Module LAW3016C for 2020/1
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
LAW3016C: Legal Response to Environmental Destruction
This module descriptor refers to the 2020/1 academic year.
Module Aims
This module aims to introduce you to the various sectors of environmental law and policy, offering an overview of basic principles while considering national and international responses to managing global environmental threats.
The module seeks to provide you with a practical understanding of environmental law. You will observe how important law is in society and industry in promoting a low carbon footprint and managing environmental impact retrospectively. You will learn to think critically about the adequacy of current environmental protection from a legal perspective and consider how the law might be reformed in the future.
The modules aims to equip you with a broad understanding of environmental law and the issues that shape it, and will provide an essential foundation for any career that you might pursue in an environmental field.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. explain the main features of environmental legislation, policy and principles on a local, national and international basis; 2. demonstrate an awareness of some of the current debates in environmental law and the role of law in resolving competing interests in the environmental issues; 3. link theoretical understandings of environmental law with practical perspective, while developing your critical thinking through the construction and defence of legal reasoning; 4. assess the future direction of law and policy in environmental decision making; |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 5. assimilate and engage effectively with a range of primary and secondary legal resources in your legal writing and reasoning; 6. critically appraise competing legal and non-legal arguments by explaining their respective merits; 7. identify key issues in problem scenarios, analyse them logically and construct balanced arguments to resolve complex legal disputes; |
| Personal and Key Skills | 8. understand and develop complex ideas and communicate them confidently and professionally in written form; 9. work independently and as a group ; and 10. manage time efficiently and reflect on areas of performance where further learning and development might be necessary. |
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
While the module’s precise content may vary each year, it is envisaged that it will cover some or all of the following topics:
- Introduction to international, EU and UK environmental law
- Contaminated land
- Climate change
- Air quality
- Water Pollution
- Waste Management
- Habitat Protection
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | 125 | 0 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity | 22 | 11 x 2 hour lectures |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | 3 | 3 x 1 hour workshops |
| Guided Independent Study | 125 | A variety of private study tasks directed by module leader. These tasks may include: Reading textbooks, journals and other literature Preparation for lectures by for example answering questions in advance of group discussions or preparing group presentations Preparation for and completion of examination Essay preparation: conducting research, and writing the finished product |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
How this Module is Assessed
In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.
Formative Assessment
A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Workshops | 3 x Scheduled group workshops | 1-10 | Peer and tutor feedback |
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | 50 | 0 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay on a choice of questions set by module convenor | 50 | 2,000 words | 1-10 | Written feedback on work coversheet with oral feedback available on request |
| Examination - 3 questions will be answered out of a choice of 6 and copies of legislation will be permitted | 50 | 2 hours and 15 minutes | 1-10 | Written feedback on exam script |
Re-assessment
Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay (2,000 words) | Essay (2,000 words) | 1-10 | August Referral/Deferral Period |
| Examination (2 hrs 15 mins) | Examination (2 hrs 15 mins) | 1-10 | August Referral/Deferral Period |
