Master of Laws (LLM) in Energy and Environmental Law
The LLM in Energy and Environmental Law aims to offer students an in-depth understanding of the legal aspects governing the key challenges of energy security and environmental protection. Students are trained for practice in the areas of energy investment and trade, project finance and infrastructure development, clean energy and climate change mitigation, with a focus on the specific energy and sustainability challenges of the Asia-Pacific region. The courses build on the expertise in energy and environmental law and investment and trade law at CUHK, and benefit from the participation of leading international practitioners in the field of energy and environmental law.
Hong Kong Future Talents Scholarship Scheme for Advanced Studies (FTSS)
CUHK LAW’s LLM in Energy and Environmental Law (LEL) Programme is eligible for the FTSS in the 2025/26 and/or 2026/27 intakes. Local students, both full-time and part-time, who are admitted to the LEL Programme in the above intake years are eligible to apply for FTSS. Applicants who have got an admission offer, accepted the offer and settled the admission deposit will be invited to submit applications. For details, please refer to Graduate School’s website.
Introduction and Welcome
Deputy Programme Director
(LLM Energy and Environmental Law)
Thank you for your interest in the LLM in Energy and Environmental Law Programme.
Energy and environmental law concerns sectors of vital importance to society. Specialised lawyers are needed to help government, companies and civil society ensure energy security while protecting the environment. For young lawyers, the field of energy and environmental law offers great professional opportunities and the potential to make a difference.
With its focus on China and more generally on East Asia, the LLM in Energy and Environmental Law Programme provides a unique perspective to the study of energy and environmental law. This programme offers specialised training in legal aspects of energy trade and investments, including the regulation of energy markets, the drafting of project finance agreements and the resolution of cross-border energy disputes. It also provides a deep understanding of the functioning of international and domestic environmental and climate law, equipping students with the tools to strive in a fast-expanding field of legal practice.
We look forward to sharing with you our passion and expertise in these fields.
All applicants must fulfill the General Admission Requirements and the English Language Proficiency Requirement prescribed by the University’s In addition applicants must have:
As many areas of professional activity are related to law, we welcome applications from applicants who work in the areas of energy, environmental preservation, public administration, and similar relevant fields. Applicants whose undergraduate studies were not conducted and assessed in English are required to take an appropriate English language proficiency test and achieve a sufficient score, such as a score of 570 or above in TOEFL (Paper Based Test), 88 or above in TOEFL (Internet-Based Test); Band 6.5 or better in IELTS; or equivalent. The test results must be obtained not more than two years prior to the date of applying to join the LLM Programme. |
31 January 2026 (first round)
28 February 2026 (second round)
10 April 2026 (third round)
Programme Information
- Medium of Instruction: English
- Campus: The CUHK Graduate Law Centre, 2/F, Bank of America Tower, Central.
Programme Duration
Full-time mode:
Part-time mode:
two years (normative study period) – three years (maximum study period).
Programme Requirements
24 units: including 12 units of required courses and 12 units of elective courses. Students should pass all the assessments with a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 in order to be recommended for graduation.
Full-time mode (1 year)
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Delivery mode
A 3-unit course will usually have three teaching hours per week.
Classes are held during daytime and evenings of weekdays and daytime
Classes will incorporate a mix of lectures, seminars, tutorials, presentations and
Courses
Required Courses:
- Clean Technology Law
- This course deals with the legal and regulatory aspects of clean technologies, focusing on the clean energy transition and innovation in the energy sector. It aims to introduce the main regulatory principles that apply to the reorganisation of energy systems towards sustainability and decarbonisation.
- International and Comparative Energy Law
- This course looks at the legal responses to the challenge of energy security at the global, regional and national level. Besides the regulation of energy investment and energy trade, the course examines the liberalisation of energy markets (i.e. the opening of energy markets to competition)
- International Environmental Law
- This course studies the policy instruments, legal principles and strategies to address the main regional and global environmental problems at present. Subjects of study include climate change, waste management, local air pollution, marine pollution and loss of biodiversity.
- Principles of Environmental Law
- This course deals with the main principles underlying the regulation of the environment, with a focus on Hong Kong. The course critically studies the effectiveness of the Hong Kong legal system in the prevention of environmental harm and the enforcement of environmental law.
Elective Courses:
- Chinese Energy Law
- This course will introduce energy law and regulation in China with a focus on the governance and regulatory systems that underlie each type of energy supply, such as electricity, coal, oil and gas. Attention will be devoted to the green economic transition and its associated legal and regulatory systems in China, including renewable energy law, energy efficiency regulation and energy conservation law. The regulatory issues surrounding China’s outbound energy investment and some emerging regulatory issues in China’s energy sector will also be addressed.
- Chinese Environmental Law
- This course introduces the basic environmental legal concepts, principles and mechanisms in Chinese law, considers the dynamic interaction between economic development and environmental protection in China, and investigates the development and operation of Chinese environmental law, with a focus on law-making, regulatory control and judicial remedies in both preventing and remedying the harm of air pollution, water pollution and solid waste contamination.
