JDOC1005 & JDOC1006
General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | JDOC1005 & 1006 |
| Course name: | Law of Tort 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
Tort is one of the first subjects undertaken in the JD degree. Along with contract and unjust enrichment (also referred to as restitution), it forms part of the law of obligations, which covers the situations in which one person may be liable to another person in private (or civil) law. In tort, that liability is, generally, to pay damages as compensation for a rong The law of tort defines the circumstances in which an individual incurs responsibility for conduct that the law classifies as rongful In this sense, tort may be regarded as the private law equivalent of criminal law, which is, however, generally enforced against individuals by the State, rather than by another individual.
Private law extends beyond the law of obligations to include the law of property and the law of succession. Historically, it may have included much more than this (for example, it could be regarded as having included family law). A common aspect of the development of private law is that, in origin it was the creation of the common law courts, and therefore found, primarily, in case law.
Case law remains an important source of tort law, but, as with most other areas of law today, statute law now overshadows much of it, and this is likely to increase further in the future. A study of tort law is still, however, an excellent vehicle for the study of common law method. Students who study this course will, therefore, be required to read closely a number of cases and statutes for every seminar.
While the formal legal sources of tort law are easy to identify, the policies underlying the law, which focus on the role that tort plays in society, are extremely controversial. An understanding of these controversies is essential for a thorough knowledge of tort law and of the way in which it is developing globally in the twenty-first century.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor (first semester) | David Kwok | davkwok@hku.hk | CCT 814 | By email |
| Course convenor (second semester) | John Murphy | murphjr@hku.hk | CCT 906 | By email |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Identify the situations in which liability in tort arises and how that liability differs from other sources of legal obligation;
CLO 2 Explain the rules and principles of the most important torts, and the remedies available for their breach;
CLO 3 Apply the principles of tort law in the solution of legal disputes;
CLO 4 Weigh up the fundamental theories of tort law; the functions tort law serves within society; the viability of alternative regimes; and proposals for the reform of tort law;
CLO 5 Appraise the directions in which tort law is developing globally, including the impact of emerging human rights norms on tort law;
CLO 6 Make use of the primary and secondary sources of tort law.
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 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Due date | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Mid-term exam (1st semester) | 16 Dec 2022 | 40% | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 | |
| Final exam (2nd semester) | 15 May 2023 | 60% | 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).
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
| Lecture: | 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/