A Special Standing in the World

The history of the Faculty of Law at HKU is in many ways the history of the law in modern Hong Kong. Founded in 1969, the Faculty has helped transform a colonial legal backwater into a flourishing jurisdiction, in which Hong Kong maintains its common law system as a special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China. The Faculty has played a vital part in fostering a legal profession firmly rooted in Hong Kong, functioning in both Chinese and English. Its early teachers pioneered scholarship on Hong Kong law. Its graduates now make up over half of Hong Kong’s Judiciary and legal profession. Over the years the Faculty has earned worldwide recognition as a centre of research in subjects ranging from human rights to financial regulation.

Published to mark the Golden Jubilee, this book traces the Faculty’s rise from humble origins to its position as one of the world’s leading law schools. Drawing on archives, publications and interviews, the book explores the growth of the Faculty against the momentous events of the past 50 years. The first two chapters examine the Faculty’s prehistory when, for over a hundred years, most of Hong Kong’s lawyers were trained in England. The remaining six chapters explore alternately the Faculty’s internal history and its role in building Hong Kong’s modern legal system.

Christopher Munn is the author of Anglo-China: Chinese People and British Rule in Hong Kong, 1841–1880 (HKUP, 2008) and a co-editor of the Dictionary of Hong Kong Biography (HKUP, 2012) and Meeting Place: Encounters across Cultures in Hong Kong, 1841–1984 (HKUP, 2017).

‘Dr Munn traces the Faculty of Law’s fascinating journey over half a century. From a modest beginning, it has developed into one of the finest law schools in the world. The story is told in the context of the historic events and momentous changes of this era. This illuminating and outstanding work deserves to be widely read.’ —The Hon. Andrew Li, First Chief Justice of the HKSAR (1997–2010)

‘Christopher Munn’s history of the Faculty of Law is more than the history of a remarkable educational institution—it is a history of how the law and legal culture in Hong Kong developed from modest mid-nineteenth-century colonial beginnings to its present pre-eminent position. Clearly composed in lively prose, this book is essential reading for anyone who seeks to understand modern Hong Kong and its place in the world today.’ —The Rt Hon. Beverley McLachlin, Chief Justice of Canada (2000–2017)

HKU Law at 50