2019/20 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

LAW3133 Law and the Environment

20 creditsClass Size: 65

Module manager: Dr Carrie Bradshaw
Email: C.J.Bradshaw@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2019/20

This module is mutually exclusive with

LAW3132

Law and the Environment II: Governing the Environment

Module replaces

LAW3131 Law and the Environment I: Pollution Control

This module is approved as a discovery module

Module summary

Environmental problems – a warming planet, growing rubbish piles, the destruction of habitats – are amongst the most complex faced by today’s societies. These problems also pose multiple challenges for legal control and regulation. Ecosystems are understood only subject to significant scientific uncertainty, whereas environmental impacts cross jurisdictional and disciplinary boundaries. How does the law respond to these challenges? This module explores the struggle to tackle environmental problems against a backdrop of the UK’s forthcoming departure from the EU.

Objectives

By the end of this module, students should be able to demonstrate an understanding of the nature of environmental problems, and the challenges they pose for law and regulation in the UK.

Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:

- Explain the complex nature of environmental problems and critically evaluate the challenges they pose for law, regulation and governance.
- Describe and critically evaluate the role of EU, national and devolved jurisdictions and a variety of governmental and non-governmental actors in addressing environmental problems.
- Critically evaluate the legal responses to a range of specific environmental problems, such as climate change, waste, and nature conservation.

Syllabus

Potential topics include:
Understanding environmental problems
Regulatory strategy
Environmental governance
The environment and the courts
Environmental liability
Air pollution and climate change
Waste
Habitats and nature conservation
Planning

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Lecture	20	1.00	20.00
Seminar	6	1.00	6.00
Independent online learning hours			174.00
Private study hours			0.00
Total Contact hours			26.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			200.00

Private study

Required reading before 18 lectures (not including 2 hour revision lecture) = 108 (6 x 18)
Seminar preparation = 18 (3 x 6)

Lecture + Seminar prep = 132 hours / 18 ‘lecture’ weeks = 7.3 hours = a day/week
Assessment: 32

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Participatory interactions in lectures and seminars.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	1 x 2,500-word essay	100.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 01/11/2019

Disclaimer

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