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Unit of study_

LAWS6365: Environmental Crimes and Law Enforcement

2024 unit information

This unit focuses on understanding enforcement measures in the environmental law field. The unit will suit both international and national students who want to increase their understanding of enforcement-related issues. The unit examines the nature of law enforcement generally and in the environmental law field specifically. Students will develop understanding of the nature of ‘environmental crime’ and ‘green criminology’; of the relevance and value in different countries of international obligations relevant to enforcement; of the value of different types of criminal sanctions; of the advantages and limitations of different types of proceedings; of the value of considering different comparative approaches taken by different countries; and the nature of administrative obligation and sanction measures. Further information about this unit is available in the Sydney Law School timetable https://canvas.sydney.edu.au/courses/4533/pages/postgraduate-lecture-timetable, unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units and academic staff profile https://www.sydney.edu.au/law/about/our-people/academic-staff.html

Unit details and rules

Managing faculty or University school:

Sydney Law School

Study level Postgraduate
Academic unit Law
Credit points 6
Prerequisites:
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None
Corequisites:
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None
Prohibitions:
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None
Assumed knowledge:
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None

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. Contrast the difficulties caused in the field of environmental law by ineffective enforcement with the benefits gained through effective enforcement; and demonstrate, through critical analysis, that they have gained advanced understanding of both.
  • LO2. Describe the nature and role of criminal and administrative enforcement in environmental law; and demonstrate advanced understanding of these natures and roles through critically evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of both.
  • LO3. Identify the difficulties faced by states in implementing and enforcing international environmental law obligations; and contrast approaches used in select jurisdictions.
  • LO4. Describe Australia’s environmental obligations under international law; and contrast the approaches taken by different States within the Australian federal system to enforcing environmental laws.
  • LO5. Critically evaluate, at an advanced level, potential legal remedies for specific issues and problems facing the enforcement of environmental law in Australia. This evaluation will be evidenced through the two different assessment types – exam and research essay.
  • LO6. Research different sub-disciplines within the study of environmental law and provide advanced reflection on how they complement each other in promoting an understanding of issues related to the enforcement of environmental laws. This research and reflection will be evidenced through the two different assessment types – test and research essay.

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 ? 
Intensive September - October 2024
Block mode Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
There are no availabilities for previous years.

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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.