General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW6058 / JDOC6058 |
| Course name: | Armed Conflict, Humanitarian Law and Human Rights |
| Programme offered under: | LLM Programme / JD Programme |
| Semester: | Second |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No |
| Credit point value: | 9 credits / 6 credits |
1.2 Course description
This course gives an introduction to the regulation of armed conflicts under international law. It begins with an overview of the historical evolution of the law regulating the waging of war (jus ad bellum) and conduct of war (jus in bello), and the classification of armed conflicts and other situations of violence. The bulk of the course focuses on the legal rules concerning armed conflicts, including the rules regulating the use of force and international humanitarian law (IHL), and their interplay with international human rights law and international criminal law. It examines the application of the rules in different conflict situations, as well as the challenges to IHL posed by contemporary armed conflict. The course assesses the role and limitations of key international institutions including the UN Security Council, the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court and the International Committee of the Red Cross as guardians of the rule-based international system, and explores the significance of transitional justice in healing societies and building resilience to prevent future violence. The course invites participants to reflect critically on the morality and legal and social implications of using violence to resolve conflicts, and to place the development of international rules regulating armed conflicts along the path of human progress.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | S K Lee | sklee1@hku.hk | CCT 301B | By email and by appointment |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Understand what amounts to an armed conflict under international law, and the distinction between international and non-international armed conflicts.
CLO 2 Evaluate, and be able to classify, a particular situation as an international armed conflict, a non-international armed-conflict or other situations of violence under international law.
CLO 3 Understand and be able to explain the different rules of international law applicable to different types of armed conflicts and other situations of violence, including the law regulating the use of force, international humanitarian law (the law of armed conflict), international human rights law and international criminal law, as well as their inter-relationship.
CLO 4 Understand, and be able to analyze, the interplay between the different tyles of the above international rules.
CLO 5 Understand and critically evaluate the effectiveness of different transitional justice methods in re-building societies and avoiding the recurrence of violence.
CLO 6 Critically reflect on the legal and moral implications of use of violence to resolve conflicts.
2.2 LLM and JD Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
Please refer to the following link:
LLM – https://course.law.hku.hk/llm-plo/
JD – https://course.law.hku.hk/jd-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 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 6 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
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, 5, 6 |
| Research paper | 30 Apr 2025 | 85% | 1, 2 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 |
| *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.
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 11 teaching weeks |
| Private study time: | 9.5 hours / week for 11 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.
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/