General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW6037 / JDOC6037 |
| Course name: | International Environmental Law |
| Programme offered under: | LLM Programme / JD Programme |
| Semester: | Second |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No |
| Credit point value: | 9 credits / 6 credits |
1.2 Course description
Air pollution, deforestation, climate change, biodiversity loss and the extinction, or near extinction, of some wildlife species are just some of the many environmental problems that the world faces today. Environmentalists, governments, courts, NGOs, and a variety of other interested parties or stakeholders, both at the top of the international and domestic levels, have contributed to solving environmental problems by the use of law. To what extent has it been successful, or unsuccessful? How do states solve environmental problems collectively, that is, by way of treaties and conventions, and individually, that is, by way of domestic law? How do some states balance economic development and resource exploitation against environmental protection?
This course aims to provide students with a contextual and elementary understanding of the key global and domestic environmental issues and the purported legal solutions. After a broad survey of the major international environmental laws, this course will look at some selected jurisdictions and see the way in which these jurisdictions deal with environmental problems legally. The jurisdictions that will be looked at include China, the UK and Hong Kong, as well as some major regional organizations such as the EU and ASEAN. Moreover, this course will delve into specific areas of environmental concerns such as the marine environment, climate change and the protection of wildlife. Prior knowledge of the subject matter is not required.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | Ying Xia | yingxia@hku.hk | CCT 505 | By email |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
To be advised
2.2 LLM and JD Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
Please refer to the following link:
LLM – https://course.law.hku.hk/llm-plo/
JD – https://course.law.hku.hk/jd-plo/
2.3 Programme Learning Outcomes to be achieved in this course
| PLO A | PLO B | PLO C | PLO D | PLO E | PLO F | |
| CLO 1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 2 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 3 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 4 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 5 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Due date | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| To be advised | TBC | 100% | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| *Feedback method (to be determined by course teacher) | |
| 1 | A general course report to be disseminated through Moodle |
| 2 | Individual feedback to be disseminated by email / through Moodle |
| 3 | Individual review meeting upon appointment |
| 4 | Group review meeting |
| 5 | In-class verbal feedback |
3.2 Assessment Detail
To be advised by the convenor.
3.3 Grading Criteria
Please refer to the following link: https://www.law.hku.hk/_files/law_programme_grade_descriptors.pdf
Learning Activities
4.1 Learning Activity Plan
| Seminar: | 3 hours / week for 11 teaching weeks |
| Private study time: | 9.5 hours / week for 11 teaching weeks |
Remarks: the normative student study load per credit unit is 25 ± 5 hours (ie. 150 ± 30 hours for a 6-credit course), which includes all learning activities and experiences within and outside of classroom, and any assessment task and examinations and associated preparations.
4.2 Details of Learning Activities
To be advised by the convenor.
Learning Resources
5.1 Resources
| Reading materials: | Reading materials are posted on Moodle |
| Core reading list: | TBA |
| Recommended reading list: | TBA |
5.2 Links
Please refer to the following link: http://www.law.hku.hk/course/learning-resources/