LLAW3102 (2020-2021, Semester 2)

Course Outline & Schedule (2021.01.18)

THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

DEPARTMENT OF LAW
ACADEMIC YEAR 2020-2021 (SEMESTER 2)
LLAW 3102 – EVIDENCE I
COURSE OUTLINE AND SCHEDULE
1. General Course Information
Credit Point Value 6 credits

Designated research course Not applicable

Specialisation Not applicable

Prerequisites/ Co-requisites LLAW 2003 – Criminal Law I; and

LLAW 2004 – Criminal Law II

Course Teachers Mr Jacky Yeung

Course Convenor and Course Tutor
Office CCT 8.14
Email: yeungjck@hku.hk
Consultation: By Appointment/By Email

Mr Anthony Lai
Course Tutor
Email: anthonylai@queenswaychambers.com
Consultation: By Email

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LLAW3102 (2020-2021, Semester 2)
Course Outline & Schedule (2021.01.18)

2. Course Learning Outcomes

Students who actively prepare for and participate in this course will be able to:-

(i) describe and discuss the legal doctrines governing the admissibility and
exclusion of evidence in Hong Kong civil and criminal proceedings;
(ii) discuss the underlying principles, policies and justifications of having the
evidentiary rules;
(iii) apply the legal doctrines governing the admissibility and exclusion of
evidence to a given fact situation, paying particular attention to developing
overt arguments explaining the relevance (or irrelevance) of specific items
of evidence to specific issues, as well as matters of weight;
(iv) explain how the trial judge should instruct the jury in the use of admissible
evidence generally and in a given fact situation;
(v) identify, explain and apply the ratio decidendi of judicial decision and/or
statutory provisions related to the law of evidence; and
(vi) write well-reasoned legal advice, citing appropriate cases and/or statutory
provisions, to advise hypothetical clients with their legal problems in a given
fact situation.

For details of Programme Learning Outcomes to be achieved in this course, please

refer to the court profile page <https://www.law.hku.hk/course/llaw3102-evidence-i/>.

3. Teaching and Learning Activities

Lectures (see below for schedule of lectures)*

Online Teaching
Time Thursdays (before noon unless technical issues arise)
Venue Not available

* Subject to further announcements of the Faculty Office and/or the University, lectures
for this course during the COVID-19 pandemic will be pre-recorded and posted on
Moodle regularly on Thursdays.
Purpose - Students will be taught about the basic principles of the law of evidence in
lectures. After attending the lectures, students are expected to read the prescribed
reading materials to consolidate the understanding of these basic principles.

Attendance - While lecture attendance is not compulsory, it is strongly advised that

students should attend (or view in the online teaching setting) all lectures because
they are organized to facilitate students’ understanding of various important topics of
the law of evidence progressively. Students skipping a 2-hour lecture may not be able
to gain the same level of understanding by simply reading the materials for 2 hours.

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LLAW3102 (2020-2021, Semester 2)
Course Outline & Schedule (2021.01.18)

Tutorials (see below for schedule of tutorials)**

Tutorial Groups
Group 1 Jacky Yeung Thursdays 1330-1420 Zoom and CPD 3.22
Group 2 Jacky Yeung Thursdays 1430-1520 Zoom
Group 3 Anthony Lai Thursdays 1830-1920 Zoom
Group 4 Anthony Lai Thursdays 1930-2020 Zoom
Group 5 Anthony Lai Fridays 1830-1920 Zoom
Group 6 Anthony Lai Fridays 1930-2020 Zoom
All tutorials (except group 1) will be conducted online through Zoom. For group 1
tutorials, they will be run in the ‘dual mode’ (i.e. both face-to-face and live online
tutorial).
For those who wish to attend face-to-face tutorials, please choose group 1 when
registering for the tutorial group.
No recordings of tutorials will be provided.
Purpose - Having equipped themselves with the basic understanding of specific topics
about the law of evidence through the lectures and prescribed reading materials,
students should read and attempt the corresponding tutorial questions before
attending the tutorial sessions. Most of the tutorial questions will be the hypothetical
fact-pattern scenarios for students to:- (i) identify the issue(s); (ii) apply the relevant
case law and/or statutory provisions; and (iii) reach a conclusion on the intended
advice to be delivered. In some cases, you will also be invited to evaluate existing
legal principles.
In the tutorial sessions, students will have the opportunities to discuss their
approaches to the tutorial questions with their classmates and course tutors in order
to gain the tutorial participation scores. Throughout the tutorial discussions, students
should be able to identify how they may their own answers to the tutorials questions
and this will facilitate the preparation for the final examination. Students who do not
read and attempt the questions before the tutorials may find it difficult to follow the
progress of the tutorial discussions. This will inevitably affect their performance in the
final examination.
Registration for the tutorial session – please refer to the relevant announcement of
the Department of Law for further information.
Attendance - To be eligible to participate in the final examination, students should
attain a minimum attendance rate of 70%. For those who are unable to attend the
designated tutorial sessions because of unavoidable reasons, please send an email
to the course tutors as soon as practicable with supporting documents for alternative
arrangement.

