This year marks the 40th Anniversary of the Faculty of Law, which started with 4 teaching staff and 50 students at a former Police Headquarters at Caine Road. The Faculty is celebrating the Anniversary with a host of academic and social events, and new academic programmes. But there will be more to celebrate in less than three years: the new Law Building at the Centennial Campus.

“Space is no doubt the most serious constraint for our further development”, said Professor Johannes Chan, Dean of Law. The Faculty, which now numbers about 80 academic staff and 1,400 students, once declined hosting a major international mooting competition because there was no space available!

“There is a Chinese saying that goes, ‘If you want to do something good, you have to sharpen your tools first!’ Besides office space for staff, the space for students is also very limited. Although we are the smallest Faculty in the University, we have a disproportionately large number of incoming exchange students (19%). We are glad to be so popular among international students, but this also puts extra pressure to our spatial needs.”

The new Law Building
With the completion of the Law Building in 2012, the Faculty would have 80 % more space for its future development. With a Net Operational Floor Area of 5,600 m2, the Law Building will have 10 storeys of offices, conference rooms, teaching facilities, plus a Law Library and a Moot Court with about 400 seats.

The new Building will also support small group teaching, an important part of HKU’s legal education. “There will be many seminar rooms, small conference rooms and advocacy laboratories for our students. Our Postgraduate Certificate in Laws (PCLL) students have a special need for advocacy training and these laboratories would provide an excellent environment for teaching and learning.”

Serving the community
When asked what functions would the future ‘clinical legal room’ and ‘interview room’ would serve, Professor Chan said, “Besides teaching, these rooms would be used for our pro bono service. Pro bono (complimentary) professional service has been very popular in the United States and other Western countries. Most law firms in the US and UK provide pro bono services to underprivileged groups. I hope the University could cultivate a pro bono service attitude for the legal profession in Hong Kong.”

Looking ahead
2012 is an important year for most Faculties, as it marks the implementation of four-year curriculum. The Faculty of Law has the benefit of early introduction of its four-year Bachelor of Law programme in 2004 and it is well prepared to accommodate the new core curriculum requirements of the University in 2012.

In 2008, Dr Cheng Yu-tung generously donated HK$400 million to HKU’s campus development and the academic development and research of the Faculty of Law. The Faculty will set up endowment to attract visiting professors, invite top notch scholars for teaching and research, as well as improving student welfare and developing clinical programmes. This will enable the Faculty to plan ahead in the next 15-20 years.