General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW6093 / JDOC6093 (Class B) |
| Course name: | Regulation of Financial Markets |
| Programme offered under: | LLM Programme / JD Programme |
| Semester: | First |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No |
| Credit point value: | 9 credits / 6 credits |
| Remarks: | Students of LLM(CR) are not allowed to take this course. |
1.2 Course description
This course is designed for postgraduate law students (JD and LLM curricula). It does not presuppose a financial background: it is intended both for students without prior exposure to finance and for those who, although proficient in financial practice, are willing to (re)examine the basics with a critical eye. The course examines the nature and operation of financial markets, as well as the role of regulation and legal rules in the finance sector, covering the major financial sectors from legal and policy perspectives. It is not a vocational or training course, and it includes legal-theory components: its aim is to equip students with the fundamental analytical tools to understand and critically examine the rationale and the implications of different rules, as implemented in statutes, regulatory instruments, and case law.
Emphasis will be on the ongoing dynamics of (i) markets’ globalization vs. fragmentation, (ii) interdependence of financial services vs. stability concerns, and (iii) the tensions between regulatory policies, such as financial stability, market integrity, innovation, and inclusive access to finance. Reference to past, recent, and ongoing crises will be made throughout this course.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | Giuliano Castellano | g.castellano@hku.hk | CCT 703 | 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 Understand the role of finance in society and the role of laws to ensure that financial markets
perform their function.
CLO 2 Identify and critically analyze the dynamics between law, regulation, and financial innovation (both technology-driven and non-technology-driven).
CLO 3Understand and critically examine different regulatory approaches, such as ‘principle based’ and ‘risk-based’ regulation, that are deployed – in various jurisdictions – to promote market integrity and financial stability.
CLO 4 Assess the ramifications of global regulatory governance for market integrity and financial stability and the inherent tensions between policy objectives (including market efficiency, innovation, and
financial inclusion).
CLO 5 Analyze regulatory policies critically – regardless of the jurisdiction – concerned with the conduct of business and prudential regulation (micro-prudential and macro-prudential).
CLO 6 Navigate key aspects and notions of selected domestic jurisdictions and international regulatory and supervisory standards to ensure and promote the safety and soundness of financial intermediaries and markets.
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 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 4 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 5 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 6 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Class participation and presentations (oral) | 30% | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 | |
| Take home assessment | 70% | 1 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 |
| *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). See also Course Outline above.
Learning Resources
5.1 Resources
| Reading materials: | There is no single required text for the course. Instead, distributed materials will be made available via Moodle each week. Note that hard copies will not be distributed. |
| Core reading list: | Not applicable |
| Recommended reading list: | TBA |
5.2 Links
Please refer to the following link: http://www.law.hku.hk/course/learning-resources/