University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law

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Faculty of Law of The University of Hong Kong
香港大學法律學院
Established1969 as the Department of Law
School typeFaculty
DeanFu Hualing
LocationPokfulam, Hong Kong
Enrollment1,810 (2023)
Faculty80 (2025)
Websitehttps://www.law.hku.hk

The Faculty of Law of The University of Hong Kong[1] (Chinese: 香港大學法律學院; commonly known as HKU Law) is one of the 11 faculties and schools at The University of Hong Kong.[2] Founded in 1969 as the Department of Law, it is the oldest law school in Hong Kong. HKU Law is consistently ranked among the top law schools in the world. In 2019, HKU Law was ranked 18th on the QS World Rankings[3] and 22nd on the Times Higher Education World Rankings.[4]

HKU Law has produced many distinguished alumni, including current chief justice Andrew Cheung, three permanent judges of the Court of Final Appeal, three secretaries for justice, one-third of Hong Kong's senior counsel,[5] and numerous members of the Legislative Council.

History

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Background

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Law was first taught at the University of Hong Kong in the 1920s and 1930s, but only as a component of a broad-based arts degree, and not as a standalone subject. Contemporary efforts to create colonial Hong Kong's first law school were met with opposition, with Colonial Office records showing apparent concern that such a law school might produce "half-baked lawyers" who would cause "political trouble".[6]

At the time, all barristers and most solicitors practising in Hong Kong were educated, trained and qualified in the United Kingdom.[7] As a result, only the wealthy could afford the education that could lead to a career in the law. William Kirk Thomson, a senior government lawyer who served as Registrar-General from 1958 to 1968, remarked that it was "little short of tragic that the doors to a great profession are virtually closed to a large number of men and women who have not had the good fortune to be born into wealthy homes".[6]

In September 1964, the Department of Extra-Mural Studies at HKU initiated a five-year pilot scheme in which the Department offered part-time evening classes that led to an external LLB degree from the University of London. [8]

Founding and early years

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The K.K. Leung Building, where the faculty was located from 1989 to 2012

Upon the conclusion of the five-year pilot programme in 1969, the Department of Law was established under the Faculty of Social Sciences, with Dafydd Evans, a professor on secondment from the London School of Economics who had previously taught some of the part-time evening courses, becoming the inaugural head of the department. The department opened its doors in September 1969 with three academic staff and 40 students; the first classes, which formed part of a three-year programme leading to an LLB, were conducted in the former Police Married Quarters on 154-158 Caine Road. The three-storey block of flats served as the department's home until July 1973, when the department moved to the fifth floor of the newly constructed Knowles Building, which allowed the law library to increase its collection tenfold, from 1,500 volumes to 14,000.[9]

The department launched the Hong Kong Law Journal in 1971, with Henry Litton and Gerald de Basto as co-founders of the publication. By 1972, the student body had grown to 115.[8] That same year, the department began offering the PCLL, which, in conjunction with the first batch of LLB graduates the same year, created the first fully local pathway for graduates to train and qualify as lawyers in Hong Kong, replacing the previous system in which entry to the legal profession was based on exams on English law administered by the Law Society of England and Wales.[7] The department awarded its first PhD in 1976.[10]

Academic conference room in the Faculty of Law building

Development

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The logo of the faculty during its 55th anniversary in 2024

The department split from the Faculty of Social Sciences to become the autonomous School of Law in 1978, and became a faculty in its own right in 1984.[11] By then, the faculty had two departments, the Department of Law, headed by Bob Allcock, who would later go on to be Solicitor General of Hong Kong, and the Department of Professional Legal Education, headed by Peter Willoughby, with the total number of academic staff exceeding 30. In 1986, the faculty introduced its first Master of Laws programme, focusing on Chinese and international trade law. Peter Rhodes succeeded Dafydd Evans as dean in 1987.

The faculty moved to the K.K. Leung Building in 1989, occupying three floors, with the law library more than quadrupling in size.[9] In 1995, the faculty established the Center for Comparative and Public Law, its first research centre.[12]

21st century

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HKU Law jointly created the Law and Technology Centre with the Department of Computer Science in 2001.[13] The centre runs the Hong Kong Legal Information Institute, which provides free online access to legislation, case law and other legal materials, and also operates the Hong Kong Community Legal Information Centre.[14]

The faculty moved to a dedicated building located in the newly constructed Centennial Campus in 2012. The 11-floor tower, named after businessman Cheng Yu Tung, houses faculty offices, the law library, student societies, classrooms, and lecture theatres.

In 2024, the faculty adopted a unitary structure, merging the former Department of Law and Department of Professional Legal Education.

Academics

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Centres

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HKU Law is home to seven research centres and institutes.

