Where modules run over two terms as a 30 credit module, SIL students will attend and be assessed on the contents of term 1. Please note that some modules reflect this with an additional "A" in their module code, but this is not the case for all of them due to special assessment arrangements for SIL students.
All assessments are graded on a pass/fail basis.
INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW (LAWSG028)
Credit value: 30 credits (12 ECTS) |
Module Convenor:
Professor Catherine Redgwell |
Other Teachers:
Professor Michael Bowman (The University of Nottingham)
Dr Javier de Cendra de Larragan (UCL Laws/Energy Institute)
Professor Peter Davies (The University of Nottingham)
Panos Merkouris (Queen Mary, University of London)
Dr Ruth McKenzie (The University of Westminster) |
| Intercollegiate teaching: No |
| Teaching Method: 20 x two-hour seminars |
| Who may enrol: LLM students, SIL students |
| Prerequisites: None |
| Barred module combinations: None |
| Core module for specialism: Environmental Law and Policy, International Law |
| Assessment |
| Practice Assessment: to be confirmed |
| Assessment method for LLM students: 3-hour unseen written examination |
| Assessment method for SIL students: 3.000 word coursework essay |
| Module Overview |
Module summary
The module consists of several distinct parts: History and Sources of IEL; Principles of IEL; Enforcing IEL; and Protection of the Atmosphere, Ozone Layer and Climate; Marine Environment; Species and Habitat Protection; Conservation of Biodiversity and Biosafety; and an Evaluation of MEAs from the Governance and Trade perspectives. In the first term a brief introduction to the actors and agencies in the field of international environmental law is provided, and identification of the sources of international environmental law. The principles of sustainable development, the precautionary principle, and equity-based approaches are discussed in turn. The focus then shifts to state responsibility for environmental harm, access to environmental justice and dispute resolution. In the final weeks of the first term and the second term of the module the seminars turn to case studies (the atmosphere – air pollution, ozone depletion and climate change; marine resources; species and habitat protection – including trade in endangered species; and biodiversity conservation). These case studies are presented by various lecturers on the module, each in the field of his or her own expertise. The module concludes with an assessment of environmental governance and of the efficacy of the regulatory tools (including market and trade-related mechanisms) used to achieve environmental objectives. |
Module syllabus
I. History and Sources of International Environmental Law (IEL)
1. Introduction to IEL – History, Sources, Tools and Techniques
2. Actors and Factors in Environmental Treaty-Making
II Principles of IEL
3. Principles Case Study I: Sustainable Development
4. Principles Case Study II: The Precautionary Principle
5. Principles Case Study III: Common but Differentiated Responsibilities
III Principles of State Responsibility and Dispute Resolution: Enforcing IEL
6. State Responsibility and Environmental Dispute Settlement
7. Litigating International Environmental Law before National and International Courts
8. Alternatives to Environmental Dispute Settlement: Non-Compliance Procedures
IV Atmosphere: Air Pollution, Ozone Depletion and Climate Change
9. LRTAP, Ozone
10. Climate Change I: UNFCCC
11. Climate Change II: From Kyoto to Durban and Beyond
V Marine Environment
12. Law of the Sea and Marine Pollution
13. Marine Mammals and Fisheries Conservation
VI Species and Habitat Protection
14. Whales
15. CITES
16. Birds and Migratory Species
17. World Heritage
VI Conservation of Biological Diversity and Biosafey
18. Biodiversity I: CBD
19. Biodiversity II: Cartagena Protocol
20. Exam Review/Mock Examination
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Recommended materials
The recommended module textbook is Patricia Birnie, Alan Boyle and Catherine Redgwell, International Law and the Environment, Oxford University Press, 3rd edition (2009). Students may also wish to refer to Philippe Sands, Principles of International Environmental Law, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 3rd edition (2012) and M Bowman, P Davies and C Redgwell, Lyster’s International Wildlife Law, Cambridge University Press, 2nd edition (2010). |
Preliminary reading
Chapter 1 of Birnie, Boyle and Redgwell (above) or chapter 1 of Sands (above) or chapters 1 and 2 of Bowman, Davies and Redgwell (above) or C. Redgwell, ‘International Environmental Law’ in M. Evans (ed), International Law (3rd edn, OUP 2010), chapter 23.
Some background reading in public international law is recommended if not previously studied. A good source is Vaughan Lowe, International Law (Clarendon Press, 2007), chs. 1-2 (general overview, and how international law is made) and ch. 7 (on the global environment).
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Other information:
A reading list with identified essential reading and questions for discussion will be provided for each topic. For treaties and other legal background materials, most instruments are easily (and freely) available online. |
| Prizes for this module: There are currently no prizes available for this module. |
