The study of comparative law is increasingly covered in the curriculum of leading law schools in the world. This is because comparative law offers important practical and research tools to help lawyers and scholars find better solutions for legal problems and make suggestions for legal change, especially in more globalized jurisdictions including international business hubs and financial centres such as Hong Kong and Singapore, where cross-border transactions involving foreign laws, foreign lawyers and foreign clients occur on daily basis. This course, aiming to equip students with the skills and perspectives to approach law from the perspectives of multiple legal families and orders, discusses the main theories of comparative law and its action in legal practice. We will study the essence, functions and aims of comparative law. We will study the prominent features of the major legal families in the world and institutional divergence and convergence among the laws of leading jurisdictions in the world. We will also look at how China, England, France, Germany, the United States, among others, deal with some concrete legal problems, and compare the solutions from legal, historical, societal, economic, and possibly political development perspectives.

Continuous Assessment: 50%

Examination: 50%

Examination Duration: 3 hours