Int'l Law, Sustainability & Development (LAWS90042)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5Not available in 2022
From 2023 most subjects will be taught on campus only with flexible options limited to a select number of postgraduate programs and individual subjects.
To learn more, visit COVID-19 course and subject delivery.
About this subject
Overview
| Fees | Look up fees |
|---|
This subject will be delivered online in 2020 over the scheduled dates.
This subject will examine the nature and capacity of international law to accommodate both environment and development objectives. It will explore the meaning of ‘development’, the legal basis for promoting development, and the ways in which states balance environment and development considerations in international law. The nexus between development and the environment in international law is complex. International laws protecting the environment have evolved to take account of development considerations. Environmental treaties such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change provide for different commitments from developing and developed countries. Meanwhile, international cooperation fostering development has been shaped by environmental protection. Economic instruments, such as those governing international trade, impact on environmental regulation, and development lending is often linked to environmental performance. The catch-all concept of sustainable development is invoked by states to combine consideration for environmental, economic and social development imperatives leading to contested outcomes.
Principal topics include:
- The historical evolution of the concept of ‘sustainable development’ in international law and the crafting of ‘Sustainable Development Goals’
- A critical appraisal of characterisations of ‘rights’ to a clean environment and to development in international law
- Case studies demonstrating how international laws to protect the environment take account of development considerations
- Case studies demonstrating how international economic instruments impact on or integrate environmental protection
- A critical assessment of the role of international law in states’ cooperative efforts to balance environment and development objectives.
Intended learning outcomes
A student who has successfully completed this subject will:
- Have an advanced and integrated understanding of the international legal principles governing the environmental impacts of development, including recent developments in this field of law and practice
- Be able to critically examine, analyse, interpret and assess the effects and implications of these legal rules
- Be an engaged participant in debate regarding emerging and contemporary issues in the field, such as the place of ‘sustainable development’ in international environmental law and the relationship between international economic instruments and environmental protection
- Have a sophisticated appreciation of the factors and processes driving the coordination of development and environment objectives in international decision-making
- Have an advanced and detailed understanding of the international laws and processes that attempt to combine environment and development considerations
- Have the cognitive and technical skills to generate critical and creative ideas relating the relationship between development and environmental protection in international law and to critically evaluate the outcomes from the different perspectives of the North and the South
- Have the cognitive and technical skills to independently examine, research and analyse existing and emerging legal issues relating to the intersection between the development project and environmental impact
- Have the communication skills to clearly articulate and convey complex information regarding international legal instruments and concepts that aim to balance development and environment objectives
- Be able demonstrate autonomy, expert judgment and responsibility as a practitioner and learner in the field of international law at the intersection of development and environmental protection priorities.
Last updated: 10 November 2023
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
Admission into a Melbourne Law Masters program
OR
Admission into the MC-JURISD Juris Doctor
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Recommended background knowledge
Applicants without legal qualifications should note that subjects are offered in the discipline of law at an advanced graduate level. While every effort will be made to meet the needs of students trained in other fields, concessions will not be made in the general level of instruction or assessment. Most subjects assume the knowledge usually acquired in a degree in law (LLB, JD or equivalent). Applicants should note that admission to some subjects in the Melbourne Law Masters will be dependent upon the individual applicant’s educational background and professional experience.
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 10 November 2023
Assessment
| Description | Timing | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
Class presentation including question time, prepared in small groups and individually
| During teaching week | 15% |
Research paper on a topic approved by the subject coordinator
| 13 January 2021 | 85% |
| Hurdle requirement: A minimum of 75% attendance. Note: the attendance hurdle does not apply when the subject is delivered online. | Throughout the teaching period | N/A |
Last updated: 10 November 2023
Quotas apply to this subject
Dates & times
Not available in 2022
Additional delivery details
This subject has a quota of 30 students.
Enrolment is on a first come, first served basis. Waitlists are maintained for subjects that are fully subscribed.
Students should note priority of places in subjects will be given as follows:
- To currently enrolled Graduate Diploma and Masters students with a satisfactory record in their degree
- To other students enrolling on a single subject basis, eg Community Access Program (CAP) students, cross-institutional study and cross-faculty study.
Please refer to the Melbourne Law Masters website for further information about the management of subject quotas and waitlists.
Last updated: 10 November 2023
Further information
- Texts
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
- Links to additional information
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Please note Single Subject Studies via Community Access Program is not available to student visa holders or applicants
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
Additional information for this subject
If required, please contact law-admissions@unimelb.edu.au for subject coordinator approval.
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
Last updated: 10 November 2023