General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW6135 |
| Course name: | Alternative Dispute Resolution |
| Programme offered under: | LLM Programme |
| Semester: | First |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No |
| Credit point value: | 9 credits |
| Remarks: | Only offer to LLM(ADR) students |
1.2 Course description
The course LLAW6135 Alternative Dispute Resolution (‘ADR’) examines disputes (their development, form, and nature) and the range of processes by which they are handled (or avoided). In so doing, it considers access to civil justice issues and (including questions in the relationship between ADR and rule of law values), focusing on non-adversarial approaches to dispute resolution, especially negotiation, mediation, innovations in litigation and trial, arbitration, and forms of mixed process such as the ombudsperson. Litigation and adjudication have until the past several decades been regarded as ‘the standard’ mode of resolving disputes, especially among legal professionals and administrators of justice. The use of ADR has now come to be more widely accepted within many civil justice systems, including Hong Kong, so that the term ADR is today sometimes also used to refer to ‘appropriate’ or ‘additional’ dispute resolution. The course provides a general analysis of the field, and where relevant, consideration is given to dispute processes in various East Asian jurisdictions.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | Shahla Ali | sali@hku.hk | CCT 811 | By email |
| Course convenor | Jane Willems | TBA | N/A | By email |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Be familiar with the analysis of the form and nature of disputes and their incidence in society, the pattern of dispute resolution, the traditional methods of resolving disputes and the potential impact of various social, economic, legal, political and cultural factors on dispute resolution.
CLO 2 Be familiar with the broad range of alternative methods of dispute resolution encountered in legal practice, and their use and application in Hong Kong and in the Asia Pacific region generally, as well as in a comparative international context.
CLO 3 Be competent in critically analyzing and evaluating the various alternative methods of dispute resolution (e.g. their advantages and problems) by considering such issues as the legitimate expectations of disputants, quality of and access to justice, public and private costs of ADR and the politics of informal justice.
CLO 4 Be competent in evaluating the application of ADR methods in various substantive areas and be able to advise future clients about the potential suitability of various dispute resolution processes and prepare them for participation in these varied dispute resolution processes.
CLO 5 Have participated in some simulated negotiation and mediation role-play simulations and developed some basic competency in effectively participating in negotiations and mediations. The critical, theoretical and evaluative material will be combined with simulated role-playing exercises for a better understanding of the various dispute resolution methods and processes.
2.2 LLM Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
Please refer to the following link: https://course.law.hku.hk/llm-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 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Due date | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Class participation and reflection journal | TBC | 30% | 1 | 1-5 |
| Research paper | TBC | 70% | 1, 2 | 1-5 |
| *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
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/