Bachelor of Laws (LLB) with Honours

Introduction

The LLB (Honours) provides a sound preparation not only for the practice of law but for many other careers. Recent rapid economic and social developments in Hong Kong, in the PRC and world wide have created many new opportunities for lawyers and legally aware persons throughout commercial, business, professional and public life. Legal education and law teaching must ensure that law graduates are sufficiently well equipped to meet those opportunities. Legal education and training in Hong Kong has itself been the subject of an extensive review over the past few years and many positive recommendations for changes in course format and course delivery have been made. City University has embraced those recommendations and has substantially redesigned the LLB programme. There are consequent changes in the delivery of the programme and in the way students are assessed.

The School of Law offers LLB programme in Full-Time Mode (four years). The Full-Time programme will be attractive to both school leavers and those who have a bachelor degree.

The curriculum will concentrate on the essential core common law subjects as they apply in Hong Kong. Students will also be introduced to the laws and legal system of mainland China. In addition, students will be able to select subjects they wish to study depending upon their intended careers and interests from a wide range of electives.

Programme Aims

The programme aims to:

1. provide a liberal education in the theory and practice of law at the level and rigour appropriate for an undergraduate degree;
2. equip students with a critical understanding of law and legal institutions so as to enable them to serve the needs of Hong Kong and the international community; and
3. facilitate the development of a range of intellectual skills, in particular the ability to think analytically and critically, to solve problems, and to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this Programme, students should be able to:

• Know the law
  • be able to analytically and critically describe the main substantive/procedural laws and the legal system of Hong Kong, and also describe the principles of international law or the laws of other jurisdictions;
  • be able to describe the law and legal system of the People’s Republic of China and its relation with Hong Kong’s constitutional set-up and commercial future;
• Apply the law
  • be able to apply the law to solve legal problems;
• Evaluate & contextualise the law
  • be able to critically evaluate the law in action and the dynamic interplay between law and other social phenomena and real-life situations;
• Acquire & Use legal skills
  • be able to use a range of legal or intellectual skills – such as reading and interpreting cases and statutes, identifying and evaluating relevant facts, conducting independent legal research, developing and offering solutions to legal problems, using and citing relevant authorities appropriately, drafting documents, and communicating in a coherent, cogent and persuasive manner – in performing various tasks;
• Act ethically & responsibly
  • be able to act with a strong sense of ethics and with due regard to social and professional responsibilities.
• Develop the attitude
  • be able to develop an attitude of inquiry and a sense of curiosity to learning and knowledge.
• Opportunity to Discover
  • be able to have an opportunity to make an original discovery and/ or innovation concerning the operation of the law and procedure in Hong Kong

Programme Structure

The structure of our LLB prorgamme allows students to broaden their horizons by studying various law and non-law subjects. A special emphasis is placed on exposing students to comparative and international perspectives. In order to graduate, LLB students are required to complete 120 credits (for current LLB students) or 126 credit units (for new LLB students of 2012 cohort and thereafter) comprising core law courses, law electives, Gateway Education courses such as English language courses and Chinese civilisation courses.

The core courses for LLB students are: Legal Research and Writing, Hong Kong Legal System, Legal System of the PRC, Law of Contract, Law of Tort, Constitutional and Administrative Law, Criminal Law, Land Law, Applied Legal Theory, and Legal Chinese (for students literate in the Chinese language). Students contemplating entry to the legal profession must also complete the following courses: Equity and Trusts, Company Law, Law of Evidence, Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure, and Commercial law.

In addition, LLB students may choose electives from a list of over thirty courses in areas such as commercial law, environmental law, public law, international law, human rights law, international economic law, Chinese law, intellectual property law, cyberspace law, alternative dispute resolution, international advocacy, comparative law, and criminal law.

A feature of the LLB Programme will be an integrated approach to learning and assessment by which students will be able to acquire and improve their general transferrable skills and competencies. There will be more emphasis on in-class presentations, inter-active teaching and small group activities rather than on the traditional take home written coursework and the closed book examination. Attention will be paid throughout the programme to the continual improvement of language skills

LLB Programme Structure (for current studennts)

LLB Programme Structure (for LLB students of 2012 cohort and thereafter)

Special Features

• Global faculty and curriculum
• Emphasis on active and interactive learning in small tutorial groups
• Legal Placement at a law firm in Hong Kong or in courts of Mainland China
• Regular guest and video-conference lectures by scholars from law schools such as Oxford, Yale, Columbia, Harvard and Sydney
• Overseas exchange opportunities
• Global Legal Education and Awareness Project (G-LEAP) – an opportunity to study one month intensive courses at the University College, Oxford and the Faculty of Law, Monash University
• Admission scholarships for bright students
• First LLB Programme to introducce specific streaming (Commerical Law, Dispute Resoluttion, and Chinese and Comparative Law Stream

Career Prospects

A law degree offers a firm foundation for a variety of careers and further study, both in Hong Kong and overseas. Graduates who wish to practice law in Hong Kong will need to enter the Postgraduate Certificate in Laws (PCLL) programme which we offer at City University.

Many law graduates also enjoy successful careers in accountancy, business, finance, management, journalism and the Civil Service. Graduates may pursue further studies or professional qualifications in law, business and management, accountancy, finance and corporate administration. The Master of Laws (LLM), offered by the School of Law, also creates significant opportunity for law graduates to extend their qualifications to postgraduate status.

