International environmental law

LWM32

International Environmental Law is one of the most interesting and developing areas of Public International Law. It was only in the 1970s and 80s that states started to understand that the environment requires protection, that oceans should not be polluted, that species are declining. You will learn about the development of environmental law from this point onwards in this course. International Environmental Law is a highly topical area, reflected in the world news. We will deal with the legal implications of certain environmental actions, in the context of International Law generally as well as International Environmental Law. Related case law of international courts and tribunals are also important in this topic. This is a very extensive course, examining all the possible angles and new developments, aiming to enhance your understanding of the importance of international environmental regulations.

Study as an individual course

Module A: General aspects of international environmental law 1

LWM32A

Introduction
Development and sources of international environmental law
Jurisdictional and institutional aspects of environmental governance
General principles of international environmental law
Sustainable development

Module B: General aspects of international environmental law 2

LWM32B

State responsibility for environmental damage
Civil liability regimes
Environmental dispute resolution
Human right and the environment

Module C: Particular subjects of international environmental law I

LWM32C

Protection of the marine environment
General principles of conservation and biological diversity
Management of hazardous substances and wastes
Climate change protection
Protection of the ozone layer

Module D: Particular subjects of international environmental law II

LWM32D

Trade and environment
Financial resources, technology and intellectual property
War and armed conflict in relation to the environment
Nuclear energy and the environment
Freshwater resources
Transboundary air pollution
Polar regions

Assessment

Each module will be assessed by a 45-minute unseen written examination.

Sequence

It is strongly recommended you take these modules in order.

How to apply

You can apply to study a module individually as a standalone unit or as part of a Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma or Master of Laws qualification. (In either scenario, they must be studied in order.)

These modules also contribute towards the following specialist pathways for Laws:

Environmental and Natural Resources Law
Law and Development
Public International Law

Apply via Postgraduate Laws.

Professor Malgosia Fitzmaurice

Professor Malgosia Fitzmaurice holds a chair of public international law at the Department of Law, Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). She specialises in international environmental law; the law of treaties; and indigenous peoples. She publishes widely on these subjects.

She has delivered a lecture on the International Protection of the Environment at the The Hague Academy of International Law. Professor Fitzmaurice was invited as a Visiting Professor to and lectured at various universities, such Berkeley Law School; University of Kobe; Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris I). During 2013-2015, she was involved (with Professor Valsamis Mitsilegas) in a multi stakeholder project funded by the EU Commission on environmental crime. Professor Fitzmaurice teaches undergraduate and LLM modules in international environmental law and the law of treaties. She also supervises PhD students.