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, and
• actors in global environmental governance and the nature of international environmental norms.

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

- Explain the history and development of international environmental law as a distinct field of public international law, and have a clear, enhanced understanding of its principles;
- Critically examine the ethical debates surrounding environmental policy and law-making and identify the limits and utility of the norms relating to the global environment;
- Illuminate the interaction and tension between various international actors and institutions in the development and implementation of international environmental norms;
- Apply norms and principles of international environmental law in a problem-solving context; 
- Research, critically examine and communicate in writing about a problem or specific aspect of international environmental law.