Course specification for LAW8713

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LAW8713 Sustainable Environmental Governance

Semester 1, 2020 Online
Short Description: Sust'ble Environm'l Governance
Units : 1
Faculty or Section : Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts
School or Department : School of Law and Justice
Student contribution band : Band 3
ASCED code : 090900 - Law
Grading basis : Graded

Staffing

Examiner:

Other requisites

Students are required to have access to a personal computer, e-mail capabilities and Internet access to UConnect. Current details of computer requirements can be found at .

Rationale

Sustainable Environmental Governance aims to give graduate students advanced knowledge of the broad legal and policy field of the environmental sustainability, and the managerial requirements for effective governance in the field. Students will develop advanced writing and communication skills in the detailed articulation of the legal and policy aspects of environmental governance in research assignments. The course is available in the Master of Laws, Juris Doctor and Bachelor of Laws Honours.

Synopsis

Sustainable Environmental Governance covers the national regulatory systems of Australian industry for environmental governance, and the legal and managerial requirements for the effectiveness of these. The course includes the broader framework of environmental rules; issues of regulatory innovation, co-regulation, and the replacement or supplementation of government rules by industry codes, rules created by agreements, and social rules; regulatory frameworks, liability regimes and enforcement for environmental pollution and remediation; and environmental dispute resolution. It is delivered intensively in four seminars over two weeks (two seminars in each of two weeks), and will involve closely supervised research assignments.

Objectives

On successful completion of this course students will be able to:

  1. evaluate developments in chosen areas of environmental governance, and critically examine the relationship between those developments and contemporary theory or practice (PO 1);
  2. demonstrate advanced knowledge of the impact of globalisation or other legal systems on the substance, theory and practice of Australian law concerning environmental governance (PO 2);
  3. undertake, interpret and evaluate research on environmental governance using advanced legal research methodologies and techniques (PO 3); and
  4. articulate advanced knowledge of the law concerning environmental governance written presentations (PO 4).

Topics

Description Weighting(%)
1. Strategy and rules for environmental governance 25.00
2. Natural resource management: policies and strategies 25.00
3. Legal issues for environmental pollution control and environmental remediation 25.00
4. Environmental dispute resolution 25.00

Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed

ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from (unless otherwise stated). (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/textbooks/?year=2020&sem=01&subject1=LAW8713)

Please for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/info/contact/)

There are no texts or materials required for this course.

Reference materials

Reference materials are materials that, if accessed by students, may improve their knowledge and understanding of the material in the course and enrich their learning experience.
Bates, G 2019, Environmental law in Australia, 10th edn, LexisNexis, Chatswood, New South Wales.

Student workload expectations

Activity Hours
Assessments 100.00
Directed and Private ¾«¶«´«Ã½app 65.00

Assessment details

Description Marks out of Wtg (%) Due Date Notes
RESEARCH PROPOSAL 1 10 10 30 Mar 2020
RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2 10 10 20 Apr 2020
RESEARCH PAPER 1 40 40 14 May 2020
RESEARCH PAPER 2 40 40 08 Jun 2020

Important assessment information

  1. Attendance requirements:
    There are no attendance requirements for this course. However, it is the students' responsibility to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration.

  2. Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
    To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks. (Depending upon the requirements in Statement 4 below, students may not have to satisfactorily complete each assessment item to receive a passing grade in this course.)

  3. Penalties for late submission of required work:
    Students should refer to the Assessment Procedure (point 4.2.4)

  4. Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
    To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course.

  5. Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
    The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course.

  6. Examination information:
    There is no examination in this course.

  7. Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
    Not applicable.

  8. ¾«¶«´«Ã½app Student Policies:
    Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene ¾«¶«´«Ã½app policies and practices. These policies can be found at .

Assessment notes

  1. Referencing in assignments: Students studying this course must use the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (AGLC) style. For AGLC style guide enquiries, consult the AGLC manual from the USQ Library's referencing guide at or contact the Law librarian.

Date printed 19 June 2020