General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW6196 / JDOC6196 |
| Course name: | Preventative Law: Approaches to Conflict Prevention and Resolution |
| Programme offered under: | LLM Programme / JD Programme |
| Semester: | Second |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No |
| Credit point value: | 9 credit / 6 credits |
| Cap on students: | 40 |
1.2 Course description
Lawyers can play a key role not just in the resolution of disputes, but also in the prevention and management of conflicts within organizations and societies. This course will explore key processes including arbitration, mediation and ombuds mechanisms, through which a system is consciously created to address a stream of conflicts among individual and entities, as well as legally defined disputes. Similar to the public health model, which aims to promote positive individual and collective habits that stem the occurrence of disease, this course seeks to examine those mechanisms, principles and processes oriented toward the prevention of conflict. The approach of the course will be both theoretical and participatory in nature.
Preventative Law, drawing on concepts from Dispute Systems Design (DSD) is a relatively new field that has emerged from the discipline of dispute resolution, with strong influences from other fields including organizational development and social psychology, among others.
In this course, we will examine different approaches to analyzing the causes, dynamics and consequences of conflict, and subsequently designing interventions with the aim of resolving such conflicts peacefully and justly. We will approach this topic through a careful balance of theory and practice; the former will allow us to contextualize our studies within the larger debates and driving questions in the field, while the latter will allow us to ground our studies in real-life examples to ensure that our ideas are practical and implementable.
We will explore these concepts through an array of case studies illuminating the role of the lawyer in applying dispute system design concepts to create systems to prevent, manage, and resolve disputes. Class exercises will include applying DSD concepts to hypothetical cases as well as skill-building components relating to mediation, collaborative problem solving, and facilitation.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | Shahla Ali | sali@hku.hk | CCT 811 | By email |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Demonstrate a basic understanding of the major approaches to analysis and design covered within the course.
CLO 2 Be capable of analyzing the perspectives and work of other scholars and practitioners on the course topic thoroughly and critically.
CLO 3 Present coherent, articulate and thoughtful oral and written arguments regarding the course topic.
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 |
| Class participation | TBC | 25% | 1, 2, 3 | |
| Research paper | 23 May 2023 | 75% | 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/