General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW3030 |
| Course name: | Introduction to Private International Law (Conflict of Laws) |
| Programme offered under: | LLB Programme |
| Semester: | Second |
| Designated research course: | Not applicable |
| Specialization: | Commercial, corporate and financial law |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No |
| Course offered to non-law students: | No |
| Credit point value | 6 credits |
1.2 Course description
Private international law, also known as ‘the conflict of laws’, is a body of principles which are designed for, and specific legal rules which are applicable in, legal situations that involve foreign elements. These principles and its rules operate in the context of actual litigation, but an awareness of them is essential in planning and in giving legal advice long before anyone issues a writ.
Private international law is generally understood to have three components. The conflict of jurisdictions examines when a court has, and will (or will not) exercise jurisdiction in a matter which has a foreign element; it also examines what may be done to prevent a foreign court from exercising jurisdiction. It is, in legal practice, the most vibrant of the three limbs of the subject. The conflict of laws is concerned with whether, when, and how a court will apply foreign law to the determination of a matter before it: the constraints of the timetable mean that we must limit our focus, in this regard, to contracts, torts, other obligations, and some kinds of property. The conflict of judgments examines whether and when a foreign judgment has an effect in the local legal order. We will study all three.
It will be obvious how important these issues are in the daily practice (litigation and pre-litigation) of commercial law. Although due attention will be given to the private international law of Hong Kong, neither the subject nor the course is parochial. It will be necessary to look, just as the judges do, to the wider world of the common law. Where time permits we will, for the sake of contrast and perspective, glance at the private international law rules of mainland China, but knowledge of these will not be examinable. Trends in and future developments of the subject will be noticed, but the course will be solidly grounded on the way the law deals with matters having a foreign element.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | Adrian Briggs | TBA | TBA | By email |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 To understand the principles and practices, aims and ambitions, of private international law.
CLO 2 To understand how these principles (i) are given effect as rules of private international law applicable in the courts of Hong Kong, and (ii) are liable to be applied in practice.
CLO 3 To understand how these principles and rules may be borne in mind and deployed prior to any suggestion of litigation (i) for the purpose avoiding litigation or (ii) for ensuring, to the extent possible, that any litigation contains the smallest number of unwelcome surprises.
CLO 4 To reflect on (i) the strengths and weaknesses of the rules we currently have, and (ii) on whether (and if so, what) alteration of the laws would be beneficial.
2.2 LLB Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
Please refer to the following link: https://course.law.hku.hk/llb-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 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Mid-term written test | 25% | 1, 2, 3, 4 | |
| In-hall exam | 75% | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
| *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 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: | Lui and Reyes, Hong Kong Private International Law (Hart Publishing, 2025) |
5.2 Links
Please refer to the following link: http://www.law.hku.hk/course/learning-resources/