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, or pass the Advanced Diploma for Legal Executives (Graduate Level) at SPACE.  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.  From the academic year 2021-2022 onwards, Civil Procedure and Criminal Procedure will be taught on the PCLL and will no longer be PCLL pre-requisities to entry.

Applicants should contact the Hong Kong Conversion Examination Board ("the Conversion Board") to determine whether their law degree meets the criteria for eligibility to the PCLL.

Applicants who:

1. hold a LLB or JD degree from one of the three universities offering such degrees in Hong Kong must be able to demonstrate competence in the nine 'Core' subjects and three 'Top-up' ubjects by passing such subjects as part of their law degree.  They are not permitted to take the Conversion Examinations offered by the Conversion Board in any of the nine 'Core' or three 'Top-up' subjects.

2. hold a law degree or other recognized law qualification acceptable to the Conversion Board, from a university, other than one of the three universities offering such degrees in Hong Kong, may be able to demonstrate competence in the nine 'Core' Subjects by passing such subjects 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.

3. hold a law degree or other recognized law qualification acceptable to the Conversion Board, from a university, other than one of the three universities offering such degrees in Hong Kong, must pass all of the three 'Top-up' 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/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 as soon as possible and in no case later than the first Friday of August each year, i.e. for a 2024 application, you must submit the IELTS test results by August 2, 2024 (the "Transcript Deadline").  No further extension to submit your IELTS test results will be allowed.  No other English language test (e.g. TOEFL) will be accepted.  We do not accept IELTS texts taken online; you must attend one of the authorized IELTS test centres to take your IELTS test.

A minimum standard of the IELTS test must be achieved as a requirement for admission to the PCLL.  At present 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. Faculty of Law accepts an IELTS test result as valid where it is obtained within three years of the application deadline, i.e. for a 2024 application, the test date shown on the IELTS Test Report Form cannot be earlier than April 30, 2021.

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