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 |
[This course is cross-listed to LLM elective. Senior year LLB students (i.e. LLB 3-4 and Double Degree 4-5) are allowed to take certain LLM courses as their law electives but subject to meet certain requirements (please see LLB course selection guidelines).]
1.2 Course description
The field of private international law, also known as ‘the conflict of laws’, is a body of principles applied by a court to cases that involve foreign elements. It generally considers three major questions. First, the question of jurisdiction: when can parties seise a court in connection with matters involving a foreign element, or conversely, what are the conditions under which a court will accept jurisdiction to deal with such matters? Second, the question of applicable law: what system or systems of law will be applied to resolve such matters? Third, the question of recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments: what are the requirements and circumstances in which they will be recognised and enforced? These questions are particularly important for Hong Kong as an international financial centre and a leading legal and dispute resolution services hub, in which a significant proportion of disputes have a connection outside of Hong Kong, either with Mainland China, or with other jurisdictions.
This course equips students with a solid working knowledge of private international law. It also examines the connections between private international law and other areas of law, such as family law, international arbitration, and cross-border insolvency. Moreover, this course offers comparative perspectives with other jurisdictions when appropriate, including Mainland China, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Australia, and the United States. It also considers the question of harmonisation of private international law from interregional and international perspectives, and the work of various international organisations in this respect.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | Wilson Lui | cywlui@connect.hku.hk | N/A | By email |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Understand and explain a substantial range of rules, principles, concepts, and values of private international law.
CLO 2 Apply a solid working knowledge of private international law effectively to decided cases and other factual scenarios and legal problems.
CLO 3 Demonstrate an awareness of the broader context of private international law by connecting it with other areas of law and appreciating the similarities and differences among jurisdictions through a comparative approach.
CLO 4 Discuss potential areas of development and reform in private international law.
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 | Due date | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Mid-term case note | TBC | 35% | 1, 2, 3, 5 | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
| Final research essay OR final take-home exam (students choose one only) | TBC | 65% | 1, 2, 3 | 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: | Wilson Lui and Anselmo Reyes, Hong Kong Private International Law (Hart Publishing, 2025) |
| Recommended reading list: | TBA |
5.2 Links
Please refer to the following link: http://www.law.hku.hk/course/learning-resources/