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Unit of study_
LAWS5130: Environmental Law
2025 unit information
This unit will provide a framework for understanding contemporary environmental issues, outline the sources of environmental law and provide an overview of the different approaches to both global and domestic environmental regulation before examining a range of topical areas, including climate change, water management, mining , pollution control, waste management, environmental planning, development control and environmental impact assessment. Overarching themes will include the implications of state sovereignty for global environmental protection, the challenges of giving effect to the principles of environmentally sustainable development through legal structures and processes, the effects of scientific uncertainty on environmental regulation, and the importance of public participation for making the value judgements required in environmental governance.
Unit details and rules
Managing faculty or University school:
Sydney Law School
| Study level | Postgraduate |
|---|---|
| Academic unit | Law |
| Credit points | 6 |
|
Prerequisites:
?
|
None |
|---|---|
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Corequisites:
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|
LAWS5010 |
| Prohibitions:
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|
LAWS3430 |
| Assumed knowledge:
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None |
At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:
- LO1. critically analyse and integrate diverse perspectives from First Nations, scientific research, economic theories, and social sciences to comprehensively understand environmental problems, identify sources of environmental law, address ethical issues in environmental contexts, and evaluate various approaches to environmental regulation.
- LO2. critically evaluate the influence of international environmental law on the development of Australian environmental law
- LO3. identify, interpret, and apply the foundational principles of environmental law, and articulate their role in the evolution and development of environmental law frameworks
- LO4. understand, analyse, and evaluate the framework and functioning of laws related to climate change, pollution control, water management, environmental planning, development regulation, and environmental impact assessment
- LO5. communicate and defend personal perspectives on topical environmental issues and environmental regulation by employing sound and logically structured legal argument and be prepared to share these with diverse audiences
- LO6. apply relevant legal research methodologies to investigate topical environmental issues, appropriately synthesising primary and secondary sources and presenting findings in a balanced and scholarly manner.
Unit availability
This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.
The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.
| Session | MoA ? | Location | Outline ? |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Semester 1 2025
|
Normal day | Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney |
Outline unavailable
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Modes of attendance (MoA)
This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.
