The common law originated in England, but it now comprises the legal systems of a third of the world’s population. Meanwhile, it also exerts a major influence over law as it is practiced among the other two thirds of humanity.
Lawyers, judges, and legal officials of all kinds throughout the world today are called upon to implement rules and procedures that have origins in common law precedents. This legal tradition spawned global trends such as the spread of privacy rights, principles of fairness in contract, freedoms of speech and association, judicial constitutionalism, the use of juries, and much more. Meanwhile, among common law jurisdictions themselves, there is a huge range of diversity. Extending from India to Canada, from much of Africa to the United States, and, of course, Hong Kong itself, the common law is a shared legal language expressed in different judicial dialects.
As a global financial and economic center as well as a common law jurisdiction that is within a civil law state, Hong Kong is a particularly fascinating and important place to study this subject.
Students in the LLM in Common Law Programme will gain expertise in the institutions, procedures, substantive law and ongoing developments of the common law world. They will be able to call upon these skills and knowledge whether they intend to continue to work and study in common law jurisdictions or to diversify their resumés and professional profiles for global careers.
We look forward to welcoming you to Hong Kong!
Yours sincerely,

Professor Ryan MITCHELL
Deputy Programme Director (LLM Common Law)