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.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.

On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills1. 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 Skills5. 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 Skills8. 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.