General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW3142 |
| Course name: | Law and Politics of Constitutions |
| Programme offered under: | LLB Programme |
| Semester: | Second |
| Designated research course: | Yes |
| Specialization: | Not applicable |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No |
| Course offered to non-law students: | No |
| Credit point value: | 6 credits |
1.2 Course description
Almost every modern state has a written constitution. A constitution is not only a legal document; it is also political instrument. For what purpose was the constitution framed; for what functions it serves; and how it is interpreted by judges would routinely depend on the interaction between law and politics.
This course adopts an interdisciplinary and comparative approach to analyze the interaction between law and politics in Asia. We will examine communist regimes (China, Vietnam); dominant party democracies (HKSAR, Singapore), and liberal democracies (Taiwan, South Korea), and explore how the regime-type of the political system affects judicial behaviour and the jurisdiction’s commitment to human rights.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | Po Jen Yap | pjyap@hku.hk | CCT 510 | By email |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Describe and explain the political systems in China, Vietnam, HKSAR, Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea.
CLO 2 Critically examine how the political system affects judicial behaviour and the enforcement of human rights.
CLO 3 Apply and demonstrate one’s understanding of the interaction of law and politics to other regime types in Asia and the world.
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 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Due date | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Class presentation | TBC | 25% | 1, 3, 5 | 1, 2, 3 |
| Research paper | TBC | 75% | 1, 3, 5 | 1, 2, 3 |
| *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/