International Environmental Law
Certificate(s): Public Interest and Social Justice Law (List C)
Course Description:
This course is a survey course in international and global environmental law. It will cover a variety of substantive areas of international environmental law, including transboundary pollution issues, depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer, the treaty aspects of climate change, hazardous waste trade, biodiversity loss, international trade in endangered species, and overlap areas of trade and the environment as well as human rights and the environment. Equally important, the course aims to introduce students to methodologies and approaches to solving transnational and global environmental problems. As part of this effort, we will study the general structure of international environmental law, especially the most important organizational actors, the operation of environmental treaties and their limitations, the problem of enforcement, and emerging substantive legal principles of global environmental law. There will also be several guest-speakers discussing their practice experience in the field. Grading will be based on both class participation and a choice of either a final exam or final paper.
Class Notes:
This course is a survey course in international and global environmental law. It will cover a variety of substantive areas of international environmental law, ranging from climate change and transboundary air pollution to trade in hazardous waste and endangered species, as well areas of overlap with other fields of international law, such as international trade and human rights law. Equally important, the course aims to introduce students to methodologies and approaches to solving transnational and global environmental problems. As part of this emphasis, we will study the general structure of international environmental law, especially organizational actors, the operation of environmental treaties and the problem of enforcement. Grading will be based on both class participation and a choice of either a final exam or final paper.
