This course on Legal Method, in its current form, has three principal objectives.

The first objective is to introduce students to the basic terminologies of law in general, and of the common law system in particular. This objective will be achieved in the first four weeks. During this period, the course will focus on some preliminary themes:
(a) The sources of law, their hierarchy, and their makers;
(b) A brief history of the common law system, and its emphasis on precedents;
(c) The nature of common law reasoning; and
(d) A brief introduction to the court system in Hong Kong.

With this introduction over, the course will focus on two particular sources (types) of law and the ways by which to meaningfully engage with them: Cases and statutes. The second objective is to introduce students to the first of these two: techniques of case analyses. The emphasis is on equipping students with a set of skills that will render them qualified to read and interpret the different parts of any given case. Examples will be drawn from both private and public law so that students acquire at least a preliminary sense of how public law analyses differ from private law analyses. This objective too shall be achieved in four weeks. During this period, the course will focus on some of these aspects:
(a) The IRAC approach to case analyses;
(b) Tests to determine ratios, and distinguish them from obiter dicta; and
(c) An introduction to reasoning by precedents, and the doctrine of stare decisis.

The third and final component of the course will deal with statutory interpretation. Apart from cases, statutes are the most important and common source of law. Over a period of four weeks, students will be introduced to the general principles of statutory interpretation. Once again, a variety of statutes both from public and private law, and civil and criminal law will be used for this purpose. During these four weeks, the course will focus on some of the following aspects:
(a) General principles of statutory interpretation (e.g. the literal rule, the golden rule, the purposive rule);
(b) Relevance of parliamentary intent (including case-laws);
(c) Specific principles for interpreting criminal law-related statutes; and
(d) A brief overview of constitutional interpretation.

Overall, the course is designed to introduce students to the techniques of legal analyses – an essential building block on which they may erect their substantive knowledge of the law, at CityU and beyond.

The course will be conducted through the Socratic Method. Students are strongly expected to come prepared, having read all of and assimilated at least parts of the assigned readings. The purpose of the weekly seminars is not to regurgitate the readings. Rather, the point is to use the readings as the basis for a more advanced analysis. As such, students should not expect PPTs to be used in the classroom. (They may be used sporadically for particular activities, but no PPTs will be circulated that summarise the weekly readings.)

For an introduction to the Socratic Method, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBBetEGvKpQ.

This course is restricted to students admitted to the Juris Doctor Programme in 2013-14 or in subsequent years.