General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW2009 |
| Course name: | Introduction to Chinese Legal System [previously named ‘Introduction to Chinese Law] |
| Programme offered under: | LLB Programme |
| Semester: | Second |
| 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
The course provides an overview of the basic rules and institutions of the legal system that is operating in the mainland of People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the fundamental concepts in the core areas of Chinese law. The aim of the teaching is to introduce the structures, institutions, and distinctive features of the Chinese legal system and improve the understanding of Chinese law as compared with other legal systems, including the common law-based legal system in Hong Kong.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor / tutor | Sida Liu | liusida@hku.hk | CCT 503 | By email |
| Course convenor / tutor | Ying Xia | yingxia@hku.hk | CCT 505 | By email |
| Course tutor | Zhuo Ding | livding@connect.hku.hk | N/A | By email |
| Course tutor | Chang Liu | lclaw19@connect.hku.hk | N/A | By email |
| Course tutor | Isabella Liu | bellalwt@hku.hk | CCT 514 | By email |
| Course tutor | Song Tingting | ttsong97@connect.hku.hk | N/A | By email |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Understand the basic principles and the development of Chinese constitutional law.
CLO 2 Understand the features of the Chinese political-legal system.
CLO 3 Understand the features of Chinese lawmaking and judicial processes.
CLO 4 Understand the basic features of China’s criminal law and criminal procedure law.
CLO 5 Understand the basic features of China’s administrative law and administrative procedure law.
CLO 6 Learn about the development and challenges of legal professions in China.
CLO 7 Understand the basic features of China’s civil dispute solution mechanisms and civil justice system.
CLO 8 Learn about Chinese environmental law and the impact of recent environmental governance reform.
CLO 9 Learn about the interaction between law and the issues of family, gender, and sexuality in China.
CLO 10 Learn about China’s interaction with the international legal order.
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 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 8 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 9 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 10 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Due date | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Tutorial participation | TBC | 20% | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 | |
| Essay | 9 May 2025 | 40% | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 | |
| Final in-hall exam | 14 May 2025 | 40% | 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 12 teaching weeks |
| Tutorial: | 1 hour / 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/