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Course Outline & Schedule (2021.01.18)

4. Reading Materials
Prescribed (Compulsory) Reading Materials
There are no compulsory textbooks for this course. Other prescribed reading
materials (e.g. Study guides, slides, cases and legislation) shall be posted on Moodle.
Suggested (Non-compulsory) Reading Materials
S. Young, Hong Kong Evidence Casebook (Hong Kong: Sweet & Maxwell Asia, 2004).

A. le Roux-Kemp, Hong Kong Law of Evidence (Hong Kong: Wolters Kluwer, 2020).

Other Reference Materials Cited in the Teaching Materials

M. McConville, D.M.A. Hubbard and A. McInnis, Hong Kong Law of Evidence (Hong
Kong: Blue Dragon Asia, 2014), 2nd edn.
A. Bruce and G.McCoy, Criminal Evidence in Hong Kong (Hong Kong: LexisNexis),
3rd edn, Looseleaf.
K. Bokhary, S. Young and I. Cross, (eds), Archbold Hong Kong : Criminal law,
pleadings, evidence and practice, 2020 (Hong Kong: Sweet & Maxwell, 2019).#
The Annotated Ordinances of Hong Kong (Hong Kong: LexisNexis).
Selected articles of the Hong Kong Law Journal
Selected publications from the Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong and the
Legislative Council of Hong Kong
H.M. Malek (ed), Phipson on Evidence, (London: Sweet & Maxwell, 2018), 19th edn^
I.H. Dennis, The Law of Evidence, (London: Sweet & Maxwell, 2017), 6th edn^.
R. Glover, Murphy on Evidence (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017), 15th edn^
A. Keane and P. McKeown, The Modern Law of Evidence (Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2018) 12th edn^
R. Munday, Cross and Tapper on Evidence (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018),
13th edn^
^ Textbooks and materials of foreign jurisdictions.

# At the time of preparing for the teaching materials, the online version of Archbold Hong Kong 2021 is
not yet available.

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Course Outline & Schedule (2021.01.18)

5. Assessments
Component Weight
Tutorial Participation 0 or 20%

Students are expected to participate in the tutorial sessions. The

course tutors shall explain the criteria further in the tutorial
sessions.

Online Take-home Examination/In-hall Examination*** 100% or 80%

This will be an open book examination.

*** Subject to further confirmation of the Faculty Office and/or the University in the
middle of Semester 2, AY 2020-2021.

Special Arrangement for Semester 2 (2020-2021) in Response to Online

Teaching Arrangement – Having recognized the potential obstacles to effective
tutorial discussions in the online learning environment, a special arrangement will be
made to the assessment weightings. The final assessment scores for ALL students
will be taken among the higher of the followings:-

(i) 80% x The final exam scores + 20% x Tutorial Participation Scores; and
(ii) 100% x The final exam scores.
This will, in effect, make the tutorial participation an optional continuous assessment
component.

6. Academic Honesty
Students should observe all applicable policies and regulations of the University of
Hong Kong and its Faculty of Law against academic dishonesty.
For further details about the University’s policies and regulations on academic conduct
and student plagiarism, please visit the University’s Teaching and Learning website at
<https://tl.hku.hk/plagiarism/policies-and-regulations/>.
The Course Convenor may report any suspected academic dishonesty incidents to
the relevant committees at the Faculty/University level for further action.

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Course Outline & Schedule (2021.01.18)

7. Course Schedule and Course Topics

Schedule of Lectures
No. Date and Topic Time***
1 21 Jan 2021 (Thurs) 1030 – 1220
Topic 1 – The Basics of the Law of Evidence

2 28 Jan 2021 (Thurs) 1030 – 1220

Topic 2 – Witnesses (I)

3 4 Feb 2021 (Thurs) 1030 – 1220

Topic 3 – Witnesses (II)

4 25 Feb 2021 (Thurs) 1030 – 1220

Topic 4 – Silent Defendants and Warnings about Evidence

5 4 Mar 2021 (Thurs) 1030 – 1220

Topic 5 – Legal Professional Privilege

6 18 Mar 2021 (Thurs) 1030 – 1220

Topic 6 – Opinion Evidence

7 25 Mar 2021 (Thurs) 1030 – 1220

Topic 7 – Character/Propensity Evidence

8 1 Apr 2021 (Thurs) 1030 – 1220

Topic 8 – Hearsay

9 8 Apr 2021 (Thurs) 1030 – 1220

Topic 9 – Confessions

10 15 Apr 2021 (Thurs) 1030 – 1220

Topic 10 – Judicial Discretion to Exclude Evidence/ Stay of
Proceedings

11 22 Apr 2021 (Thurs) 1030 – 1220

Buffer Class/ Review Session

*** Subject to further announcements of the Faculty Office and/or the University,
lectures for this course will be pre-recorded and posted on Moodle regularly on
Thursdays.

