Module overview
Global environmental challenges do not respect national borders. International cooperation and law is therefore crucial to addressing many of the wicked problems currently facing the international community: including for example, climate change and air and water pollution. The International Environmental Law module provides an introduction to the specialised field of public international law which is concerned with addressing such challenges. This module examines the governance and regulatory aspects of international environmental law, as well providing an introduction to the law which has been instrumental to the development of this field. In so doing it also examines key concepts and principles which underpin international environmental law, such as the precautionary principle and sustainable development.
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- The sources of international environmental law and the role played by international courts, tribunals and other relevant actors.
- The core concepts and principles underpinning international environmental law, and their application.
- The historical and political context and development of international environmental law.
- Contemporary global challenges facing international environmental law and its governance.
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Identify and critically evaluate legal and policy responses to environmental challenges.
- Source relevant legal materials, including international conventions, statutes, case law on international environmental law.
- Communicate legal arguments and opinions within the context of international environmental law clearly, accurately and objectively.
- Identify legal concepts and principles and apply to breaches of international environmental law.
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Construct arguments based on premises drawn from various sources.
- Analyse complex written texts and evaluate different types of arguments.
- Undertake independent research and access primary and secondary sources effectively.
- Communicate arguments in writing and reference sources appropriately.
Syllabus
This module will examine:
-The development of international environmental law with reference to the historic and political context;
-The sources of international environmental law;
-The governance of international environmental law, including the respective roles of the various actors and institutions;
-The core concepts of international environmental law, such as sustainable development and its underlying principles;
-Contemporary global challenges facing international environmental law and its governance.
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Teaching methods:
One 2-hour seminar per week
Learning methods include:
- Essential and additional directed reading, as per distributed reading lists reproduced on Blackboard;
- Engagement with current legal or commercial developments to ensure that you can relate the material being discussed in class to contemporary issues
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Teaching | 20 |
| Independent Study | 130 |
| Total study time | 150 |
Resources & Reading list
Textbooks
Birnie, Boyle & Redgwell's (2019). International Law and the Environment. Oxford University Press.
Sands and Peel (2018). Principles of International Environmental Law. Cambridge University Press.
Assessment
Formative
This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.
Essay
- Assessment Type: Formative
- Feedback: Feedback will be via the Law School Feedback sheets, through comments written on the formative work, and orally in a class discussion of the formative work, as well as feedback as reflected in the mark awarded.
- Final Assessment: No
- Group Work: No
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Examination | 100% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Examination | 100% |
Repeat
An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Examination | 100% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External