General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW6204 |
| Course name: | Public Law in Common Law Jurisdiction |
| Programme offered under: | LLM Programme |
| Semester: | First |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No |
| Credit point value: | 9 credits |
1.2 Course description
Public Law in Common Law Jurisdictions (PLCLJ) is a course which aims to provide a strong grounding in the principles governing the development and operation of public law in common law jurisdiction.
PLCLJ consists of a series of taught seminars and class discussions.
The course covers an introduction on the history, development of British common law and distinguishing features of common law systems. It will examine the major public law designs in common law jurisdictions, with particular reference to those of Hong Kong and England and Wales, and will critically evaluate the constitutional arrangement, common law rule of law conception, the role of the courts and the legal profession, administrative law principles, criminal justice and fundamental rights of these jurisdictions. Through class discussion, students will be invited to critically reflect on the differences between the public law systems in common law and civil law jurisdictions, and the interfaces between the common law system of the Hong Kong SAR and the PRC legal system.
1.3 Course teacher
| 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 Demonstrate a good basic understanding of key features of a common law legal system (CLLS).
CLO 2 Demonstrate a solid understanding of the public law system of the HKSAR as well as key comparative features between Hong Kong, England and other common law jurisdictions.
CLO 3 Appreciate how public law within a CLLS is shaped by wider political, economic and social contexts.
CLO 4 Understand the fundamentals of a rule of law regime and how the concept of the rule of law has been shaped by the development of the common law and the wider political, economic and social contexts.
CLO 5 Understand and explain the important principles, values and approach of public law in common law jurisdictions.
CLO 6 Demonstrate an ability to apply the understanding gained in 1-4 above to formulate and write a well-researched and well-argued paper on an agreed topic within the framework of the PLCLJ course.
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 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Due date | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Group assignment | TBC | 15% | 1, 4, 5 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| Research paper | 2 Dec 2024 | 85% | 1, 2 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 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 upon appointment |
| 5 | In-class verbal feedback |
3.2 Assessment Detail
To be confirmed 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/