This unit is an 8 credit point Group E unit offered by the Faculty of Law
to students interested in environmental issues, and may be credited towards
the pass degrees of Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Science (Resource
and Environmental Management) and Bachelor of Science (Forestry). It may
not count, however, towards the Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Science
(Forestry) components of combined courses.
It should be understood that this course is not offered to law students; it is rather a specially designed course for non-law students, especially students in environmental or environmentally-related disciplines.
Details of the unit are as follows:
Law and the Environment LAWS3103
(8cp) Group E
First semester
The unit seeks to examine Environmental Law from theoretical and practical perspectives, taking a broad national and thematic approach rather than simply annotating the law of one jurisdiction. The unit will examine the sources of Environmental Law, looking at the roles of the common law, of statutes and the growing importance of International Law. It will then move to look at environmental regulation, including economic approaches to land use control, planning and licensing systems; environmental decision-making, including environmental impact assessment processes and exceptions to the usual decision-making process; enforcement of environmental controls through criminal and civil means and alternative sanctions; and environmental litigation, in particular, rights of standing and legal aid in public interest litigation.
The unit will also look at philosophical and ethical bases for environmental protection, as well as a detailed examination of the role of scientific evidence in environmental decision making.
Lecturers
Judith Jones (Convenor)
Martin Phillipson
Neil Gunningham