Introduction
Arrangement of the Law Collection
Law Electronic Resources
Services and Facilities
Law Section Online Tour
Welcome to the Law Section of the Run Run Shaw Library!
The Law Collection, established in 1988, consists of over 115,500 volumes of law reports, statutes, periodicals and monographs. It also features two special collections, namely, the English Law Special Collection and Chinese Legal History Special Collection. Also available is a variety of non-print legal materials. The Section occupies a floor area of 1,500 square meters in the Purple Zone of the Library and has 389 seats. There are meeting room and discussion rooms for faculty members and students. The Section is equipped with different kinds of workstations and network printing facilities.
The major Hong Kong and UK reference materials are shelved in Quick Reference Area Stack A-D:
Hong Kong Law - Stack A-D
Unreported judgments of Hong Kong (1977-2002), Criminal Appeals Bulletin and Monthly Digest [of unreported judgments] 1985-1996 are shelved at stack D.
English Law - Stack D:
Dictionaries
Stack B: English legal dictionaries; and Stack C: Chinese legal dictionaries and general dictionaries.
Law books in this Library are shelved by the Library of Congress Classification Scheme. An outline of the scheme for law materials and their designated locations is as follows:
| LC Class | Subject | Law Electronic Compact Shelves Stack No. |
|---|---|---|
| JX | International Law (see also KZ) | 1-2 |
| K | Law (General) | 2-5 |
| KD | Law of the United Kingdom and Ireland | 5-10 |
| KE | Law of Canada | 10 |
| KF | Law of the United States | 10-12 |
| KJ-KKZ | Law of Europe | 12-13 |
| KLA-KLW | Law of Eurasia | 13 |
| KM-KPW | Law of Asia | 13 & 18 |
| KNN | Law of China (Pre-PRC) | 13# |
| KNP | Law of Taiwan | 13-14 |
| KNQ | Law of the PRC | 14-18 |
| KNR & KYQ | Law of Hong Kong | Quick Reference Area Stack A & B |
| KQ-KTZ | Law of Africa | 18 |
| KU & KYT | Law of Australia and New Zealand | 18-19 |
| KZ | International Law (see also JX) | 20 |
# More books on the Pre-PRC Chinese law are kept in the Chinese Legal History Special Collection.
Bound volume set - Law Section electronic compact shelves, Stack no.20-26
The law reports of multi-jurisdictions are shelved alphabetically by title preceding the statutes / law reports of single-jurisdiction titles, which are shelved alphabetically by jurisdiction, then subdivided in this order:
Current issues of law reports are located next to Stack A. They are shelved alphabetically by title.
English language periodicals
They are shelved alphabetically by title in two areas. Bound volume sets are kept in the Law Section electronic compact shelves, Stack no.26-30. Current
issues are kept in the periodical racks in the Law Section Lobby.
Chinese language periodicals
They are shelved by stroke number in two places. Bound Chinese law periodicals are shelved in the Law Section electronic compact shelves, Stack no. 30-31. Current issues are kept in the
periodical racks near Stack A.
There are about 460 titles of non-print materials, covering a diverse range of legal subjects from advocacy, civil evidence to international mooting. They are kept in the Media Resources Collection and the Shatin Branch Library.
Essential reading materials recommended by teachers for particular courses are placed in the Semi-closed Collection. They bear the location code "Reserve (Semi-closed)" on the Library Catalogue and are available for use for 5 hours or 1 day.
CityU examination papers are kept in the Semi-closed Collection; the online version is accessible by current CityU staff and students from the Library Catalogue under "CityU Examination Papers Database". For PCLL or LLM (Renmin University) examination papers, please refer to the “Law Section Counter” paragraph of this Guide.
CityU research postgraduate and professional doctorate degree theses, as well as selected CityU taught postgraduate degree dissertations are available to CityU staff and students. The print copies are housed in the compact shelves near the Law Section of the Library. To look up the online dissertations and theses, search in the Library Catalogue.
The English Law Special Collection, established in 1987, aims to promote academic and research interest in the history of English and Commonwealth legal systems and the Anglo-American legal culture. The Collection consists of about 1,800 volumes with a significant number of titles published from the 16th Century to the 19th Century. It is considered as one of the best of its kind in Asia. It is located in the Shatin Branch Library.
The Chinese Legal History Special Collection, launched in May 1998, aims to serve as a resource base for academic study and research on Chinese legal history. It consists of more than 2,900 volumes of books. The scope of the Collection is pre-1949 Chinese law. Its focus is on the period from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) to the Republic (1912-1949) with geographical emphasis on Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong Province. This collection is kept at the Law Section.
To use the law special collections, please enquire at the Law Section Counter.
A Note on the Location
As can be seen from the previous paragraphs, although the Law Collection is kept in the different places of the Library, it is mainly housed in Law Section. To check the whereabouts of an item, always search it in the Library Catalogue, and pay attention to the "Location" information given in the record.
Less frequently used law books, media resources, bound periodicals with electronic equivalents are housed in the Shatin Branch Library and they have the location code "Shatin Branch" on the Library Catalogue. To use these materials, click "Request" on the Library Catalogue. They will be transferred back to the campus for the requester to pick up from the Circulation Counter.
The Library provides 21 online and 50 CD-ROM legal databases. The databases include statutes, law reports, digests, forms, law reviews, journal indexes and other secondary sources. Some of the databases can be accessed at the workstations in the Library, as well as via any networked computers on campus. Some can even be accessed remotely by authorized users. However, there are a few databases that can only be used at designated workstations. A list of the electronic legal databases and descriptions is available here.
