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Disaster Law and Climate Adaptation (LAWS90088)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
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
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
May
Lecturers
Professor Lee Godden (Coordinator)
Dr Laura Schuijers
Email: law-masters@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 8344 6190
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au
Overview
Availability(Quotas apply) | May |
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Fees | Look up fees |
The frequency and severity of ‘natural’ disasters, like bushfire, flood, and cyclones/hurricanes, and longer term phenomena, such as drought and sea level rise, will increase as a result of climate change; posing major threats to settlements, infrastructure, resources and biodiversity. Disasters related to human health pandemics, such as COVID-19 have major health and environmental impacts. Largescale industrial accidents, such as mining infrastructure failures may cause loss of life and widespread environmental damage. This subject covers the multi-scalar legal response to disasters involving international treaties and soft-law instruments, national and regional regulation (including state of emergency powers), and private law (torts and contract), as well as encompassing climate change adaptation, emergency management, environmental liability, insurance and human rights. It will examine approaches to prepare for, avoid or minimise disaster impacts, and to respond effectively and equitably post-event. Relevant case studies are drawn from Australia and various comparative jurisdictions regionally and internationally.
This subject critically examines different legal approaches to avoid, mitigate and respond to disasters and relevant adaptation planning, emergency, health and natural resource management regimes.
Principal topics include:
- An overview of disasters and climate change impacts, focusing on predicted changes to the frequency, intensity and geographical occurrence of hazards, and impacts on human settlements
- An overview of the environmental and natural resource management impacts of human pandemics and the relevant legal responses
- Examination of the types of public and private planning and legal mechanisms at the local, state, national and international scale relevant to disaster management
- International agreements and soft law, with case studies of their application to recent disaster events (e.g. liability regimes for oil and gas disasters and mining incidents; funding mechanisms for disaster risk reduction; instruments for the protection of persons in disasters)
- Emergency management and adaptation planning in Australia, with selected case studies including: coastal management and land-use planning regimes; bushfire responses: Victorian land-use planning, emergency management and recovery, and relevant compensation law for the 2009 bushfires, and federal responses to the 2019-2020 bushfires; Flood, Hurricanes and Tsunamis: statutory planning, and insurance regimes in Queensland and in the USA, and liability and compensation regimes in Japan; Drought: emergency water allocation management in Australia and Africa, and the legal frameworks for managing animals and ecosystems impacted by disasters
- Pandemic disaster laws and management in Australia and selected comparator countries
- Industrial and resource extraction disasters and relevant laws in Australia’s offshore and in comparative case studies, such as the Deep Sea mining and petroleum extraction.
- Comparative case studies in developed and developing countries, evaluating the transferability of legal principles (e.g.; coastal adaptation planning instruments in the US and UK; and typhoon readiness in South East Asia, and pandemic waste disposal management internationally).
Intended learning outcomes
A student who has successfully completed this subject will:
- Have an advanced and integrated understanding of the legal principles and mechanisms that can be used to avoid, mitigate and respond to disasters and the measures to adapt to climate change, including recent developments in law and practice in response to COVID-19
- Be able to critically examine, analyse, interpret and assess the effectiveness of disaster-relevant legal rules and risk management mechanisms
- Be well equipped to compare and contrast legal approaches to disaster management, pandemic responses and climate adaptation in a range of jurisdictions, including both developed and developing countries
- Be able to engage effectively in debate regarding different approaches to disaster management and climate change adaptation, and the impacts of pandemics on natural resources and infrastructure
- Have a strong understanding of regimes for the management of disasters and trans-boundary harms in an international law and human rights context
- Have the legal and technical skills to independently examine, research and analyze existing and emerging legal issues relating to disasters and climate adaptation
- Have the communication skills to clearly articulate and convey complex information regarding disaster and climate adaptation law to relevant specialist and community audiences.
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
None
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: 31 January 2024
Assessment
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Case study evaluation; In-class component – case study and class participation (10%) and write up (15%)
| 8 June 2022 | 25% |
Research paper on a topic approved by the subject coordinator
| 14 September 2022 | 75% |
Hurdle requirement: A minimum of 75% attendance. Note: the attendance hurdle does not apply when the subject is delivered online, however attendance at all live online sessions is expected. | Throughout the teaching period | N/A |
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Quotas apply to this subject
Dates & times
- May
Principal coordinator Lee Godden Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours Total time commitment 150 hours Pre teaching start date 13 April 2022 Pre teaching requirements Please refer to the Reading Guide on the LMS subject page for confirmation of which resources need to be read and what other preparation is required before the teaching period commences. Teaching period 11 May 2022 to 17 May 2022 Last self-enrol date 18 April 2022 Census date 16 May 2022 Last date to withdraw without fail 22 July 2022 Assessment period ends 14 September 2022 May contact information
Lecturers
Professor Lee Godden (Coordinator)
Dr Laura SchuijersEmail: law-masters@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 8344 6190
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au
Additional delivery details
This subject has a quota of 30 students.
Enrolment is on a 'first in' basis. Waitlists are maintained for subjects that are fully subscribed.
Students should note priority of waitlisted 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.
Melbourne Law School may reserve places in a subject for incoming international cohorts or where a subject is core to a specialisation with limited alternate options.
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Specialist materials will be made available via the LMS in the pre-teaching period.
- 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.
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-masters@unimelb.edu.au for subject coordinator approval.
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.
Last updated: 31 January 2024