Programme enhances School of Law’s standing among the best in Asia
Year-long course for junior Chinese judges mostly follows the standard curriculum for the CityU LLM in common law
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This year marks the 10th anniversary of a unique and highly successful LLM programme offered by CityU’s School of Law to train around 30 incumbent judges a year drawn from cities across mainland China.
Together with a JSD and a short-term advanced programme for senior Chinese judges, this marks a farsighted commitment to broadening horizons and providing the highest standards of legal education for different levels within the profession. Though it was conceived initially as a “capacity building” scheme, the demand for places and quality of teaching has done much to enhance the school’s international standing and its reputation as one of the best in Asia.
“The judges have studied the Chinese legal system, so we train them in common law,” says Professor Lin Feng, associate dean of CityU’s School of Law, who visits Beijing regularly to interview nominated candidates. “This is the only programme of its kind outside mainland China, and we organise everything in collaboration with the Supreme People’s Court and the National Judges College.”
The year-long course, largely taught in Hong Kong, mostly follows the standard curriculum for the CityU LLM in common law. The class generally consists of junior judges, typically those with less than 10 years’ professional experience.
Certain aspects of the programme are tailored to meet recognised needs and to give a fuller understanding of the principles, practice and procedures adhered to in common law jurisdictions.
For instance, there is a special course on writing judgements.
“Over the years, we have seen that Chinese judges tend to write very simple judgements, which often lack detailed reasoning,” Professor Lin says. “They usually give facts, applicable laws and a conclusion, but miss out the reasoning part, so the programme gives extra attention to that.”
There is also an internship, which allows each individual to spend two weeks with the Hong Kong judiciary. Besides a wide-ranging introduction to the local judicial system and how it operates, this stint includes the opportunity to shadow specific judges as they go about their business in the High Court and the Court of Appeal.
It also affords the chance to discuss and analyse key aspects of a recent case and raise any pertinent questions.
To provide greater international experience, the LLM includes a one-month visit to the United States, usually in June, to attend lectures at the Emory School of Law in Atlanta, Georgia. That is the starting point for gaining a better appreciation of the American legal system, but there is also an emphasis on observing courtrooms in action.
As part of the Chinese judges programme, CityU’s School of Law has also introduced a three-year JSD (doctor of juridical science) for senior Chinese judges, to enhance understanding of common law and international law and the ability to analyse problems.
It includes a taught component with required subjects, as well as a doctoral thesis. For the later, a number of recent topics have focused on the current judicial reforms in China, notably the fast-track sentencing mechanisms for suspects who admit to minor offences, judges' liabilities and reforms to the jury system and juvenile courts.
In addition, there is an intensive advanced programme for senior Chinese judges, usually lasting two weeks. The tailor-made content aims to provide cutting-edge knowledge, diverse perspectives; and a better understanding of different legal systems.
“We’ve also started negotiations with the Chinese Lawyers Association because we see great demand from them, especially in Guangdong province, to send lawyers here for short-term programmes and to do our JSD,” Lin says. “And we see more demand for training from local courts in China. That is a way to further strengthen the relationship between Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area in the legal services sector. But we don’t want to do too many of these programmes as our main job is still teaching and research.”
He notes that all courses are under constant review and, where necessary, must change with the times. The LLB has already added components on Chinese public and private law, recognising the fact that many graduates will go on to do cross-border legal work.
The foundation course on legal methods and skills has been significantly strengthened.
“The two basic skills for any lawyer are how to analyse a case and how to interpret statutes,” Lin says. “So we have introduced more lectures and exercises related to that and have revised the Hong Kong legal system course to emphasise the importance of international law and the connections with domestic law within our system.”
For the LLM, which students take after their first degree, there is now a stream for corporate and commercial law introduced in recent years. And a few joint appointments where, say, a professor of criminology is shared with CityU’s Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences will open the way to more interdisciplinary teaching.
“The curriculum doesn’t stand still,” says Lin, who emphasises the importance of keeping pace with change and offering courses which promote diversity. “Next academic year, we’ll do more joint teaching for LLB and JD students. Overall, we can expand if we want to, but a small cohort each year means we can provide a better staff-student ratio and more opportunities. If you take more students, the quality may drop.”