Predictive algorithms in financial services: competition concerns in automated lending and insurance markets
49. The competitive implications of foundation model concentration in the artificial intelligence sector
50. Dynamic pricing algorithms in the airline industry: cartel risk and enforcement challenges

Sustainability, Green Agreements, and State Aid

51. Green horizontal cooperation under the revised EU Horizontal Guidelines: legal certainty and practical guidance
52. Carbon reduction agreements between competitors: where competition law ends and industrial policy begins
53. State aid and the green transition: evaluating the European Commission’s approach to energy subsidies
54. The compatibility of national hydrogen strategy subsidies with EU state aid rules
55. Sustainability defence in competition law: a comparative analysis of Dutch, Swiss, and EU approaches
56. Greenwashing and competition law: false environmental claims as a form of unfair competitive advantage
57. Supply chain sustainability agreements and vertical restraint law: navigating Article 101 TFEU
58. State aid in the context of the UK Subsidy Control Act 2022: divergence from EU disciplines
59. The role of competition law in achieving net-zero targets: policy integration challenges
60. Industrial cluster agreements and competition law: balancing collective efficiency with market openness

Private Enforcement, Procedure, and Damages

61. Collective redress in competition law: the effectiveness of opt-out class actions before the Competition Appeal Tribunal
62. Disclosure of leniency documents in private damages proceedings: balancing public and private enforcement
63. Quantification of loss in follow-on damages actions: evidentiary challenges and expert witness standards
64. Umbrella pricing claims in competition damages litigation: legal recognition and jurisdictional variation
65. The passing-on defence in UK competition damages law: a doctrinal analysis post-Sainsbury’s v Visa
66. Forum shopping in European competition damages litigation after Brexit
67. Third-party litigation funding in competition damages cases: access to justice or distortion of incentives?
68. The interaction between competition law and consumer protection in UK enforcement actions
69. Commitments decisions as an alternative to infringement findings: accountability and deterrence concerns
70. The role of the Competition Appeal Tribunal in shaping UK competition enforcement norms

International and Comparative Competition Law

71. Divergence between UK and EU competition law after Brexit: one year on from the Trade and Cooperation Agreement
72. The extraterritorial application of EU competition law and its implications for global firms
73. Competition law enforcement in ASEAN: institutional design, capacity, and convergence challenges
74. The role of the International Competition Network in promoting procedural convergence
75. Foreign subsidies regulation in the EU: a new instrument and its interaction with merger control
76. China’s Anti-Monopoly Law amendments of 2022: implications for multinational businesses
77. Technology nationalism and competition law: how industrial policy is reshaping antitrust enforcement in the US
78. Competition law in the Gulf Cooperation Council: legal frameworks, enforcement gaps, and reform priorities
79. The treatment of dominant state-owned enterprises under EU competition rules
80. Jurisdictional fragmentation in digital market regulation: the case for a multilateral competition framework

Conclusion

Competition law is one of the most intellectually stimulating areas of legal study available to students today. The discipline connects legal doctrine with economic analysis, policy objectives, and real-world market outcomes. Selecting the right dissertation topic within this field means engaging with material that is genuinely contested, actively developed, and consequential for businesses, regulators, and society.

The 80 competition law dissertation topics presented in this guide are designed to reflect where the discipline stands in 2026. From digital platform regulation to sustainability agreements and international enforcement coordination, each area offers students the opportunity to develop original arguments grounded in sound methodology. Whether you are pursuing competition law project topics for an undergraduate thesis or competition law dissertation topics for a PhD, the key is to begin with a clear question and build your research framework from there.

Topic selection is not a minor procedural step. It shapes your reading list, your methodology chapter, and ultimately the quality of your final argument. Students who approach this stage carefully, with attention to academic level, jurisdictional scope, and current scholarly debate, position themselves for stronger outcomes. Where additional expert input would be useful, academic guidance services exist to support you in refining your research question and developing a credible proposal. Approach your dissertation with curiosity, academic integrity, and confidence in the rigour of your own thinking.