- Clean Energy and Climate Law
- This course introduces the legal principles governing the international approach to climate change mitigation and adaptation, and introduces the main concepts relating to the regulation of investments in clean energy production and trade in clean energy products. Besides climate change law, topics covered by this course include the support of clean energy technologies, the access of clean energy producers to the network infrastructure, contracts governing the trade in clean energy.
- Disaster Law
- This course concentrates on the links between environmental law, climate change and the regulation of domestic and cross-border energy undertakings from the perspective of disaster risk reduction. What can comparative and international environmental law contribute, at a time when: (i) climate change will almost certainly increase the risks posed by the natural environment; and (ii) the energy industries are operating in more remote and environmentally pristine (e.g. the Arctic) regions?
- Dispute Resolution in the Energy and Natural Resources Sector
- This course studies the law applicable to the resolution of energy disputes, with a focus on investment arbitration and commercial dispute settlement. The rapid increase in the number of arbitral awards and trade-related decisions in the energy industry has highlighted the crucial importance of investment, trade and commercial law for the energy industry.
- Financial Markets: Law and Operation
- This course examines the growth of securities markets in Hong Kong against the theoretical backdrop of market structure and quality, addressing recent important topics like high frequency trading, dark pools, distributed ledger technology (‘blockchain’) and the dramatic growth of available derivatives products and their trading on the markets. Special attention will be given to development of markets in fossil fuels and energy contracts.
- Oil and Gas Law
- This course focuses on the means by which the state controls exploitation of its oil and gas reserves. Following a number of introductory lectures, students will participate in interactive seminars considering topics such as: energy security; licensing; upstream taxation; health, safety and environmental regulation; and international maritime boundaries and joint development.
- Project Finance and Infrastructure Law
- This course introduces the legal principles governing the development and financing of infrastructure projects, with a focus on the energy sector. The course explores the legal aspects of project fi nance, including the structuring of public private partnerships, the interrelation between financial institutions, investors and other actors, and the negotiation and drafting of energy purchase agreements and other key project and finance documents.
- Water Law
Students may select the above LLM in Energy and Environmental Law Elective Courses or any other approved courses offered under the JD or LLM Programmes. Students who would like to undertake an independent research project in an area of significant personal interest may choose Independent Research or Independent Research Dissertation. The offering of an elective course in any term will depend on teacher availability and sufficient student interest.
Expertise
Study options
Students may take elective courses offered in other LLM Programmes and the JD Programme offered by CUHK LAW subject to availability of places.
Additional learning & development opportunities
For the academic year of 2026-27, the tuition fee is HK$192,000 per programme within normative study period. For full-time students, the tuition fee is payable by 2 instalments at the beginning of each term. For part-time students, the tuition fee is payable by 4 instalments at the beginning of each term.
Guest Lectures and Conferences
Scholarships and Prizes
For newly admitted students/applicants
For current students
Faculty of Law Postgraduate Scholarships for Academic Excellence 2025/26
Chartered Tax Adviser Prize for International Taxation
The Hong Kong Institute of Trade Mark Practitioners Prize for Intellectual Property
The Asian Patent Attorneys Association (Hong Kong Group) Prizes for Intellectual Property Law
Lee Hysan Foundation Postgraduate Studentships for Mainland China Students
- International and Comparative Energy Law#
- International Environmental Law#
- Principles of Environmental Law#
- Project Finance and Infrastructure Law#
# This course has been included in the list of reimbursable courses under the Continuing Education Fund. The mother course (Master of Laws in Energy and Environmental Law Programme) of this module is recognised under the Qualifications Framework (QF Level [6]).
Site Visit
Taking into account the importance for energy and environmental lawyers to understand the basic principles of energy systems and environmental protection measures, the LLM in Energy and Environmental Law Programme organizes various visits to important energy and environmental sites. These site visits may include:
- China Light and Power (CLP) Castle Peak Power Station (4,108MW coal- red power station);
- CLP Power Low Carbon Energy Education Centre;
- Guangdong Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant;
- T-Park waste-to-energy facility; and
- Water treatment works.
