General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW6332 / JDOC6332 |
| Course name: | Contemporary Topics in Maritime Law |
| Programme offered under: | LLM Programme / JD Programme |
| Semester: | Second |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No |
| Course offered to non-law students: | No |
| Credit point value: | 9 credits / 6 credits |
1.2 Course description
This course will examine evolving topics of maritime law. The objective is not simply to learn and understand the studied topics better, but to engage with the underpinning reasons that require the law to change, and the mechanisms engaged to ensure that the changes are relevant and supportive of the maritime sector and the policy objectives.
The topics cover international as well as private law aspects. The course will elucidate how legal principles and policy objectives are implemented in the shipping sector and made relevant to all stakeholders through the contractual redistribution of risks. The drafting of clauses to distribute new risks and the interpretation of contractual clauses against policy objectives will facilitate this exploration.
By the end of this course, students will have a good understanding of the legal and regulatory principles involved in the regulation of shipping and a better understanding of how international maritime and contract law evolve. Analytical skills and research skills in understanding the development of international conventions and the drafting of standardised contractual will be developed.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | Michael Tsimplis | tsimplis@hku.hk | CCT 607 | By email |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Have a sound understanding of how maritime law develops new regulations as a response to global environmental policies.
CLO 2 Grasp key contractual principles and appreciate how they can be applied in practice to allocate commercial risks arising from new regulations.
CLO 3 Understand the complexity of contractual interpretation and the uncertainties involved in the adoption of new contractual clauses.
2.2 LLM and JD Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
Please refer to the following link:
LLM – https://course.law.hku.hk/llm-plo/
JD – https://course.law.hku.hk/jd-plo/
2.3 Programme Learning Outcomes to be achieved in this course
| PLO A | PLO B | PLO C | PLO D | PLO E | PLO F | |
| CLO 1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 2 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 3 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| 5 Quizzes | 75% (@15%) | 1, 2, 3 | |
| Take home exam | 25% | 1, 2,3 |
| *Feedback method (to be determined by course teacher) | |
| 1 | A general course report to be disseminated through Moodle |
| 2 | Individual feedback to be disseminated by email / through Moodle |
| 3 | Individual review meeting upon appointment |
| 4 | Group review meeting |
| 5 | In-class verbal feedback |
3.2 Assessment Detail
To be advised by course convenor(s). See also Course Outline above.
3.3 Grading Criteria
Please refer to the following link: https://www.law.hku.hk/_files/law_programme_grade_descriptors.pdf
Learning Activities
4.1 Learning Activity Plan
| Seminar: | 3 hours / week for 11 teaching weeks |
| Private study time: | 9.5 hours / week for 11 teaching weeks |
Remarks: the normative student study load per credit unit is 25 ± 5 hours (ie. 150 ± 30 hours for a 6-credit course), which includes all learning activities and experiences within and outside of classroom, and any assessment task and examinations and associated preparations.
4.2 Details of Learning Activities
To be advised by course convenor(s).
Learning Resources
5.1 Resources
| Reading materials: | Reading materials are posted on Moodle |
| Core reading list: | TBA |
| Recommended reading list: | TBA |
5.2 Links
Please refer to the following link: http://www.law.hku.hk/course/learning-resources/