General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW6003 / JDOC6003 |
| Course name: | Civil and Commercial Law in the People’s Republic of China |
| Programme offered under: | LLM Programme / JD Programme |
| Semester: | Second |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No |
| Credit point value: | 9 credits / 6 credits |
1.2 Course description
This is a non-doctrinal-centric course. This course will study the Chinese Civil and Commercial Law from theoretical and comparative perspectives. The teacher will provide reading materials for each session. Students are expected to read them in advance and participate in class discussions actively.
The teacher will accommodate the diverse backgrounds of students who may have different levels of knowledge regarding Chinese laws. Each session of the course will be roughly divided into two parts: the first part will consist of lectures on the clauses and doctrines, providing foundational knowledge for those new to Chinese civil law, while also helping those with a Chinese law background understand the laws in an English context. The second part will focus on theoretical and comparative studies, where the teacher will select academic debates, comparative exercises, and cases for discussion.
This is not a doctrine-centric course. The reading materials cover both studies on the Chinese Civil Code and research related to it. The following syllabus outlines the topics and reading assignments throughout the semester. The schedule is flexible, as the pace of the course may vary. Some reading assignments may be adjusted as necessary to accommodate the course’s progress.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | Weilin Xiao | wlxiao@hku.hk | CCT 308 | By email |
1.4 Course Outline (for elective course)
| Please click the link here for the course outline (HKU Portal login required). |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Acquire a basic knowledge of the key provisions related to PRC civil and commercial law.
CLO 2 Analyze how to apply the major legal provisions of these laws to concrete civil and commercial transactions.
CLO 3 Identify and evaluate the rationales of the law from efficiency and moral perspectives.
CLO 4 Enhance the understanding of comparative law involving Chinese and Hong Kong laws.
CLO 5 Draw implications from the readings of the course for law reforms in Hong Kong and China.
CLO 6 Increase the understanding of the relationship between contract enforcement and economic development.
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 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 6 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Take home exam | 100% | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 |
| *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 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 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). See also Course Outline above.
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/