International Environmental Law and Justice

Catalog description

This course will provide a general introduction to the basic concepts and mechanisms of international environmental law. The course is aimed at providing a foundation of the current international legal framework and principles that govern and regulate environmental law. It explores the root causes of environmental problems and investigates the ways society manages environmental issues via the law that transcend international boundaries and resultantly fall beyond the authority of a single nation. The course is broken into four parts. The first part provides an introduction to the topic and examines current issues impacting environmental law and justice. The section also examines the history and evolution of international environmental law. The second section analyzes the causes associated with environmental problems and describes current norms and policies. The third section explores the roles of governmental and intergovernmental actors and actors beyond the state that participate in international environmental law. The course concludes by examining environmental justice and questions whether environmental law is effective and what are the shortcomings and areas needed for improvement to protect the environment. This section also examines how social movements impact the protection and implementation of environmental law.