Postgraduate Certificate in Laws

To be eligible for admission to the PCLL programme at the University of Hong Kong, an applicant:

1. shall at least hold a degree of Bachelor of Laws (LLB), Juris Doctor (JD) or equivalent, or pass the CPE examinations or equivalent, from a university or comparable institution. The law degree must be in Common Law, normally from a Hong Kong or Commonwealth institution; and

2. will have to demonstrate competence in the following nine 'Core' subjects: Contract, Tort, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Land Law, Equity, Evidence, Business Associations, and Commercial Law; and three 'Top-up' subjects: Hong Kong Constitutional Law, Hong Kong Legal System, and Hong Kong Land Law.

Applicants who:

1. hold a law degree from a university other than one of the three universities offering such degrees in Hong Kong, or other recognised law qualification acceptable to the University of Hong Kong, may be able to demonstrate competence in the nine 'Core' Subjects when they have been completed as follows:

(i) as part of their non-Hong Kong common law qualification; and/or

(ii) as a visiting internal student in one of the three universities awarding LLB and/or JD degrees in Hong Kong, and passing the requisite examination; and/or

(iii) by passing the relevant subject in the Hong Kong Conversion Examination for PCLL Admission.

2. have not passed all of the three 'Top-up' subjects at a university LLB/LLB double degree/JD course in Hong Kong must demonstrate competence in such subjects, and can do so in any of the following ways:

(i) as a visiting internal student in one of the three universities awarding LLB and/or JD degrees in Hong Kong, and passing the requisite examination; and/or

(ii) as part of the Graduate Diploma in English and Hong Kong Law taught and awarded in Hong Kong; and/or

(iii) by passing the relevant subject in the Hong Kong Conversion Examination for PCLL Admission.

All applicants, (including native English speakers), must take the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test (the Academic module) and submit the band score obtained no later than the first Friday of August each year. No other English language test (e.g. TOEFL) will be accepted.

The prescribed minimum IELTS overall band score is 7. This is a requirement of the Hong Kong Standing Committee on Legal Education and Training. No exemptions will be granted. The Department of Professional Legal Education accepts an IELTS test result as valid where it is obtained within three years of the application deadline, i.e. for a 2023 application, the test date shown on the Test Report Form cannot be earlier than April 28, 2020.

Further details are available at: http://www.ple.hku.hk/pcll/