This course provides an overview of the rapidly developing field of domestic and international climate law.  It examines the current state of the law.  It also offers opportunities to critically discuss the legal and policy issues linked with the future course of climate law, both domestically and internationally.  Although the emphasis is on domestic Australian climate law (in order to avoid overlap with international environmental law (LAWS2253)), the course will provide opportunities for comparative analysis of the emerging law within other jurisdictions including EU and EU member states, USA, Canada, NZ and Japan.

At the conclusion of this course, students should be able to:

• show familiarity with fundamental terminology of international and domestic climate law;
• demonstrate an understanding of the core components of international climate law;
• demonstrate an understanding of the main options for domestic climate law;
• explain the interaction between different policy and legal instruments within Australian domestic climate law;
• demonstrate an ability to apply the emerging principles of climate law from relevant cases and statutes to a given set of hypothetical facts, and to present an argument;
• comment critically on the outcome and reasoning in cases studied during the course and identify the considerations of policy evident within them;
• demonstrate an ability to research and write in detail about specific issues within the field of climate law by critically analyzing relevant primary and secondary materials; and
• show familiarity with on-line and traditional sources concerning both international and domestic climate law.

The proposed means of assessment for this course will involve:

• a mid-semester research note on a key statute or case, key document or report - 15%
• mid semester short answer test - 25%
• research essay (on a topic of the student's choice) - 40%
• seminar presentation (10 minutes), course attendance and participation - 10%

More information about the means of assessment, including the relationship between the assessment and the learning outcomes of the course will be available on the course home page by the first week of semester.

Completed or completing 30 units of 1000 level LAWS courses
Incompatible with LAWS2216 Environmental Law Elective

LAWS2215 Environmental Law