Legal Response to Environmental Destruction
| Module title | Legal Response to Environmental Destruction |
|---|---|
| Module code | LAW3016C |
| Academic year | 2021/2 |
| Credits | 15 |
| Module staff | Dr Josh Martin (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 50 |
|---|
Module description
The protection of the environment is becoming the pivotal policy concern of our age, and the manner in which law plays a vital role in influencing policies and addressing environmental disruption will be of integral importance. In this module you will be provided with a theoretical and practical foundation in environmental law and policy, and you will also reach beyond and delve into the critical and substantive issues affecting environmental policy today.
Working in a highly interdisciplinary and problem-based environment, you will explore and interrogate the various challenges, debates, issues and solutions to developing effective environmental law and policy across numerous contexts. Through this you will be immersed in many of the challenges and issues in national, regional and international environmental law, environmental justice, as well as in critical perspectives surrounding debates in environmental regulation and policy. From here, the module gives you an exciting opportunity to develop, shape and present an innovative policy solution to a major environmental challenge.
This module is open to level 6 (final year) students across the Penryn campus. It has been designed for everyone interested in environmental law and policy, whether in research, practice or their professional work, irrespective of their discipline. There are no law pre-requisites for this module.
Module aims - intentions of the module
This cross-disciplinary module is designed and delivered in the knowledge that ‘interdisciplinarity’ lies at the heart of future regulatory solutions to environmental challenges. By bringing together both Law and non-Law students across the Cornwall campus, the module provides an exciting opportunity for students to collaborate across disciplines in order to generate genuinely new and innovative regulatory solutions to major environmental challenges. We also aim to promote an end-of-term conference at which your new and innovative regulatory solutions can be presented, leading to genuine opportunities for impact or further outputs from your research.
In terms of the substantive content, the focus is to introduce you to some of the key theories, concepts and issues environmental law and policy, as well as support you in generating new research and ideas in this field. It will therefore offer an overview of basic environmental law principles by considering national and European legal responses to managing global commons, the history of the development of environmental law, and the values and principles that have shaped this newly evolving discipline. The module provides you with an understanding of the contemporary theory, critical issues in, and perspectives on, environmental regulation and policy. It also aims to provide you with a sound grasp of cutting-edge debates surrounding global environmental challenges from biodiversity loss, to air pollution and the climate emergency, to mass pollution, and the challenges of waste and recycling, just as examples.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Demonstrate detailed knowledge of aspects of environmental law and policy;
- 2. Propose and justify changes to environmental law and policy;
- 3. Critically evaluate key issues and challenges for environmental law and policy.
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 4. Assimilate and engage effectively with a range of primary and secondary legal resources in your legal writing and reasoning;
- 5. Select, integrate and coherently present relevant legal and non-legal arguments.
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 6. Collaborate in a team to develop and evaluate interdisciplinary policy strategies for tackling a problem;
- 7. Distinguish evidence-based claims from unfounded assertions and use evidence to support your own claims and arguments;
- 8. Demonstrate effective and accurate written communication skills in a manner appropriate to the discipline / different contexts;
- 9. Demonstrate effective oral communication skills in a manner appropriate to the context.
Syllabus plan
Whilst the precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover all or some of the following topics:
Foundations of Environmental Law and Policy
- Values, Principles and Concepts
- Sources and Institutions
- Regulation, Compliance and Enforcement
- Public Participation and Environmental Rights
Critical Perspectives in Environmental Law and Policy
- Nature Conservation Law
- Air Pollution Regulation
- Climate Law, Policy & Justice
- Marine Governance
- Waste Management
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 32 | 118 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning & Teaching Activities | 11 | 11 x 1-hour lectures |
| Scheduled Learning & Teaching Activities | 10 | 5 x 2-hour tutor-led seminars |
| Scheduled Learning & Teaching Activities | 5 | 5 x 1-hour student-led or facilitated team meetings |
| Scheduled Learning & Teaching Activities | 6 | Attendance at end-of-term conference |
| Guided Independent Study | 25 | General reading for the module |
| Guided Independent Study | 40 | Workshop preparation |
| Guided Independent Study | 53 | Assessment preparation |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group presentation | 5-minute group presentation on an environmental policy proposal | 1-9 | Group written and oral feedback |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 75 | 2,500 words | 1-8 | Individual written feedback. General feedback highlighting common errors |
| Policy Proposal | 25 | 1,500-word policy proposal and oral presentation | 1-9 | Individual written feedback. General feedback highlighting common errors |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | Essay (2,500 words) | 1-8 | August/September reassessment period |
| Policy Proposal | Policy proposal and presentation (1,500 words) | 1-9 | August/September reassessment period |
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Essential Text Books:
Bell and McGillivray and Pedersen, Environmental Law (9th edn, OUP 2017)
Recommended Text Books:
Birnie, Boyle and Redgwell, International Law & the Environment (4th edn, OUP 2018)
Fisher, Lange and Scotford, Environmental Law: Text, Cases and Materials (2nd edn, OUP 2019)
Sands and Peel, Principles of International Environmental Law, (4th edn.,CUP 2018)
Sample Journal Articles & Contributions to Edited Volumes:
N. Gunningham, ‘Enforcing Environmental Regulation’ (2011) Journal of Environmental Law 23 (2): 169-201
S. Humphreys, ‘Competing claims: human rights and climate harms’ in Humphreys (Ed.), Human Rights and Climate Change (Cambridge University Press, 2010) Chapter 1 p37-66.
M. Lee and C, Abbot, ‘The usual suspects? Public participation under the Aarhus Convention’ (2003) 66 Modern Law Review 80- 108.
L. Rajamani, ‘The 2015 Paris Agreement: Interplay Between Hard, Soft and Non-Obligations’ (2016) 28 Journal of Environmental Law 337–358.
C. Reid and W. Nsoh, 'The Privatisation of Biodiversity?' (Edward Elgar, 2016) Chapter 9: Reflections pp.253-260.
A. Venn ‘Social Justice and Climate Change’ in T. M. Letcher (Ed.) Managing Global Warming: An interface between technology and human issues (Elsevier, 2018) Chapter 24 pp.711-723.
Yamineva and Romppanen, ‘Is law failing to address air pollution? Reflections on international and EU developments’ (2017) RECIEL, 26(3) 189-200.
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
Indicative learning resources - Other resources
Electronic journals and databases such as EUR-Lex, West law, Lexis Nexis, Hein Online etc.
Those provided for and distributed to the students by the ESI and local environmental initiatives collaborated with.
| Credit value | 15 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 7.5 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 6 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 17/02/2013 |
| Last revision date | 13/04/2021 |
