LLAW6215 & JDOC6215

General Course Information

1.1 Course details

Course code: LLAW6215 / JDOC6215
Course name: Seminar on Human Rights and Constitutionalism in Asia
Programme offered under: LLM Programme / JD Programme
Semester: Second
Prerequisites / Co-requisites: No
Credit point value: 9 credits / 6 credits
Cap on student numbers: 30

1.2 Course description

The Seminar on Constitutionalism and Human Rights in Asia offers an opportunity to explore human rights in its social and institutional contexts. Students will explore the important themes of constitutionalism and human rights in Asia, a region that houses nearly two-thirds of the world’s population and includes a wide range of cultures and developmental contexts.

This course adopts an interdisciplinary and comparative approach to analyze the interaction between constitutional law and politics in Asia.  We will examine communist regimes (China, Vietnam), dominant party democracies (HKSAR, Singapore), and liberal democracies (Taiwan, South Korea), and explore how the regime-type of the constitutional system impacts human rights enforcement by the courts.

1.3 Course teachers

Name E-mail address Office Consultation
Course convenor Po Jen Yap pjyap@hku.hk CCT 510 By email

Learning Outcomes

2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course

CLO 1 Describe and explain the political systems in China, Vietnam, HKSAR, Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea.

CLO 2 Critically examine how the political system affects judicial behavior and the enforcement of human rights.

CLO 3 Apply and demonstrate one’s understanding of how constitutionalism in Asia converges and diverges from the West.

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 presentation TBC 25% 1, 3, 4 1, 2, 3
Research paper TBC 75% 1, 3, 4 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/