General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW3016 |
| Course name: | Comparative 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
This course introduces basic methodologies and theories of comparative law and studies different legal systems. The primary idea of this course is to investigate how different societies and cultures understand justice and order in their own contexts. In addition to centering on two salient legal systems: the common law system and the civil law system, this course will also pay special attention to comparative studies of Chinese law, with a focus on its interaction with the Hong Kong legal system.
The course will start with discussing general topics in the comparative law discipline, and then delve into significant differences in constitutional law, procedure, criminal law, property, contract, tort and family law around the world. In the end, this course will explore some potential usages of comparative law in legal debates.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | Weilin Xiao | wlxiao@hku.hk | CCT 308 | By email |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Apply methodologies and theories of comparative law to describe and explain key differences in various legal systems.
CLO 2 Understand laws in broader cultural, societal and economic backgrounds.
CLO 3 Develop the sensitivity of how laws historically converged and diverged, transplanted and diffused.
CLO 4 Demonstrate knowledge of using comparative law in legal debates.
CLO 5 Examine comparative law scholarship in the context of globalization and post-colonialization.
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 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Due date | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Mid-term essay | 15 Nov 2024 | 50% | 1 | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
| Take home exam | TBC | 50% | 1 | 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 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/