LLAW6109 & JDOC6109
General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW6109 / JDOC6109 |
| Course name: | Public International Law |
| Programme offered under: | LLM Programme / JD Programme |
| Semester: | Second |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No |
| Credit point value: | 9 credits / 6 credits |
1.2 Course description
Public international law governs inter-state relationships and entities such as individuals, international organizations and so on. The scope and importance of public international law has expanded dramatically in the last century due to increased awareness and studies towards globalisation, escalation of conflicts, environmental issues and human rights violations.
This postgraduate course explores the history, ideas and concepts that shape public international law and practice, and on the relationship between public international law and other ideas and phenomena. It aims to (i) provide a critical introduction to the subject matter and in-depth investigations into specific themes (such as war and peace, territorial disputes, state immunities, international dispute resolutions) and (ii) equip students with the skills and ability to advise on the basics of public international law and to analyze contemporary international legal problems.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | James Fry | jamesfry@hku.hk | CCT 712 | By email |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 To understand the basic legal techniques and concepts of international law.
CLO 2 To grasp the international law aspects of basic issues of current affairs in international relations.
CLO 3 To be equipped to engage in more advanced study and research of international law.
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 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Due date | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Oral mid-term exam | TBA | 50% | 1, 2, 3 | |
| Research essay | TBA | 50% | 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/