General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW3246 |
| Course name: | Disability Rights Clinic |
| Programme offered under: | LLB Programme |
| Semester: | Second |
| Designated research course: | Not applicable |
| Specialization: | Not applicable |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No pre-requisite but a prior or concurrent course in international human rights law is recommended. |
| Course offered to non-law students: | No |
| Credit point value: | 6 credits |
| Cap on student numbers: | 24 |
1.2 Course description
This course will provide an opportunity for HKU students to gain knowledge and practical experience in the rapidly developing area of disability rights law. Knowledge of disability law is imperative for students – whether they are planning to work outside the corporate sector or within the corporate sector. As awareness of disability law continues to grow, there is increasing demand for lawyers with knowledge and experience in this area. Disability law is connected to other area of legal practice: from employment law, to education, medical, criminal, and tort law. As such, it is desirable even for graduates who will work in private practice to have a working knowledge of disability law.
Through partnerships with innovative and progressive disability rights groups (both domestically and internationally), students will acquire substantive knowledge in international human rights law and disability rights law, while actively applying their knowledge to practice in serving the community.
The Disability Rights Clinic will challenge students to identify, research, analyze and report on rights violations experienced by people with disabilities. Weekly seminars will incorporate both substantive knowledge and practical skills training.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | Lindsay Ernst | lernst@hku.hk | CCT 615 | By email |
| Course convenor | Patricia Ho | measorho@hku.hk | CLE | By email |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for the course
At the conclusion of this course, students should be able to:
CLO 1 Describe, explain, and evaluate the sources, breadth, and effectiveness of the laws addressing the challenges faced by individuals with a disability.
CLO 2 Use relevant information about disability and international human rights instruments to critically examine the limitations of the disability human rights framework.
CLO 3 Critically consider multi-disciplinary approaches to disability – including the availability and appropriate use of legal processes and different areas of law – in the context of a variety of individual situations.
CLO 4 Demonstrate an understanding of the capacity and role of law and lawyers to create social, economic, and political change in the area of disability rights.
CLO 5 Analyze and reflect critically on effective methods for meaningful collaboration with external stakeholders including international NGOs, local civil society organizations, as well as international human rights bodies.
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 |
| Project plan | TBC | 20% | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 | |
| Weekly team/partner meetings | TBC | 20% | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 | |
| Mid-term draft work product | TBC | 20% | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 | |
| Final work product | TBC | 40% | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| *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
Students will be assessed on a pass/fail basis.
Learning Activities
4.1 Learning Activity Plan
| Seminar: | 3 hours / week for 12 teaching weeks |
| Private study time: | 9-10 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
Apart from lectures and tutorials, students will have opportunities to collaborate on projects with community partners and/or ongoing cases.
Learning Resources
5.1 Resources
| Reading materials: | Reading materials are posted on Moodle |
| Core reading list: | To be posted on Moodle |
| Recommended reading list: | To be posted on Moodle |
5.2 Links
Please refer to the following link: http://www.law.hku.hk/course/learning-resources/