Winter 2011 Class Descriptions

As of 5/18/2013 3:17:18 AM

Int'l Environment Law & Policy

International Environmental Law and Policy

This course examines how society manages --and sometimes fails to manage--environmental issues that fall beyond the authority or capability of a single national government.

During the semester students will:

*Become be familiar with the legal, policy and philosophical issues relating to international juridical norms whose purpose is to protect the environment or regulate activities impacting on the environment *Understand the implications that international environmental norms raise for concepts that underpin the international state system (i.e. state sovereignty and domestic jurisdiction) *Have a thorough knowledge of basic international legal norms governing the environment *Understand the limits and utility of the existing norms relating to the global environment *Appreciate the interaction and tension between various international actors and institutions in the development and implementation of international environmental norms *Be able to apply principles of international environmental law to a wide array of contemporary international environmental problems

Topics covered in the course will include:

*The nature of international environmental issues: context and concepts *Theoretical perspectives and approaches to international environmental problem solving *International environmental lawmaking and general principles *Compliance and dispute resolution *Norms of international invironmental protection, including regulatory mechanisms for: climate change; biological diversity and biosafety; the marine environment (living resources and pollution); the polar regions; and hazardous substances and transboundary movement *The relationship between international environmental law and other legal regimes

The Assessment for the course will consist of a class presentation and a significant research paper.