Legal education in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

generally refers to the education of lawyers before entry into practice. (Other types of legal education, such as that of Legal Executives/Paralegals, and of the education of lawyers after admission to the High Court of Hong Kong (Continuing Professional Development) are not covered in this article.) The

legal system of Hong Kong The law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has its foundation in the English common law system, inherited from being a former British colony and dependent territory. There are several sources of law, the primary ones being statute ...

is based on the

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omniprese ...

system of England and Wales, and it has a similar training and qualification process for solicitors and barristers. However, in September 2008 the LLB programmes switched from a three-year to a four-year curriculum, thereby requiring overseas candidates to sit for the

Postgraduate Certificate in Laws The Postgraduate Certificate in Laws (PCLL; 法學專業證書) is an intensive one-year full-time (or two-year part-time) professional legal qualification programme in Hong Kong. It allows graduates to proceed to legal training before qualifyi ...

(PCLL). Sitting for the one-year PCLL is required on the pathway to practice law in Hong Kong, therefore overseas law degree holders (from

common law jurisdictions In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

) must usually take conversion examinations prior to admission to a PCLL programme offered at one of Hong Kong's three government designated law schools.

Law as a first degree

In 2008, Hong Kong's law schools moved from a three-year to a four-year LLB curriculum, including partaking in the one-year

PCLL The Postgraduate Certificate in Laws (PCLL; 法學專業證書) is an intensive one-year full-time (or two-year part-time) professional legal qualification programme in Hong Kong. It allows graduates to proceed to legal training before qualifyi ...

programme offered at one of three law schools in Hong Kong.

Law as a second degree

There are two routes available for non-law graduates as an alternative to the full-length LLB degree: the

Graduate Diploma in English and Hong Kong Law The Graduate Diploma in English and Hong Kong Law (GDEHKL) is a Hong Kong graduate diploma programme that allows students that did not take law as an undergraduate degree (i.e. "non-law students") to "convert" to law, before going onto a profession ...

(GDEHKL) and the

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

(JD). For example, the

City University of Hong Kong City University of Hong Kong (CityU) is a world-class public research university located in Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1984 as City Polytechnic of Hong Kong and became a fully accredited university in 1994. Currently, CityU is ...

offers a two-year Juris Doctor degree catering to professionals with a non-law educational background.

GDEHKL

The GDEHKL is a two-year part-time course jointly offered by the University of Hong Kong's School of Professional and Continuing Education (

HKU SPACE The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the fir ...

) as the course operator, and

Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has over 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Educat ...

as the qualification awarding institution. The GDEHKL is the only law programme in Hong Kong which substantially satisfies both the requirements for entry into the

(PCLL) for those who intend to practice law in

, and also the requirements for entry into the

Legal Practice Course The Legal Practice Course (LPC)also known as the Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practiceis a postgraduate course and the final educational stage for becoming a solicitor in England, Wales and Australia (where it is commonly known as "practical l ...

(LPC) and the English

Bar Professional Training Course The Bar Professional Training Course or BPTC is a postgraduate course which allows law graduates to be named and practise as barristers in England and Wales. The eight institutes that run the BPTC along with the four prestigious Inns of Court a ...

(BPTC) for those who intend to practice in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is En ...

Juris Doctor (JD)

The JD in Hong Kong is a two to three year (full-time) course offered by all three law schools, specifically tailored to admitting non-law bachelor degree holders.

PCLL

Following graduation, all prospective solicitors and barristers wishing to be qualified in Hong Kong must undertake the Postgraduate Certificate in Laws (PCLL), unless they are taking the Registered Foreign Lawyer route.

Masters of Laws (LLM)

Hong Kong's three law schools (in addition to many overseas universities with program offerings in Hong Kong) offer the Masters of Laws (LLM) degree. These law degrees are usually targeted towards law graduates, however, there are some LLM programs that specifically admit non-law graduates. For example, the Masters of Laws in Arbitration and Dispute Resolution (LLMArbDR) at the

admits non-law graduates, as does a similar LLM(Arb&DR) programme at the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hon ...

Law schools

The LLB, LLM, JD and

programmes are only offered by the three approved law schools in Hong Kong, namely: *

Chinese University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public research university in Ma Liu Shui, Hong Kong, formally established in 1963 by a charter granted by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. It is the territory's second-oldest university and ...

In addition, HKU School of Professional and Continuing Education (HKU SPACE) provides instruction for law degrees awarded from overseas universities. HKU SPACE offers a new option for graduates of the Advanced Diploma for Legal Executives (Graduate Level) to directly apply to PCLL programs without a local law degree or foreign law degree with conversion exams. However, to take this option, students must start with the school's Certificate in Legal Studies or other Legal Executive programs approved by the Law Society of Hong Kong and meet benchmarks.

Training contract or pupillage

After the PCLL, prospective solicitors must undertake a two-year training contract with a

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to ...

, whilst prospective barristers must undertake one year's

pupillage A pupillage, in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Kenya, Malaysia, Pakistan and Hong Kong, is the final, vocational stage of training for those wishing to become practising barristers. Pupillage is similar to an apprenticeship, during which bar ...

with sets of chambers."How to become a lawyer in Hong Kong" - 《香港律師（入行）天書》

References

External links

PCLL Conversion Examination homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Legal Education In Hong Kong