| Unit name | Environmental Law |
|---|---|
| Unit code | LAWD30123 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Layard |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | University of Bristol Law School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
This unit provides an opportunity for students to obtain an overview of the concepts used by law when tackling environmental issues, the sources of environmental law and the relative merits of deploying different legal tools. Students will consider environmental law primarily in the British and EU contexts; will consider a variety of regulatory approaches and enforcement issues from a theoretical and practical perspective and will look at a number of sectors to ground the various issues in empirical realities.
By the end of the unit, successful students will be able to explain: a) strengths and limitations of key environmental legal principles and perspectives b) the relative merits of different types of environmental regulation c) the specific law and regulation of a number of environmental sectors.
In relation to a) they should be able to: critically discuss environmental principles (e.g. precautionary principle, the polluter pays principle), have a good understanding of the concept of sustainable development and the human rights approach to environmental protection. In relation to b), they should be able to: critically compare and discuss command and control regulation, market-based instrument, reflexive environmental regulation and smart regulation. In relation to c), they should become familiar with environmental assessment, environmental liability, nature conservation law and climate change law, GMos and fracking (note that not all these sectors will be studied every year so for example water pollution law may replace nature conservation law). Although the emphasis is on EU law and national law, some sectors demand an international awareness (climate change law).
Students should be also able to state the law accurately, to develop greater independence in identifying key principles and aspects of complex statutory regimes, to practice doctrinal research skills and to think critically about ways in which the law could be reformed.
The summative essays are designed to assess both whether students were able to critically engage with conceptual issues and to understand and critically think about legal and regulatory tools and sectors studied throughout the module.
Ten 2- hours seminars to be held fortnightly, plus enhancement sessions.
Two summative essays of 2000 words each counting 50% of the final mark. Students will also have the opportunity to submit one formative essay.
Textbook: Bell, McGillivray and Pedersen, Environmental Law (8th ed OUP). In addition, for each seminar students will need to read a number of selected academic articles and primary legal sources.
