LLAW6340 & JDOC6340

General Course Information

1.1 Course details

Course code: LLAW6340 / JDOC6340
Course name: Legal Pluralism in Hong Kong
Programme offered under: LLM Programme / JD Programme
Semester: Second
Prerequisites / Co-requisites: No
Credit point value: 9 credit / 6 credits

1.2 Course description

The object of the course is to study the foundations of Chinese Law and Custom as received and developed in the jurisdiction of the HKSAR in the context of legal pluralism. This course explores its nature, features, scope and to examine its interaction with the common law system, and to consider its position in modern society. An outline of the course:

Classical Chinese Thought and Institutions: Continuity and Change

Evolution of early Chinese law; jurisprudential debates surrounding these developments; features of Chinese legal system and culture during the Qing dynasty (1644-1911); developments during the late 19th and early 20th centuries; efforts at reform; recognition of Chinese law and custom in common law jurisdictions of east and southeast Asia, especially Hong Kong.

Customary Law within a Common Law System

Reception of customary law into Hong Kong: pre-cessional law, New Territories Ordinance, Marriage Reform Ordinance, and the Basic Law; tensions between Chinese customary law and custom in a common law system: limits upon customary law; living customary law; traditional rights and interests of indigenous inhabitants under BL Art 40.

Law, Society and Customary Norms

Legal Pluralism in colonial context, rural community in the New Territories the family: marriage, concubinage, adoption, protection of minors, wills, inheritance and succession; communal lands; ancestral estates: t’so and family t’ong; gender equality; access to justice; religious, educational and charitable endowments; community institutions; commercial bodies; customary landholding; small houses and the customary right to build.

1.3 Course teachers

Name E-mail address Office Consultation
Course convenor Max Wong TBC N/A By email
Course convenor Eric Ip ericcip@hku.hk CCT 705 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 Have a thorough grasp of major concepts and debates about the interplay between technology and the law, with a particular focus on online platforms;

CLO 2 Be able to think creatively about the normative challenges raised by online platforms and make this knowledge productive for policy analysis and design;

CLO 3 Develop a critical and comparative appreciation of the ways in which different jurisdictions tackle the governance of online platforms in different respects.

CLO 4 Be familiar with a number of substantive topics that will be relevant for further research in this field.

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 Weighting Feedback method* Course learning outcomes
Class participation 10% 1, 2, 3, 4
Research essay proposal 10% 1, 2, 3, 4
Final essay 80% 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). See also Course Outline above.

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/