Natural Resources Law in Asia (LAWS90100)

Natural resources are of critical importance in this globalised world of resources scarcity. This subject examines the legal framework governing natural resources in Asia through surveying the regulatory regimes for different types of natural resources (ie immobile mineral deposits, fluid fossil fuels, living organisms and emerging natural resources) in China, India and Myanmar—three large countries rich in natural resources, but with distinct governing regimes and underlying ideologies. The objective is to provide students with a practical understanding of this important area of economic regulation, and an appreciation of the broader normative considerations (ie efficiency and redistribution) that are applicable to similar issues elsewhere. This subject draws from the lecturer’s extensive academic scholarship on resources law, regulatory theory, and Asian legal systems.

Principal topics include:

• The normative theoretical framework for assessing resources law, in particular the controversies and ambiguities surrounding the conceptions of economic efficiency and redistributive fairness
• The constitutional framework in China, India and Myanmar governing natural resources, in particular provisions on property rights, ownership/allocation of natural resources, indigenous rights and the right to a clean environment
• The core legislation/regulation governing natural resources in the respective country (eg mining law, forestry/marine law, renewable resources law) with emphasis on provisions governing allocation, extraction and transfer
• The social, economic and political factors shaping the respective approaches towards natural resources management
• The comparative strengths and weakness of the three jurisdictions and general implications for natural resources management.