LAW 7358

International Environmental Law

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2014-2015.

The development of international environmental law since the 1960s is a remarkable exercise in law making. This course will review this development, its legal foundations and fundamental principles. It will outline the framework within which the principles and rules of international environmental law apply. The framework comprises the legal nature of states, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, treaties and other legal instruments such as UN resolutions. The course will consider the adequacy of this legal system in addressing regional and global needs to achieve sustainability. Critical aspects of sustainability include: climate change, increasing frequency and magnitude of disasters including droughts and floods, marine resources, energy, biodiversity, genetic resources and associated intellectual property issues, and trade and economic development. These crosscutting challenges must balance conflicting goals of economic development and environmental sustainability. Such challenges involve basic considerations of human rights, such as the human right to water, and in particular the self-determination of indigenous peoples. A major component of the course will be individual projects selected by each student with the instructor's approval.

When Offered Spring.

Permission Note Limited enrollment.

Satisfies Requirement Satisfies the writing requirement.

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