LLAW6159 – Course Profile

General Course Information

1.1 Course details

Course code:	LLAW6159
Course name:	Evidence
Programme offered under:	LLM Programme
Semester:	Second
Prerequisites / Co-requisites:	No
Credit point value:	9 credits
Cap on student numbers:	40

1.2 Course description

The aim of the course is to enable students to acquire sufficient knowledge and understanding of the nature and the law of evidence to act effectively as a dispute resolver.

1.3 Course teachers

	Name	E-mail address	Office	Consultation
Course convenor	Jacky Yeung, MCIArb	yeungjck@hku.hk	CCT 814	By appointment / email

Learning Outcomes

2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to demonstrate sound conceptual knowledge of:

CLO 1 Distinguishing facts in issue, relevant facts and collateral facts in a dispute;

CLO 2 Using judicial notice, admissions and presumptions in a dispute;

CLO 3 Classification of different types of evidence and the significance of the classification;

CLO 4 Assessing the relevance of a piece of evidence to the issue in dispute;

CLO 5 Evaluating the admissibility of a piece of evidence for an issue in dispute;

CLO 6 Determining how a piece of evidence can be presented to the tribunal;

CLO 7 Assessing the weight of a piece of admissible evidence;

CLO 8 Allocating of the burden and standard of proof on the parties in dispute;

CLO 9 Distinguishing the concepts of legal burden and evidential burden;

CLO 10 Identifying when a piece of evidence can/cannot be used for a hearsay purpose;

CLO 11 Identifying and applying the rules related to examination of witnesses (including cross-examination and re-examination);

CLO 12 How a tribunal may assess the weight to be given to evidence used for a hearsay purpose;

CLO 13 Explaining the significance of written evidence in a dispute;

CLO 14 Identifying when a piece of evidence may be subject to legal professional privilege and/or the doctrine of without prejudice;

CLO 15 How parties in dispute may seek disclosure of evidence from the opposing parties;

CLO 16 Identifying when and how expert evidence may be used by the parties in dispute; and

CLO 17 Explaining the duties and responsibilities of an expert witness in a dispute.

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	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
CLO 6	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
CLO 7	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
CLO 8	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
CLO 9	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
CLO 10	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
CLO 11	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
CLO 12	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
CLO 13	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
CLO 14	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
CLO 15	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
CLO 16	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
CLO 17	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓

Assessment(s)

3.1 Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Due date	Weighting	Feedback method*	Course learning outcomes
In-class individual case presentation	TBC	20%	2, 5	1-17
Final exam	18 May 2024	80%	1	1-17

*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

In the written examination, students are expected to demonstrate their understanding of the abovementioned course learning outcomes (both conceptual and technical knowledge through a combination of hypothetical fact-pattern questions and/or essay-type questions.

In the hypothetical fact-pattern questions, students are expected to identify the issues in dispute in a hypothetical dispute between parties and to apply the relevant rules of evidence to advise the parties in dispute. In the essay-type questions, students are expected to evaluate or comment on statements concerning the rules of evidence by applying what they have learned from the course.

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

Learning activities in the form discussion questions cover the following topics:

Identifying the issues in dispute among parties;
Discussions of the standard and burden of proof of a party in dispute;
Classification of different types of evidence;
Research on different types of judicial notices taken by the courts;
Assessment of the relevance of various pieces of evidence to the issues in dispute;
Applications of the exclusionary rules (and their exceptions) in the contexts of examination of witnesses;
Distinguishing factual evidence from opinion evidence;
Application of the rules related to the admissibility of expert opinion evidence;
Identifying when a piece of evidence can/cannot be used for a hearsay purpose;
Analysing when a piece of document may be subject to legal professional privilege;
Discussing the rules allowing parties to seek disclosure of evidence from the opposing parties or from third parties.

Learning Resources

5.1 Resources

Reading materials:

To be provided through Moodle.

Core reading list:

There are no prescribed textbooks for this course.

Prescribed reading materials will be distributed through Moodle.