International Law of the Environment

This course introduces students to the nature of transboundary environmental challenges and the development of international norms and institutions to address them.

Fundamental issues addressed by the course include:

• the ethical framework for international environmental policies and laws,
• the origin and development of international environmental law,
• sources of international environmental law,
• actors in global environmental governance and the nature of international environmental norms.

Much of the course is devoted to specific subject areas of environmental governance such as:

• climate change,
• biodiversity and biosafety,
• marine environmental protection,
• the Antarctic environment,
• the implementation of international environmental law in Australia, and
• mechanisms for dispute settlement, compliance and enforcement.

At the conclusion of this course students should:

• be able to engage critically with ethical debates surrounding environmental policy and law-making;
• understand the history and development of international environmental law as a distinct field of public international law;
• possess a thorough knowledge of the principles of international environmental law;
• possess a good knowledge of the main topic areas of international environmental law;
• understand the limits and utility of the 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; and
• be able to apply norms and principles of international environmental law in a problem-solving context.

The proposed assessment for this course will comprise two compulsory items of assessment: (1) a short problem based assignment and (2) a lengthy research essay.

Students must rely on the Approved Assessment which will be posted to the course homepage on the ANU Law website, prior to the commencement of the course.