The more frequently used electronic legal databases are:
(The database location is included in parentheses at the end of each title)
Our electronic resources also include numerous electronic law books and law journals. E-journals and e-books are searchable and accessible via the Library Catalogue. They can be used on campus and remotely.
Useful Internet resources on law have been selected and put on the Library's Law Collection web page.
The web page provides links to a wide range of Internet legal information such as conferences, international organizations, directories of law firms, law schools and bar associations, court judgments, electronic journals, treaties and international agreements.
Links to legal resources of regions or individual countries are also provided on the web page. Using Hong Kong as an example, links are made to the following websites:
The Counter provides law reference and other information enquiry services.
Also, frequently used materials, mostly loose-leaf volumes, are kept behind the Counter. These include selected law periodicals, Hong Kong, UK and PRC law reference tools. The purpose is to ensure that the materials in high demand are always available to users. Users can obtain those materials by depositing their CityU ID Card or valid library ticket. For those who want to make copy of the loose-leaf volumes, including the Laws of Hong Kong, library staff will remove the pages from the binder at the Counter. Users should not open the binder themselves.
Also kept at the Counter are examination papers of these two academic programmes: Postgraduate Certificate in Laws, Master of Laws (leading to Renmin University of China award). They are strictly for students in those two programmes only.
Please note, books of circulating nature are borrowed and returned at the Circulation Counter, not the Law Section Counter. Users may also use the self-check machines and book drops when the Circulation Counter is not open.
Orientation sessions are organized for new law students to help them make effective use of the Library. There are other specific law library courses which show students how to use a law database, navigate a variety of resources on a specific topic, or assist with individual instruction for research on a topic. Library orientation is also arranged for new faculty members to highlight our teaching and research support services. To schedule an individual consultation or a classroom instructional session and/or library tour, please contact the Law and Business Section Coordinator.
For a list of the latest Law Library Courses, click here.
We compile different user guides to help users get better understanding of legal materials. There are guides about finding law of particular jurisdiction, Students’ Guide to Legal Materials of Hong Kong, Students’ Guide to Legal Materials of the United Kingdom and Students’ Guide to Legal Materials of the People’s Republic of China. There are also guides on locating important legal subject matters, such as Guide to Legal Materials: Alternative Dispute Resolution, Guide to Legal Materials: Civil Justice Reform. Print copies of these guides are available from the Law Section Counter. Electronic version can be accessed from CityU e-Portal or the Research Guides web site.
To obtain materials which are not available in the CityU Library (either checked out or not owned), users can choose these services.
HKALL Borrowing Services
All CityU staff and students of programmes leading to CityU awarded degree can request to borrow books from other UGC funded university libraries through the Hong Kong Academic Library Link (HKALL). Details on loan rules and procedures can be found here.
Interlibrary Loan Services
This is another service by which users can request books and as well as photocopies from other libraries. Details about eligibility, procedures, charges, etc. is available here.
Full-time academic and administrative equivalent staff, research assistants, postgraduate students of programmes leading to CityU awards and UGC-funded undergraduate degree students can apply for the Joint University Librarians Advisory Committee (JULAC) Library Cards. The Card enables them to use the facilities and borrow materials of the other participating UGC institutions. Please note, undergraduate degree students can only access the UGC Libraries but not borrow materials with their JULAC Card. Application and charging details are available here.
Books checked out at other UGC Libraries on CityU-issued JULAC cards may be returned to the lending libraries either directly by the JULAC card holders in person, or via the "UGC Book Return Service" provided by the CityU Library before the due date. For the latter, please bring those books to the Circulation Counter.
Both staff and students are welcome to make recommendations for the purchase of library materials. Recommendation of expensive items or items involve continuous financial commiment should be endorsed by the Head (or designate) or a Chair Professor of the department of the recommender. Online recommendation forms are available at the Library Catalogue.
The Law Section provides PC workstations for accessing library subscribed electronic resources and the Library Catalogue. PC workstations which are equipped with a wide range of software tools can be found in both the Oval and Information Space.
The Oval - There are 136 workstations and a combined reference and IT help desk. This setting aims to facilitate collaborative learning and the use of technology. While most seats in the Oval can be booked in advance by eligible users; some seats can be taken on a first-come first-served basis.
The Information Space provides about 100 more PC workstations and color scanners. Advanced booking for individual PC workstations is available to eligible students. A well equipped seminar room with a seating capacity of 28 is available for small group teaching and seminar. To use this room, teaching staff may make arrangement with the Library by sending an email to lb@cityu.edu.hk.
To reserve PC workstations in the Oval and Information Space, please proceed to the Library Study Space & PC Booking System.
Several photocopiers and a color printers are available in the Law Section. More can be found in other parts of the Library. Almost all photocopiers are operated by Octopus Card. While the printer in the Law Section provides Octopus Card-operated Fast Printing Service, the Oval and Information Space offers Octopus Card-operated Fast Printing Service as well as Quota Controlled Fast Print Queue Service. Users are reminded not to infringe the Copyright Ordinance while printing and making photocopies.
Discussion rooms are available to law students for group project and moot preparation. Booking of these rooms is made at the Law Section Counter.
The Library also provides lockable single/double study carrels for private study. For group study purpose, eligible users can access the Group Study Room and Open Rooms in the Humanities Academy of the Library. To obtain further information about these rooms, usage policy and booking procedure, visit the web site here.
The Library offers various services and facilities to students with disabilities, among these are two Special Needs Room. Please contact the Reference Desk for assistance.