  • Asian Institute of International Financial Law (1999)
  • Centre for Comparative and Public Law (1995)
  • Centre for Interdisciplinary Legal Studies (2023)
  • Centre for Medical Ethics and Law (2012)
  • Centre for Private Law (2025)
  • Law and Technology Centre (2001)
  • Philip K.H. Wong Centre for Chinese Law (2009)

Degrees offered

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The faculty offers a 4-year Bachelor of Laws program, four 5-year double-degree programs: BSocSc (Government and Laws) - LLB, BBA (Business and Laws) - LLB, BA (Literary Studies) - LLB, and BSc - LLB in conjunction with other faculties of the university, a 2-year intensive JD program (for non-law graduates), a professional qualification program (PCLL), and a variety of LLM programmes focusing on human rights, Chinese law, Compliance and Regulation, corporate law and financial law, information technology and intellectual property, and arbitration. It also offers various research postgraduate programs, including MPhil, PhD and SJD.

Six members of the faculty have been conferred the honour of Teaching Fellows by the University, rendering it one of the Departments with the largest number of Teaching Fellows in the University.[citation needed] The faculty also plays host to many scholars and academic conferences each year. The faculty works closely with the legal profession. Its PCLL programme provides an entry qualification to the legal profession in Hong Kong.

Student life

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Students in the faculty are represented by the Law Association, which is affiliated with the Hong Kong University Students' Union (HKUSU). The association publishes Vox Populi, a bi-annual publication that focuses on current affairs, and organises career events, talks, and social events for students. It formerly published Justitia, a law review, until 1986.[15][8]

In addition to the faculty-run Hong Kong Law Journal, the faculty has also published the student-run law review Hong Kong Journal of Legal Studies since 1994.[16] The faculty also has had successes in international moot court competitions, having won moots such as the Hong Kong Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Moot and LAWASIA Moot in the past.

Notable alumni

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Government

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The faculty has alumni serving or formerly served in all three branches of government.

Judiciary

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Executive

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Legislative

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Politics and activism

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Academia

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Media and entertainment

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List of deans

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No. Dean Tenure Notes
1 Dafydd Emrys Evans 1969 - 1987 Longest serving
2 Peter Rhodes 1987 - 1993 First Hong Kong-born dean[17]
3 Peter Wesley-Smith 1993 - 1996 Also HKU Law's first PhD graduate[10]
4 Albert Chen 1996 - 2002 First HKU LLB graduate to become dean
5 Johannes Chan 2002 - 2014 HKU LLB and PCLL graduate
6 Michael Hor 1 July 2014 - June 2019
7 Fu Hualing 2019 - present

Notable current and former professors

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Visiting professors

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Honorary professors

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Cap. 1053 University of Hong Kong Ordinance". Hong Kong e-Legislation | 4. Incorporation. Hong Kong. 1968. Retrieved 20 December 2024. the University shall continue in being with the name and style of 'The University of Hong Kong'
  2. ^ "Faculties & Departments | All Departments (A-Z)". The University of Hong Kong. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  3. ^ "Law". Top Universities. 2018-02-22. Retrieved 2018-12-28.
  4. ^ "University of Hong Kong". Times Higher Education (THE). 2018-05-01. Retrieved 2018-12-28.
  5. ^ Ribeiro, Roberto (23 November 2024). "SPEECH FOR 55th ANNIVERSARY OF LAW FACULTY" (PDF). www.hkcfa.hk. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  6. ^ a b "The Makings of a Truly Special Institution A Special Standing in the World: The Faculty of Law at The University of Hong Kong, 1969-2019 by Christopher Munn, published by HKU Press | Hong Kong Lawyer". www.hk-lawyer.org. Retrieved 2025-07-26.
  7. ^ a b "History - Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong". Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong -. 2020-12-10. Archived from the original on 2025-07-01. Retrieved 2025-07-26.
  8. ^ a b c "Timeline". HKU Law at Fifty. Retrieved 2025-07-26.
  9. ^ a b Ko, Eddie. "LibGuides: The Law Guide: The Law Library Story". libguides.lib.hku.hk. Retrieved 2025-07-26.
  10. ^ a b Wesley-Smith, Peter (19 December 2016). "Peter Wesley-Smith Reminisces on How He Became HKU's First PhD in Law". www.law.hku.hk. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
  11. ^ "About Us". The University of Hong Kong | Faculty of Law. 2016. Archived from the original on 31 January 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  12. ^ "Centre for Comparative and Public Law at HKU Law". Retrieved 2025-07-31.
  13. ^ "The Law and Technology Centre of The University of Hong Kong Launches its First Legal Information Website for Young People in Hong Kong – Youth CLIC (youth.clic.org.hk) - All News - Media - HKU". www.hku.hk. Retrieved 2025-07-31.
  14. ^ "Community Legal Information Centre (CLIC) Website --- greater access to legal information for the public (Press Release) - All News - Media - HKU". www.hku.hk. Retrieved 2025-07-31.
  15. ^ Association, Hong Kong University Students' Union Law (1972). "Justitia :Hong Kong University Law Association review". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  16. ^ "Hong Kong Journal of Legal Studies". The University of Hong Kong | Faculty of Law. Hong Kong. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  17. ^ "In Loving Memory of Professor Peter Rhodes - Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong". Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong -. 2025-07-17. Archived from the original on 2025-07-17. Retrieved 2025-07-31.
  18. ^ "The Bar Council | Hong Kong Bar Association". www.hkba.org. Retrieved 2018-12-28.
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