Continuing Education Fund (CEF)

Some of the LLB courses have been included in the list of reimbursable courses for CEF purposes. For application details, please refer to http://www.info.gov.hk/sfaa/cef/

Admission Requirements

JUPAS Applicants

To be eligible for admission to the LLB Programme, the HKDSE applicant should achieve Level 5 or above in English Language and satisfy the University general entrance requirements (visit: http://www.admo.cityu.edu.hk/jupas_hkdse/).

Direct/ Non-JUPAS Applicants

To be eligible for admission, you must satisfy the General Entrance Requirements and meet the following programme specific entrance requirements. For applicants using HKALE qualifications (http://www.admo.cityu.edu.hk/direct/adm_arrange_entreq) to apply for admission, they must have obtained:

• Grade C or above in HKALE AS Level Use of English OR
• Grade D or E in HKALE AS Level Use of English AND one of the following:
  • an overall band score of 7 in IELTS^#; or
  • a TOEFL^# score of 600 (paper-based test) or 100 (internet-based test); or
  • other equivalent qualifications.

For applicants using qualifications (http://www.admo.cityu.edu.hk/direct/adm_arrange_entreq) other than HKALE, they must have obtained:

• an overall band score of 7 in IELTS^#; or
• a TOEFL^# score of 600 (paper-based test) or 100 (internet-based test); or
• other equivalent qualifications.

^#Obtained within 3 years before admission.

Applicants may apply for admission to the Bachelor of Laws programme directly. Advanced standing entry will not be considered.

Mature applicants are eligible to apply for admission notwithstanding they do not satisfy the general entrance requirements, provided they can demonstrate suitability for the programme and an aptitude for study. Mature applicants must be over the age of 25 years by 1 September of the year of admission to the LLB programme.  

The University may allow previous educational or vocational experience to be counted towards the credit units needed to obtain a City University award.

Assessment of Applications (HKDSE) 

Please click here for details.

Tuition Fee

Please click HERE for the tuition fee information.

For tuition fee enquiries, please contact the School of Law General Office by email at lwllb@cityu.edu.hk or by phone at 3442 8187.

LLB Admission Scholarship

In order to reward outstanding secondary schools students who are nominated by their school principal and admitted to the School of Law’s LLB Programme through the Joint University Programmes Admissions System (JUPAS), the School of Law has established an admission scholarship. The value of each award is HK$50,000.  The LLB Admission Schoalship is also avaialble to the non-JUPAS applicants.

For details, please click HERE

Applications and Enquiries

• Admission Period
  Students are admitted to the four year full-time LLB programme at the start of Semester A (which normally begins in early September) in each academic year.
  
• How to Apply
  Applicants seeking admission to the LLB programme can apply either through JUPAS or directly to the University but not to both.
  JUPAS is a cooperative scheme set up by the eight local Government-funded tertiary institutions to handle applications for admission to their full-time bachelor's degree programmes.
  You SHOULD apply through JUPAS if:
  • you are a current secondary school student in Hong Kong sitting for the HKALE (a "school applicant") or
  • you are a non-school applicant who has either already obtained HKALE results or expect to obtain the necessary results in the current HKALE as a private candidate that would make you eligible for admission to the study programmes of your choice.
  You should not apply through JUPAS if you do not have any past HKALE results, nor will you be sitting for the coming HKALE. Applicants who come into that category will apply direct to City University.
  Details of the JUPAS scheme and the application procedures may be obtained from the JUPAS web-sitehttp://www.jupas.edu.hk or from the JUPAS office at the following address:

  JUPAS Office
  UG 02, Knowles Building
  University of Hong Kong
  Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong
  24 hours enquiry hotline: (852) 2803 2200
  Telephone number: (852) 2859 2274

  Applicants who will be relying upon HKALE results and seeking admission through the JUPAS route must submit their applications via the Web at http://www.jupas.edu.hk. An online demo on application submission can be downloaded from that website.
  If you wish to apply directly to the University, please visit HERE.
  Apply online or download application materials at http://www.admo.cityu.edu.hk/apply
• Admissions Enquiry:
  Telephone: (852) 3442 9094
  Fax: (852) 3442 9086
  Email:asadmit@cityu.edu.hk
  Further information about the programme is obtainable from:

  Dr. Fozia LONE Assistant Professor LLB Programme Leader School of Law, City University of Hong Kong 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Hong Kong Tel.: (852) 3442 7430 Fax: (852) 3442 0190 Email: fnlone@cityu.edu.hk General Office, School of Law City University of Hong Kong 83 Tat Chee Avenue Kowloon Hong Kong Tel: (852) 3442 8008 Fax: (852) 3442 7847 E-Mail: lwllb@cityu.edu.hk Website: http://www.cityu.edu.hk/slw

  Ms Alisa KWAN Senior Teaching Fellow Associate LLB Programme Leader School of Law, City University of Hong Kong 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Hong Kong Tel.: (852) 3442 7268 Fax: (852) 3442 0190 Email: lwalisa@cityu.edu.hk

Posted in: Bachelor of Laws (LLB) with Honours