General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW6160 |
| Course name: | Legal System and Methods |
| Programme offered under: | LLM Programme |
| Semester: | First |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No |
| Credit point value: | 9 credits |
1.2 Course description
This course is intended for students who do not have a first degree in law. It aims to equip course participants with general knowledge and understanding of the Hong Kong legal system, as well as practical skills for legal research, analysis and reasoning, in order to lay a solid foundation for the study of other substantive law subjects.
The course will provide an introduction to legal systems in general and focusing on the legal system of the Hong Kong SAR in particular. It will introduce students to the sources and hierarchy of law, the constitutional order of the HKAR, civil and criminal justice processes, key institutions including the courts and the legal profession, and fundamental principles of the legal system. Students will be trained on the use of legal materials and will be introduced to the case law and the precedent system, the legislative process and approaches to statutory interpretation. They will also be introduced to the basic concepts of major areas of laws
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | S K Lee | sklee1@hku.hk | CCT 310B | By email |
1.4 Course Outline (for elective course)
| Please click the link here for the course outline (HKU Portal login required). |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Acquire a basic understanding of the development and salient features of major legal traditions in the world, so as to appreciate the context in which the Hong Kong legal system is situated.
CLO 2 Understand the salient features of the Hong Kong legal system and acquire the basic concepts of major law topics, so as to lay a sound foundation for the study of substantive law subjects.
CLO 3 Understand the nature of case law and the precedent system, as well as statutes, the legislative process and common law statutory interpretation.
CLO 4 Acquire basic legal research skills including making use of digital technologies to locate relevant materials.
CLO 5 Develop sound legal analytical skills and be able to identify legal issues in given scenarios covering substantive law topics of substantive law such as tort, contract, constitutional and administrative law, and be able to apply the law in analysing the problems and reaching a solution
CLO 6 Engage in discussion of a variety of legal issues and critically evaluate some current issues from a legal perspective.
CLO 7 Develop critical thinking, analytical and effective writing skills, as well as a comprehensive strategy to expressing ideas with depth and clarity.
2.2 LLM Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
Please refer to the following link: https://course.law.hku.hk/llm-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 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 4 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 5 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 6 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 7 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Class participation | 10% | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 | |
| Class assignment | 15% | 1, 3, 5 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
| Research essay | 75% | 1, 2 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
| *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 12 teaching weeks |
| Private study time: | 9.5 hours / week for 12 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 announced further by course convenor in the first seminar of the course.
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/