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LLAW3102 (2020-2021, Semester 2)
Course Outline & Schedule (2021.01.18)

Schedule of Tutorials
No. Group / Date / Time / Venue Topic
(Venue if classroom teaching resumes)**
1 Group 1/ 28 Jan 2021/ 1330-1420/ Zoom/ CPD 3.22 The Basics
Group 2/ 28 Jan 2021/ 1430-1520/ Zoom
Group 3/ 28 Jan 2021/ 1830-1920/ Zoom
Group 4/ 28 Jan 2021/ 1930-2020/ Zoom
Group 5/ 29 Jan 2021/ 1830-1920/ Zoom
Group 6/ 29 Jan 2021/ 1930-2020/ Zoom

2 Group 1/ 4 Feb 2021/ 1330-1420/ Zoom/ CPD 3.22 Witnesses (I)

Group 2/ 4 Feb 2021/ 1430-1520/ Zoom
Group 3/ 4 Feb 2021/ 1830-1920/ Zoom
Group 4/ 4 Feb 2021/ 1930-2020/ Zoom
Group 5/ 5 Feb 2021/ 1830-1920/ Zoom
Group 6/ 5 Feb 2021/ 1930-2020/ Zoom

3 Group 1/ 25 Feb 2021/ 1330-1420/ Zoom/ CPD 3.22 Witnesses (II)

Group 2/ 25 Feb 2021/ 1430-1520/ Zoom
Group 3/ 25 Feb 2021/ 1830-1920/ Zoom
Group 4/ 25 Feb 2021/ 1930-2020/ Zoom
Group 5/ 26 Feb 2021/ 1830-1920/ Zoom
Group 6/ 26 Feb 2021/ 1930-2020/ Zoom

4 Group 1/ 4 Mar 2021/ 1330-1420/ Zoom/ CPD 3.22 Silent

Group 2/ 4 Mar 2021/ 1430-1520/ Zoom Defendants
Group 3/ 4 Mar 2021/ 1830-1920/ Zoom and Warnings
Group 4/ 4 Mar 2021/ 1930-2020/ Zoom about Evidence
Group 5/ 5 Mar 2021/ 1830-1920/ Zoom
Group 6/ 5 Mar 2021/ 1930-2020/ Zoom

5 Group 1/ 18 Mar 2021/ 1330-1420/ Zoom/ CPD 3.22 Legal

Group 2/ 18 Mar 2021/ 1430-1520/ Zoom Professional
Group 3/ 18 Mar 2021/ 1830-1920/ Zoom Privilege
Group 4/ 18 Mar 2021/ 1930-2020/ Zoom
Group 5/ 19 Mar 2021/ 1830-1920/ Zoom
Group 6/ 19 Mar 2021/ 1930-2020/ Zoom

6 Group 1/ 25 Mar 2021/ 1330-1420/ Zoom/ CPD 3.22 Opinion

Group 2/ 25 Mar 2021/ 1430-1520/ Zoom Evidence
Group 3/ 25 Mar 2021/ 1830-1920/ Zoom
Group 4/ 25 Mar 2021/ 1930-2020/ Zoom
Group 5/ 26 Mar 2021/ 1830-1920/ Zoom
Group 6/ 26 Mar 2021/ 1930-2020/ Zoom

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LLAW3102 (2020-2021, Semester 2)
Course Outline & Schedule (2021.01.18)

7 Group 1/ 1 Apr 2021/ 1330-1420/ Zoom/ CPD 3.22 Character/

Group 2/ 1 Apr 2021/ 1430-1520/ Zoom Propensity
Group 3/ 1 Apr 2021/ 1830-1920/ Zoom Evidence
Group 4/ 1 Apr 2021/ 1930-2020/ Zoom
Group 5/ 9 Apr 2021/ 1830-1920/ Zoom
Group 6/ 9 Apr 2021/ 1930-2020/ Zoom

8 Group 1/ 8 Apr 2021/ 1330-1420/ Zoom/ CPD 3.22 Hearsay

Group 2/ 8 Apr 2021/ 1430-1520/ Zoom
Group 3/ 8 Apr 2021/ 1830-1920/ Zoom
Group 4/ 8 Apr 2021/ 1930-2020/ Zoom
Group 5/ 16 Apr 2021/ 1830-1920/ Zoom
Group 6/ 16 Apr 2021/ 1930-2020/ Zoom

9 Group 1/ 15 Apr 2021/ 1330-1420/ Zoom/ CPD 3.22 Confessions

Group 2/ 15 Apr 2021/ 1430-1520/ Zoom
Group 3/ 15 Apr 2021/ 1830-1920/ Zoom
Group 4/ 15 Apr 2021/ 1930-2020/ Zoom
Group 5/ 23 Apr 2021/ 1830-1920/ Zoom
Group 6/ 23 Apr 2021/ 1930-2020/ Zoom

10 Group 1/ 22 Apr 2021/ 1330-1420/ Zoom/ CPD 3.22 Judicial

Group 2/ 22 Apr 2021/ 1430-1520/ Zoom Discretion to
Group 3/ 22 Apr 2021/ 1830-1920/ Zoom Exclude
Group 4/ 22 Apr 2021/ 1930-2020/ Zoom Evidence/Stay
Group 5/ 30 Apr 2021/ 1830-1920/ Zoom of Proceedings
Group 6/ 30 Apr 2021/ 1930-2020/ Zoom

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