Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Department of Accounting
ACCT 3610 Business Law

Instructor
Jing Tan
Email: actan@[Link]
Office: LSK 6004
Office hours: By appointment through email

Course materials
PowerPoint slides from class lectures are the core materials.
Reference book: An Introduction to Hong Kong Business Law by Vanessa Stott, 5th edition.
(Three copies are on reserve in the library. Call no. : KNQ9322.2 .S76 2019 c.1-c.3)

Deadlines & Important dates

Personal Information Survey Due 3 Sept

Photo Card Due (hard copy) 10 Sept
Group Formation Due 17 Sept
Quiz 1 LTB, 6:30-8:30pm, 26 Sept
Quiz 2 LTB, 6:30-8:30pm, 24 Oct
Quiz 3 LTB, 6:30-8:30pm, 19 Nov
Final Project Presentations 26, 28 Nov
Final Project Report Due 13 Dec

Personal Information Survey

I would like to get to know you before our first class meeting so that we can co-create an
informative course. Therefore, I strongly encourage you to finish a short survey by 3 Sept
through the link: [Link]

1 Course Objective

The objective of the course is to develop students with core technical knowledge and
application skills for routine professional problems in the area of law to enable their
progression to the Professional Level of the HKICPA qualification.

The content is designed in line with Module 10 of HKICPA and provides students with an
understanding of the overall legal framework in which businesses in Hong Kong operate. This

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course will enable students to analyze and apply the relevant laws and principles applicable to
business problems.

2 Course Overview

In this course, it will be introduced that the main principles of laws and regulations governing
business activities. You will have the basic knowledge to
 analyze and apply the key aspects of corporate laws and regulations that govern the
different forms of legal entities;
 analyze and apply the key concepts and principles of the law of tort and negligence;
 analyze and apply the key concepts and principles of the contract law;
 analyze and apply the key concepts and principles of the consumer laws;
 analyze and apply the key concepts and principles of the employment laws;
 apply the key concepts and principles of the bribery and corruption laws.

3 Class Format

In class meetings, lectures and discussions will cover the main legal principles and concepts that
are involved in business activities. We will explore their implications, identify issues, and
examine how laws affect business activities in Hong Kong. In order to get the most out of class
sessions, it is important that you actively participate in discussions and exercises and amicably
cooperate with your group on your group project. Notes for each lecture will be posted on
canvas AFTER the class meeting.

4 Classroom Etiquette

Out of respect for the other students in our class, it is important that each of us focuses our full
attention on the class, for the entire class period. Please be mindful of the following guidelines:
 Arrive on time, so you will not interrupt other students. You are required to sit with your
group because we will have group discussions frequently.
 The minimum attendance requirement for this course is 80% (inclusive of the Add/Drop
period). Your attendance will be reflected in your class participation score.
 If you have to be absent from class, please ask for a leave in written format through
email. If it is a sick leave, a doctor’s letter will be required. Any unreported absence will
be treated as no-show.
 Do NOT use your laptop/tablet and silence your cell phone and any other
communication devices.

5 Grade

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The grade components and the associated weights are as follow:

TWO Quizzes (the best two out of three) 2*25%

Final Project Report (group work) 30%
Final Project Presentation (group work) 10%
Group Exercise (group work) 10%
Individual Class Participation +/- 10%

Scores on each of the above components will be summed to arrive at an overall score for each
student. Our class will comply with university policy of a relative grading system.

1) Quizzes

There will be 3 quizzes during the semester. Each student’s best two out of three quizzes will be
considered for grading purposes. The quizzes will consist of multiple-choice and short-answer
questions. All the questions will be based exclusively on class lectures. It should be kept in mind
that many topics in the course are interrelated; thus, answering questions relating to a
particular topic may require some knowledge of topics discussed earlier.

Quizzes will be open-book tests. Quizzes will be held simultaneously for both sections. In order
to get a convenient time for all students, quizzes have tentatively been scheduled in evenings.
There will be no lectures on quiz days.

No make-up quiz will be scheduled.

Due to university’s classroom arrangements, once the quiz dates have been decided, they
cannot be changed. If you have schedule clashes later, it is up to you to resolve the clash and
attend the quiz on time.

2) Final Project Report (group work)

Students are required to form groups consisting of six members each (There may be exceptions
depending on the class size). Group members must be from the same section. Each group has to
upload a list of its members through Canvas assignment online by one representative of the
group by 17 Sept, 7pm.

Each group will be treated as a “company”. Group members will have their roles in the
“company” which will be decided among themselves. During this semester, the “companies”
will come across some legal issues in their business, such as signing contracts with others, hiring
and laying off employees, attending arbitrations, and so on. By learning basic legal principles,
the “companies” will identify ONE of their issues and find solutions. What rule applies to your
crisis and what is the logic behind your analysis? What are your expectations on the result? A
sample will be provided on Canvas and we will talk about it in details later.

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On 14 and 21 Nov, each group can schedule 15 minutes to meet me and show me your idea for
the final group project. The meeting is optional. Meeting me or not will not affect your grade. If
you would like to get feedback from me or talk about the project, you can select a time slot
online which will be available later this semester. One or more representatives of the group are
fine.

Report format: No more than 4,000 words in Times New Roman (12 Point), double spaced,
including tables and appendices, with 1 inch border on all sides.

