Provided that the student has completed all courses required for PCLL admission, the JD degree is recognized for the purposes of applying for entry into the PCLL programme which is recognized by the professional bodies for legal practice in HK.

1. Research Course: All students may take either LW5552 Independent Research (3 credit units) or LW6137E Dissertation (6 credit units). LW5552 requires a written research paper of between 8,000 and 10,000 words, while the length of the paper for LW6137E shall be in the range of 16,000 to 20,000 words. Students may enrol in either LW5552 or LW6137E in a flexible manner.  Please note LW5552 Independent Research will be offered in Semester A, B and Summer.  For LW6137E Dissertation, students can take it in Semester A and B or only Semester A or only Semester B. The course of Independent Research can also be taken in the University of Münster in Germany in summer.

2. Admission to the Legal Profession: Students aspiring to admission as a barrister or solicitor in Hong Kong must first complete the Postgraduate Certificate in Laws (PCLL) programme. In order to apply for admission into the PCLL programme, Juris Doctor graduates must have completed all of the following elective courses:
LW5602 Law of Contract
LW5603 Law of Tort
LW5606A Criminal Law I
LW5606B Criminal Law II
LW5607A Land Law I
LW5607B Land Law II
LW5608 Constitutional Law
LW5610 Administrative Law
LW5616 Law of Evidence
LW5630 Equity & Trusts
LW5656 Company Law I
LW5657 Company Law II
LW5658 Commercial Law
LW5659 Civil Procedure
LW5660 Criminal Procedure

3. Optional specialization: As a result of the programme re-structuring, students have scope to do more non-PCLL elective courses (i.e., 5 courses instead of 3 under the existing structure). JD students are given an option to specialise in the following areas by taking at least 4 elective courses (minimum 12 credits) from the respective list:

i) International Commercial Law: LW6161E Competition Law; LW5631 Banking Law; LW5664 European Competition Law of Policy (G-LEAP); LW5641 Intellectual Property: Theory, Copyright and Design (G-LEAP); LW5643 Cyber Law, LW6144E International Trade Law: LW6140E Chinese and Comparative Commercial Law; LW6180E International Commercial Contracts and Uniform Sales Law; LW6167E Current Issues in WTO Law

ii) Alternative Dispute Resolution: LW6126E Dispute Resolution in Theory and Practice; LW6405 Arbitration Law; LW6406 Mediation Practice; LW6407 Arbitration Practice and Award Writing; LW6408 International Arbitration; LW6142E International Investment Law; ^LW5649 International Mooting and Advocacy or ^LW5649B International Mooting and Advocacy

iii) Chinese and Comparative Law: LW5626 Comparative Law; LW6127E Chinese and Comparative Intellectual Property Law; LW6134E Chinese and Comparative Company Law; LW6140E Chinese and Comparative Commercial Law; LW6141E Chinese Foreign Trade and Investment Law

iv) Air and Maritime Law: LW6175E Maritime Insurance Law; LW6176E International Air Law; ; LW6179E Maritime Arbitration Law; LW6189E Bills of Lading Law; LW6190E Charterparties Law; LW6191E Admiralty Law; LW6192E Maritime Law; LW6194E The Law of the Sea; ^LW5649 International Mooting and Advocacy or ^LW5649B International Mooting and Advocacy

^ Students can take either LW5649 (3 credits) or LW5649B (6 credits).

Depending upon the interest of students and the course offering in future, these specialised streams may be modified. The offering of the above courses may be reviewed and amended from time to time subject to the availability of the teaching staff. We shall keep students informed regarding the offering of the elective courses.

Students who choose to or do not choose to specialise in any of the above areas will receive the same award title as Juris Doctor. Information about streams like International Commercial Law, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Chinese and Comparative Law, Air and Maritime Law will also be indicated in students’ transcripts.
 
4. International Mooting & Advocacy: The 2 courses of LW5649 and LW5649B are different in terms of the duration of study in that LW5649 lasts for one semester whereas LW5649B spans over two semesters. Students can take either one course or both courses (up to 9 credit units).

5. Credit Transfer: Students may apply for credit transfer from other programmes of the University or from previous programmes undertaken at other tertiary institutions. Please refer to the University’s Academic Regulations.

6. Programme Transfer: Students who wish to change from their current programme of study to another of the same level (e.g. transfer from a taught postgraduate programme to another taught postgraduate programme) can apply for such a change by completing an application form for Programme Transfer obtainable from the SGS Taught Postgraduate Student Records Service Counter and the SGS website (www.cityu.edu.hk/sgs) within the application period. Applications for programme transfer are processed twice a year, normally in November (for transfers to be effective in Semester B of the current academic year) and March (for transfers to be effective in Semester A of the next academic year). For non-local students, any transfer of programme approved by the University would be sent to the Immigration Department for final endorsement before the transfer comes into effect.
 
According to the Academic Regulations for Taught Postgraduate Degrees, a student's previous period of study before the programme transfer comes into effect will be counted in the calculation of the student's maximum period of study.
 
7. Attendance Requirement: Students who take elective courses hosted by the LLM and LLMArbDR programmes should comply with their attendance requirements.

8. Minimum Pass Mark: A student must obtain a minimum mark of 40% in both coursework and examination components in order to pass the courses offered by the JD Programme.  To obtain full benefit from courses, students should attend all of the classes and activities.

Requirements for a pass mark in courses in the LLM and the LLMArbDR programmes may be different.  In order to secure a pass mark in LLM and LLMArbDR courses, Juris Doctor students must comply with the requirements applicable to those programmes/courses.

9. Grade Point Average (GPA): Juris Doctor students will need to achieve a minimum Cumulative GPA of 2.0 in order to graduate.

10. Classification of Awards: The Juris Doctor degree will be awarded to each graduating student with one of the following classifications; (i) Distinction, (ii) Credit, or (iii) Pass.