CCGL9032 Global Issues

Rule of Law in a Globalizing World

This course is under the thematic cluster(s) of:

  • Sustaining Cities, Cultures, and the Earth (SCCE)

Course Description

The footprint of the Rule of Law can be found throughout the world in almost all domestic jurisdictions. However, the Rule of Law is implemented differently across jurisdictions depending on whether a “thin” or “thick” concept of the Rule of Law is applied as well as the goals in introducing the Rule of Law into a society. There are multiple versions of the rule of law, that needs to be understood and discussed. With these differences, the functions and role of the legal institutions which implement the Rule of Law are also different.

Understanding the concept of the Rule of Law and its different manifestations also provides the context for studying the impact of globalization on the developmental pathway of the Rule of Law.

Students from across all the faculties will work together to understand the developmental processes of the Rule of Law in different societies and the multi-faceted relationships between globalization and the Rule of Law.

Course Learning Outcomes

On completing the course, students will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate understanding of the basic concepts of the Rule of Law.
  2. Describe the evolution of the principle of the Rule of Law in different societies, and, to a minor extent, internationally.
  3. Identify the different meanings and goals of the Rule of Law, and the institutions and cultural conditions for realising them.
  4. Analyze the role of global institutions in influencing the development of the Rule of Law.

Offer Semester and Day of Teaching

Second semester (Wed)


Study Load

Activities Number of hours
Lectures 24
Tutorials 10
Reading / Self-study 60
Assessment: Short essay 30
Assessment: Project (incl preparation) 24
Total: 148

Assessment: 100% coursework

Assessment Tasks Weighting
Essay 40
Project 40
Performance in tutorials 20

Required Reading

Students will be assigned around two pieces of reading for each week, which may include book chapters, journal articles, news articles, policy papers and other popular readings. As a general, introductory, references, students may consider the following texts. Be mindful that they will not constitute the only texts for the course.

  • Baylis, J., Smith, S., & Owens, P. (Eds.). (2020). The Globalisation of World Politics (8th edition). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Meierhenrich, J., & Loughlin, M. (Eds.). (2021). The Cambridge Companion to the Rule of Law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Course Co-ordinator and Teacher(s)

Course Co-ordinator Contact
Professor S. Osella
Department of Law, Faculty of Law
Tel: 3917 2937
Email: osella@hku.hk
Teacher(s) Contact
Professor S. Osella
Department of Law, Faculty of Law
Tel: 3917 2937
Email: osella@hku.hk