General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW6346 / JDOC6346 |
| Course name: | Cross-border business law: EU, ASEAN, GBA |
| Programme offered under: | LLM Programme / JD Programme |
| Semester: | Second |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No |
| Course offered to non-law students: | No |
| Credit point value: | 9 credits / 6 credits |
1.2 Course description
This course examines the legal and institutional foundations of cross-border business within three major regional frameworks: the European Union (EU), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). Through a comparative and doctrinal lens, the course explores how regional integration projects construct markets, allocate regulatory authority and shape the conditions under which firms operate across borders.
The course is structured around four substantive modules each addressing a distinct layer of regional market construction.
I (Introductory Foundations): establishes the course’s conceptual framework. It introduces the core legal problems in cross-border business and connects constitutional and institutional design questions to private law, transactions and business strategy. Students are introduced to the structural differences between supranational, intergovernmental, and other models of integration.
II (The Structure of Integration) examines the constitutional architecture of regional projects. It compares the EU’s supranational model (delegated sovereignty), ASEAN’s intergovernmental approach (the “ASEAN Way”), and the GBA’s “Three Systems” framework within a single sovereign country. This module also addresses how regional rules are made, implemented and enforced, including concepts of supremacy, direct effect and questions of jurisdiction. By situating enforcement within institutional design, students develop an understanding of how integration structures shape private rights and legal certainty.
III (Market Entry and Mobility) turns to the conditions under which businesses and individuals enter and operate within regional markets. It analyses capital movement, foreign direct investment (FDI) screening, establishment rights, professional mobility and labour mobility. This module highlights the interaction between economic integration and state control over security, migration and regulatory sovereignty.
IV Substantive Business Law Harmonisation focuses on the harmonisation and coordination of core business law regimes across regions. It examines competition law enforcement models, intellectual property protection and cross-border digital regulation, including data governance and digital platform oversight. The focus is on assessing how differing enforcement logics and regulatory philosophies affect market competition and business risks.
The course concludes with a synthesis session and a Capstone Practitioner Workshop, where students engage with experts to discuss real-world friction points in regional integration, such as capital flows, mobility of people and data, competition law conflicts, and dispute resolution strategies.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | Julian Nowag | jnowag@hku.hk | CCT 411 | By email |
| Course convenor | Alexander Burtscher | TBA | TBA | By email |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Describe and explain the constitutional and institutional foundations of regional economic integration in the EU, ASEAN and the GBA, including how supranational, intergovernmental and hybrid models of integration differ in their structure, law-making processes and enforcement mechanisms.
CLO 2 Use relevant information about regional legal frameworks and institutional design to critically compare how each integration model shapes private rights and regulatory authority, and evaluate their relative strengths and limitations in a cross-border business context.
CLO 3 Apply, research, and critically analyse and evaluate legal principles related constitutional and institutional foundations of regional economic integration and cross-border market entry rules including capital movement, foreign direct investment screening, establishment rights, and professional and labour mobility to analyse regulatory risk and advise multinational enterprises and professional service providers on regional expansion strategies.
CLO 4 Demonstrate an understanding of the elements of business law including competition law enforcement models, intellectual property regimes and cross-border digital regulation to assess how differing regulatory philosophies affect markets and business across the EU, ASEAN and GBA frameworks
CLO 5 Demonstrate responsible and critical use of AI-assisted research tools in structured legal analysis, including the ability to evaluate, interrogate and adjust AI-generated outputs to meet rigorous professional and academic standards in the context of economic and business integration in the EU, ASEAN and the GBA.
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 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 5 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Class participation | 10% | 5 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| Group presentation | 20% | 5 | 2, 3, 4 |
| Midterm exam | 30% | 1 | 1, 2 |
| Take home exam | 40% | 3 | 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 |
| 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 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 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/