General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | JDOC1001 & 1002 |
| Course name: | Law of Contract I & II |
| Programme offered under: | JD Programme |
| Semester: | Full year |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No |
| Credit point value: | 6 credits + 6 credits |
1.2 Course description
Contract is a compulsory subject in the JD degree. A sound knowledge of the principles of the law of contract is an essential element of any legal education. The principles of contract law govern many important areas of daily life and of the national and international economy. They also constitute an essential building block for other branches of the law, especially commercial law.
This course is concerned with the principles relating to the law of contract generally, rather than to the rules dealing with contracts of a particular subject matter, such as those applicable to the sale of goods (whether domestic or international), to insurance contracts, to land contracts, to agency or to contracts of employment. The law applicable to these contracts is studied in other subjects, some of which (like sale of goods and agency in commercial law) are also compulsory. The study of contracts in specified contexts assumes knowledge of the general principles that we study in this course.
Along with tort and unjust enrichment (also known as restitution), the law of contract forms part of the law of obligations, the part of law that identifies the situations in which one person becomes liable in private law to another person. That liability is, generally, to pay damages. Unlike tort and unjust enrichment (where liability is commonly said to arise simply by operation of law), the liability that arises in contract originates in the parties consent, which generally finds expression in an agreement between the parties. The consensual nature of the contractual obligation has a determining effect on the nature of the obligation between the parties and on the remedies that arise for its breach. It also stresses the need for care in the drafting of contracts.
In origin, the law of contract is the creation of the common law courts. Throughout its long historical development, the law of contract has been influenced by commercial practice, both national and international, and by the rules of other systems of law. This continues in today globalised world, and not only in common law systems of law. A telling example is the adoption, in recent Chinese codifications of contract law, of principles developed either in other systems of law or in international legal instruments.
While the law of contract in Hong Kong (as in most countries that have adopted the common law) remains uncodified, statute now plays an important role in the development of contract law for example, in protecting consumers. This course focuses on the most important principles and rules of contract law, as found in case law, statute and international legal instruments.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor (1st semester) | Benjamin Chen | benched@hku.hk | CCT 512 | By email |
| Course convenor (2nd semester) | Stefan Lo | stefanlo@hku.hk | CCT 301A | By email |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Identify the situations in which contractual obligations arise;
CLO 2 Explain how and why the law facilitates the protection of contractual obligations; and the remedies that are available for their breach;
CLO 3 Apply the rules and principles of contract law to the solution of contractual disputes;
CLO 4 Recognise good drafting in the law of contract;
CLO 5 Evaluate the functions that contract law plays in society and the extent to which existing principles and rules promote these functions;
CLO 6 Compare the common law rules of contract with global developments in the law of contract;
CLO 7 Make use of the primary and secondary sources of contract law, both national and international.
2.2 JD Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
Please refer to the following link: 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 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 7 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Due date | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Class participation in tutorials | TBC | 10% | 5 | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
| Mid-year in-hall exam (first semester) | 20 Dec 2023 | 40% | 1 | 1, 2, 3, 5 |
| Final in-hall exam (second semester) | 9 May 2024 | 50% | 1 | 1, 2, 3, 5 |
| *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).
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 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/