LAW593
International Environmental Law
(Jefferies)
Prerequisite courses:
Prerequisite for:
Instructor(s): Professor Cameron Jefferies
Course credit: 3
Method of presentation: Lecture / Seminar
METHOD OF EVALUATION
The PRIMARY method of evaluation in this course is a PAPER worth 80% of the grade.
The remainder of the grade is made up of:
1) A paper proposal worth 10%
2) Oral presentation and class participation worth 10%
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course introduces students to the international legal regime that protects the environment and the persistent/inherent problems associated with creating and maintaining this legal regime (i.e., accounting for the numerous differences between countries, enforcing treaties, accounting for emerging threats).
The first portion of this course surveys existing and emerging international law as it relates to current environmental issues. The second portion of the course addresses specific topics in greater detail, in part led by student presentations. Course topics include:
1) Principles and sources of international environmental law;
2) History of international environmental law and the principle of sustainable development;
3) Institutions and organizations of the international legal system;
4) A survey of international environmental law as it relates to:
a. LAND- toxic contamination, mass extinction, trade in endangered/threatened species, and radioactive fallout;
b. AIR- climate change, trans-boundary air pollution, ozone depletion; and
c. OCEAN- law of the sea, regional coordination, the International Whaling Commission, and shark conservation.
5) The future of international environmental law.
Domestic environmental law is covered in Law 559.
SPECIAL COMMENTS
Description updated 2015-16. Please contact the instructor for any specific questions you may have related to this particular course section.
REQUIRED TEXTS (IF ANY) This has not been updated recently; please contact instructor
LD Gurriswary, International Environmental Law in a Nutshell, 4th ed. (St. Paul: Thomson/West, 2011).