General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW3275 / LALS3016 |
| Course name: | Legal Language in Hong Kong: Issues and Directions |
| Programme offered under: | LLB Programme / BA&LLB Programme |
| Semester: | First |
| Designated research course: | No |
| Specialization: | Not applicable |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | Students taking the course will be assumed to be reasonably proficient in traditional Chinese (written) and Cantonese (oral). |
| Course offered to non-law students: | No |
| Credit point value: | 6 credits |
1.2 Course description
This course aims to introduce law students to language issues arising out of the legal context in Hong Kong, as a unique jurisdiction which practises the common law and uses both Chinese and English as official languages. The course looks at how law affects the use and development of legal language in Hong Kong, and vice versa. The seminars will discuss various themes, and will introduce students to the legal and linguistic theories pertinent to a thorough analysis of the underlying issues. Typical topics include bilingual legislation and legal drafting, legal translation, court advocacy, and court interpretation in Hong Kong. Guest lecturers are invited to provide practical perspectives. Throughout the course, students are encouraged to apply newly acquired knowledge and multidisciplinary perspectives, in order to critically analyse and propose the way forward on the use of language in the Hong Kong legal context.
This course is certified as a communication-intensive course. The communication-intensive course badge will be visible on the student’s Academic Attainment Profile (AAP).
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | Wilson Lui | cywlui@connect.hku.hk | N/A | By email |
| Course convenor | Edmund Cham | chamske1@hku.hk; protopopov@gmail.com | N/A | By email |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Identify, describe and explain language issues arising out of various scenarios in Hong Kong legal practice and the Hong Kong legal system.
CLO 2 Enhance the ability to understand, interpret, and analyse legal language with reference to appropriate legal and linguistic theories.
CLO 3 Demonstrate an awareness of the impact of issues of legal language within the broader legal and socio-cultural context within Hong Kong and among other jurisdictions.
CLO 4 Reflect and propose future directions on issues involving legal language.
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 |
| Class participation | N/A | 15% | 1, 5 | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
| Group presentation | TBC | 35% | 1, 5 | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
| Final research webpage | TBC | 50% | 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 the 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 the 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/