Applicants
Yes. However, you can only study one programme at a time. Therefore, if more than one of your applications are successful you must choose only
No. The application fee once paid is
Yes. Any application received without the payment of the application fee will not be processed until the application fee
Yes. Students may apply for admission before completion of a Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) provided that they are in the final year of study. In this situation any offer will be made subject to the condition that all requirements for graduation in the Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) and for admission to the LLM programme are satisfied prior to commencing the
Yes. You can apply for admission to join a LLM programme before fulfilling the English Language Proficiency Requirement, but you must fulfill the Requirement and provide documentary proof prior to commencing the LLM programme. Any admission offer will be made conditional on you fulfilling the English Language
No. The Hong Kong Immigration Department has advised that in general it is unlikely that they will issue student visas to non-local applicants who intend to study part-time in Hong Kong. Therefore non-local students are strongly advised to study full-time in order to facilitate their student
Your official university transcript and confidential recommendations should be sent directly from your university and referees to CUHK LAW in
CUHK LAW selects applicants on the basis of academic merit. CUHK LAW welcomes applications from applicants around the world based upon the philosophy that diversity enriches the
No. However, applicants who do not possess a Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) obtained in Hong Kong or in an English-speaking country are required to fulfill the English Language Proficiency Requirement of the
Successful Applicants and Newly-admitted Students
No. On receipt of formal offers students will need to make their own arrangements for the payment of the deposit should they wish
Meanwhile, eligible local applicants may apply for financial support under Non-means-tested Loan Scheme from
Overseas students may check with organisations, government authorities etc, of their home countries if there is any financial
For information on other scholarships, please click here.
Application materials are disposed of after the end of each admission exercise. New applications will be
Newly admitted students are required to pay the tuition fees on or before the payment due date stated in the debit note in the admission package. Current students will receive a debit note at the beginning of each term, and are required to settle the tuition fees on or before the payment
Students who have not completed the programme requirements within the normative study period may apply to postpone the expected graduation date by submitting the Application Form for Change of Expected Graduation Date to CUHK LAW. The maximum extension is up to one year. The application is subject to the approval of CUHK LAW. The academic status of those students studying outside the normative study period will become “continuing”. Extra tuition fees may be charged for continuing students and the fee level for continuing student is subject to
Applicants should refer to the website of the Immigration Department for details concerning employment
What Our Students Say
"After completing my legal studies in Switzerland and qualifying as an Attorney-at-law and working at court in Switzerland for some time, I wished to return to university in order to further develop my knowledge of international business law. When I learnt about the LLM in International Economic Law Programme at CUHK, I was convinced from the very first moment that this would be the right programme for me: not only is Hong Kong a common law jurisdiction where I (as a civil lawyer) would be exposed to another legal system, but it would also be an opportunity to learn more about Asia. These expectations were fully met by CUHK’s LLM Programmes. The professors are all experts in their respective fields. Also, learning together with my fellow Asian students has proven to be a culturally enriching experience. Last but not least, I do not want to miss the opportunity to say thank you to CUHK’s administrative staff who was always very supportive and made my life at the university as pleasant as possible."
"After completing an LLB in Law and an MA in Business Management in Greece, I decided to apply to The Chinese University of Hong Kong to undertake an LLM in International Economic Law. My interests and the good reputation of the university were the main reasons why I chose to come to Hong Kong, a vibrant center for business combining Chinese culture and a western lifestyle. I found the programme excellent. Giving presentations, taking part in workshops, and working as a team member convinced me that I made the right choice."
"Studying law at CUHK has given me a different perspective on how to approach the study and the practice of law. The LLM in International Economic Law is a very good programme that is not all about theory but also includes practice tips like drafting contracts. The professors in this programme are all top-notch and I learned a lot from them. This will all help me in my career down the road. I would recommend the LLM in International Economic Law to anyone who is considering taking it."
"The LLM in International Economic Law equipped me with all the knowledge necessary to work as a lawyer on the international scene. The diverse range of courses taught by truly passionate and highly skilled professors also allowed me to develop both a practical and business oriented view of the law. As a result I gained a comprehensive knowledge of the law surrounding cross-border business transactions with a notable focus on Mainland China and Hong Kong. The LLM also gave me the opportunity to connect with students from different backgrounds and engage in extra-curricular activities with the Graduate Law Students Association. It has been a truly enriching experience on both a personal and professional level."
"Studying International Economic Law at CUHK has been a very fruitful and incredible experience. The cultural diversity in both the teaching staff and the student body is amazing! At CUHK I can confidently say that I got an invaluable opportunity to learn from the best in the industry. The opportunities offered both in-campus and o -campus are simply endless. Hong Kong, being a global financial hub, is among the best destinations in the world to pursue the study of International Economic Law. The programme efficiently and effectively prepares students for the highly competitive job market of law."
"I was awarded the Master of Laws Global Scholarship offered by the CUHK Faculty of Law in 2016 and coming to Hong Kong to study LLM in International Economic Law has been the best decision I have ever made in my life. This LLM Programme not only equipped me with all the vital knowledge for a legal career on the international scene, but also the opportunity to expand my personal network. The lecture syllabus is well-organized, with four well-structured required courses and a broad enough choice of electives to cover my interests. The professors are highly-skilled, and the faculty staff is very approachable and is always ready to help you with any difficulties you might come across. This LLM Programme has been a rewarding experience and I cannot recommend it highly enough!"
Address:
Faculty of Law
6/F, Lee Shau Kee Building
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Shatin, New Territories
Hong Kong, China