General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW2001 |
| Course name: | Constitutional Law |
| Programme offered under: | LLB Programme |
| Semester: | First |
| Designated research course: | Not applicable |
| Specialization: | Not applicable |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No |
| Course offered to non-law students: | No |
| Credit point value: | 6 credits |
1.2 Course description
Constitutions establish public power, divide it among different branches and levels of government, and regulate the relationship between the government and the people. The constitutional law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region performs these functions in a distinctive setting: a common law jurisdiction of liberal orientation, exercising a high degree of autonomy while being part of a unitary socialist state. This course anatomises that arrangement from its making to its testing. We examine the meaning of constitutions and constitutionalism; the genesis and architecture of Hong Kong’s constitutional order under the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ policy; the design and evolution of the political structure; the nature and extent of the Region’s autonomy; the interpretation of the Hong Kong Basic Law; the constitutional jurisdiction of the Region’s courts; the protection of national security; and the adjudication of constitutional rights and freedoms. Throughout the course, we ask how well the tensions within this constitutional order have been mediated, including those arising from the autonomy it guarantees and the sovereignty within which that autonomy operates.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor / tutor | Cora Chan | corachan@hku.hk | CCT 805 | By email |
| Course convenor | Trevor Wan | trevorwan@hku.hk | CCT 305 | By email |
| Course tutor | Jason Ko | kolun@hku.hk | N/A | By email |
| Course tutor | Jack Man | TBA | N/A | By email |
| Course tutor | Jeffrey Tam | jefftck@hku.hk | N/A | By email |
| Course tutor | Clara Wong | clarakpwong@dvc.hk | N/A | By email |
| Course tutor | Cedric Yeung | TBA | N/A | By email |
| Course tutor | Richard Yip | ryip@dcc.law | N/A | By email |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
After completing this course, students are expected to be able to:
CLO 1 describe the making of Hong Kong’s constitutional order from its colonial antecedents to the present;
CLO 2 explain the Basic Law of the Hong Kong SAR of the PRC in relation to the PRC Constitution and the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ policy;
CLO 3 outline the functions and operations of the key branches of the Hong Kong government and the relations between them;
CLO 4 analyse the evolution of Hong Kong’s political structure and the tensions within it, including those raised by political reform and the constitutional jurisdiction of the courts of the Region;
CLO 5 assess the competing arguments, the judges’ reasoning, and the outcomes in key constitutional law cases, and their effect on jurisprudential development;
CLO 6 apply principles synthesised from key constitutional jurisprudence, particularly that on constitutional rights, to novel fact situations; and
CLO 7 evaluate the nature and extent of the Region’s autonomy and its relationship with the Central Authorities in the light of political, social, and economic changes since 1997.
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 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 5 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 6 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 7 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Tutorial participation | 10% | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,7 | |
| Research paper | 30% | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,7 | |
| Final examination | 60% | 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).
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: | 2 hours / week for 11 teaching weeks |
| Tutorial: | 2 hours every two weeks for 10 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 the 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/