Course

Environmental Law in Australia - LAWS8068

Faculty: Faculty of Law

School: Faculty of Law

Course Outline: See below

Campus: Sydney

Career: Postgraduate

Units of Credit: 6

EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)

Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 2

Enrolment Requirements:

Prerequisite: Academic Program must be either 9200 or 9210 or 9230 or 5740 or 9220 or 5750 or 8619 or 5499 or 7339

CSS Contribution Charge: 2 (more info)

Tuition Fee: See Tuition Fee Schedule

Further Information: See Class Timetable

View course information for previous years.

Description

This course introduces the fundamental principles and concepts of Australian environmental law and policy. It provides a framework for understanding the environmental issues which humans are faced with today for managing the impact of our activities on the environment and the implications of these issues for law making and policy. Within that framework this course will cover key areas of environmental law in New South Wales and at the federal level. The course will touch on a number of cross-cutting themes that influence current debate in relation to environmental law and policy. These themes are taken up in other courses provided in the Environmental Law specialisation such as in Natural Resources Law, International Environmental Law, International Climate Law, Environmental Markets and Water Rights and Contemporary Policy.

This course is also available to students enrolled in the Master of Environmental Management (8619), Graduate Diploma in Environmental Management (5499) and the Graduate Certificate in Environmental Management (7339).

This course is also available to students undertaking relevant postgraduate non-law degree programs at UNSW provided such enrolment is approved by the appopriate non-law Faculty.


LLM Specialisations

Recommended Prior Knowledge

None

Learning Outcomes

  • Know the origins and sources of environmental law and recognise the various pressures and influences on the search for optimal environmental protection policies.
  • Explain and critically evaluate the efficacy of environmental law within the context of contemporary national and international challenges.
  • Demonstrate a good understanding of the principles of Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) and explain the difficulties faced by decision-makers in implementing these principles.
  • Have a good understanding of and be able to analyse the framework of laws for environmental planning, development control, environmental impact assessment and protection of biodiversity in NSW and nationally.
  • Have sound knowledge of the workings of the New South Wales Land and Environment Court.
  • Assess the opportunities, difficulties and challenges the community faces when engaging in environmental decision-making and implementation.
  • Navigate and apply key environmental legal texts, both statutory and judicial, to hypothetical fact scenarios.
  • Demonstrate effective oral communication skills by discussing and debating course concepts in a scholarly, reflective and respectful manner.
  • Demonstrate effective written communication skills by articulating legal concepts clearly, persuasively and appropriately.
  • Demonstrate an ability to incorporate a range of legal and interdisciplinary research sources in written communication with appropriate referencing.

Main Topics

  • Global environmental issues and the development of international environmental law
  • The common law and statute as sources of environmental law
  • Commonwealth, State and local responsibilities
  • Commonwealth environmental law
  • Environmental planning
  • Development control
  • Environmental assessment, enforcement and scrutiny
  • Biodiversity conservation

Assessment

Class participation - 10%
Research essay (4,000 words) - 40%
Take home exam (3,000 words) - 50%

Course Texts

Prescribed

Lyster, Lipman, Franklin, Wiffen and Pearson Environmental and Planning Law in NSW (2012, Federation Press)’

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Recommended
A full reading list will be provided in the detailed course outline.
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Study Levels

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