Due Date: 13 Dec, 7pm. No late report will be accepted. Submit it on canvas.

3) Final Project Presentation (group work)

Each group will make an oral presentation of your group project in class. The presentation
should be made by a maximum of two members on behalf of the group. Group members will
decide who to represent them—the same grade will be given to all members. Each
presentation should take about 10 minutes and a further 2 minutes for a question-answer
session. Attendance is mandatory at all presentations, and every group may be required to
comment on every presentation.

4) Group Exercise

Classroom experience is very important in your learning process. In addition to lectures, time
will be allocated to in-class group exercises. These exercises will be in the form of 1) discussing
cases and 2) answering in-class questions. In case discussions, I may assign one group to
provide solutions. The other groups will be expected to add their comments and join in the
discussion. I will make cold calls in class.

In order to facilitate group discussion, each group of students is required to sit together for all
classes during the semester. Group participation points will only be given to members of the
group who are present for the discussion. If you will be absent for a class, let me know through
email. You are not allowed to sit in a different section.

All members of the same group will receive the same marks for the in-class group exercises.
Your marks of group exercise will be graded on the followings:

1) How constructive are the comments made by your group? Your group comments are
expected to be understandable to others and make solid logical sense.
2) How much positive influence your group brings to the class discussion? Your group is
expected to inspire others to think and stimulate class discussion.
3) How active is your group in terms of participating in class discussions?

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Peer Evaluation for Group Members

All group members should contribute roughly equally into the group work. In the past, some
groups have run into a situation where one or more group members are not contributing in the
group project. To avoid free-riding as much as possible, students are given the option to
download a “peer evaluation for group members” document on “canvas>files” and evaluate
their group members by 6 Dec.

Peer evaluations could be submitted through email to me and will be taken into consideration
when grading. If you feel that each member in the group has contributed equally to the group
project, you do not need to fill in the peer evaluation form. I will assume that each person has
contributed equally unless I received a peer evaluation form that says otherwise.

5) Individual Class Participation

There will also be individual class participation points – i.e., marks given to individual students
for activities relevant to this class. If you reflect on the class as a whole, through comments,
questions, answers, humor, or any other good things, you stand to score up to 10 extra points.
On the other hand, if you serve as a negative influence, through late-coming, talking to your
neighbors, missing deadlines, or any other distracting actions, you may lose up to 10 points of
your grade. If you never contribute in class and submit all your assignments in time, your score
will simply be zero.

For the record of individual participation, I would like each student to hand in a photo card by
10 Sept. The photo card can be downloaded from “canvas>assignments”. If you happen to add
the class after this deadline, please submit your photo card as soon as possible.

6 Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a critical value of the university community. UST places a strong emphasis
on academic integrity. To help students and staff to understand the policy, a website has been
established that explains the regulations, provides assistance for students in avoiding
plagiarism, and sets out the role of faculty and staff when a case of cheating or plagiarism
comes to their attention. Please visit the website at [Link]

The penalty for cheating and plagiarism can range from failure of a quiz or assignment to
failure of the course. For assignments identified as group work, it is expected that all members
of the group will have contributed, and that only the members of the group will have
contributed. A group may not collaborate with a group from another section of the course.
Plagiarism is copying anything from another source without citation. You are required to
provide appropriate references when you use ideas and arguments in others' work.

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 ACCT 3610 Business Law schedule

Lecture Date Topic Remarks

1 3 Sept Tue Course overview
2 5 Sept Thu Introduction of law
3 10 Sept Tue Legal system of HK Photo card due (hard copy)
4 12 Sept Thu General principles of contract law (1)
5 17 Sept Tue General principles of contract law (2) Group formation due
6 19 Sept Thu General principles of contract law (3)
7 24 Sept Tue General principles of contract law (4)
26 Sept Thu Quiz 1 No class. LTB, 6:30-8:30PM.
1 Oct Tue Public holiday No class.
8 3 Oct Thu Special contracts (1)
9 8 Oct Tue Special contracts (2)
10 10 Oct Thu Special contracts (3)
11 15 Oct Tue Law of tort (1)
12 17 Oct Thu Law of tort (2)
13 22 Oct Tue Employment laws (1)
24 Oct Thu Quiz 2 No class. LTB, 6:30-8:30PM.
14 29 Oct Tue Employment laws (2)
15 31 Oct Thu Business organizations (1)
16 5 Nov Tue Business organizations (2)
17 7 Nov Thu Business organizations (3)
18 12 Nov Tue Ethics
14 Nov Thu Meeting No class
19 Nov Tue Quiz 3 No class. LTB, 6:30-8:30PM.
21 Nov Thu Meeting No class
26 Nov Tue Presentation
28 Nov Thu Presentation

The schedule is subject to change.

Bad Weather Arrangements

When the Amber or Red Rainstorm Warning or Typhoon Signal No. 1 or 3 is in effect, all
scheduled classes and examinations will be held as usual.
When a Typhoon Signal No. 8 is to be issued within 2 hours (pre-No. 8), or when a Black
Rainstorm Warning is announced, all classes and examinations will be cancelled. Those in
progress will normally continue until the end. Stay indoors wherever you are and do not leave
until the warning is cancelled and the conditions are safe.