This course aims to:

• provide students with an opportunity to engage in original discovery in the form of an independent legal research under the supervision of an experienced staff;
• develop students' ability to identify a suitable topic that constitutes a research gap in the existing literature, analyse data, think critically, discover new concepts and organise thoughts on a given issue and to further develop the students' attitude in discovery by engaging in enquiry with the supervisor;
• harness and acquire the writing and citation and research skills of students;
• enable students to express and defend their views orally and in writing; and
• complete an original piece of researched writing.

Length and Style

• The written research paper must be between 8,000 and 10,000 words (excluding footnotes). Students must cite all relevant authorities as per the Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) 2006.

Use of GenAI

• Students may use GenAI for researching the subject area, collecting/coding/analysing empirical data, proofreading and for ensuring consistency in citations. However, students should not use Gen AI in producing a first draft. The author’s voice must be reflected in the paper. Furthermore, the student must be able to provide insights not obtainable by GenAI.


• Students should appropriately attribute ideas with citation to (a) primary sources such as legislation, cases and treaties, (b) secondary sources such as books and articles, and (c) output from GenAI.


• The risk of hallucination is inherent in the use of GenAI. The student who undertakes Independent Research is responsible for checking for sources provided by the GenAI software, and is responsible for all errors or the citation of non-existent material.

Use of Translation Software (whether GenAI or otherwise)

• Use of software for translation is not prohibited. However, we do not encourage students to write in another language and to use translation software to generate the English text. These kinds of writings suffer from a number of serious problems. What makes for a sufficiently tight or sustained argument in one culture may not be pass the mark in another. A software translation of the words, phrases or sentences – even if accurate – very often does not mean that the argument is well constructed in the translated language. Moreover, literal translation comes with the risk that the translation contains unidiomatic language. Since the Hong Kong university environment provides students the opportunity to improve proficiency in English legal writing, students pursuing Independent Research should take advantage of this learning opportunity.

Emphasis on Unique Contribution or Original Insight

• In formulating the research question, the student must be confident that it is one that s/he can provide a unique contribution or original insight. An exhaustive literature review is integral to the process, but it should be noted that such a review does not constitute unique contribution.


• A unique contribution or original insight may take a variety of forms. It may be a critique of a development. It may be a recommendation to transplant certain rules or institutions from another legal culture or jurisdiction, while providing a comprehensive analysis of the ramifications. It may involve a new or improved theoretical conception of the existing legal rules.

Marking

• All research papers will be assessed for substance, originality, breadth of research, quality of presentation, analysis and reasoning, accuracy, and citation style and authorities.


• The faculty who supervised the independent research and another anonymous faculty member will mark the research paper simultaneously. The relevant External Academic Advisor and/or a third marker may moderate the assessment of the research paper, especially if there is a significant difference in grades assigned by the super