General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW6251 / JDOC6251 |
| Course name: | Comparative Property Law |
| Programme offered under: | LLM Programme / JD Programme |
| Semester: | June |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No |
| Credit point value: | 9 credits / 6 credits |
1.2 Course description
Blackstone said that ‘there is nothing which so generally strikes the imagination, and engages the affections of mankind, as the right of property.’ Nevertheless, there is still a lack of consensus among present-day lawyers on several fundamental issues. Is ‘property’ the right word to describe all types of assets/wealth? Is ‘ownership’ the right word to describe the right to exclusive possession of a thing forever? Is it true that no private individual can have ownership whatsoever, or ownership to his/her family home in mainland China? Is the numerus clausus principle peculiar to civil law systems as opposed to common law systems? Is it correct to understand trust as a form of split ownership by which the trustee has legal ownership and the beneficiary has beneficial ownership?
This course explores the key issues of property law in many jurisdictions shared by comparative lawyers, which from time to time go beyond the way how rules of property law are typically explored in undergraduate courses. It combines conceptual and functional analysis of doctrine with more abstract theoretical enquiry, aiming to provide fresh insights into questions arising from undergraduate studies, to broaden the knowledge of those planning to go into or return to practice, and to equip those thinking of further graduate study with valuable analytical tools.
The principal objective of this course is to equip students with a systemic understanding of various issues of law and policy involved in property acquisition, wealth management, and secured transactions in English law, Chinese law and the laws of major continental European jurisdictions. For students who have studied Chinese law, this course gives them an opportunity to understand English and comparative law. For students who have studied common law, this course is the right place for them to learn Chinese law. This course is also suitable for those who have no prior study of property law but are interested in acquiring knowledge of fundamental issues of property law.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | Zhicheng Wu | wu.zhicheng@ruc.edu.cn | TBA | By email |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Describe and explain the key aspects of property rights (namely, the types, creation, transfer, extinction, and protection), and the mapping of property law (especially its taxonomical relation with other branches of law such as trusts, contract, torts, and restitution).
CLO 2 Describe and explain property laws in English, Chinese and major continental European jurisdictions.
CLO 3 Describe and explain common misunderstandings in the laws of property and trusts.
CLO 4Demonstrate capacity to understand property rights and related issues from interdisciplinary and comparative perspectives.
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 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 4 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Due date | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Class participation | TBC | 30% | 1, 2, 3, 4 | |
| Take home exam | TBC | 70% | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
| *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 hour / 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: |
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| Recommended reading list: |
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5.2 Links
Please refer to the following link: http://www.law.hku.hk/course/learning-resources/