At the end of the course, students will be able to:
a. Define, understand and use the legal concepts and principles that shape environmental and sustainable development law;
b. Read, understand and comment on a court decision dealing with a legal issue covered in the course;
c. Understand the role played by international and European law in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and, in particular, in protecting the environment;
d. Explain the potential, qualities and shortcomings of legal instruments in protecting the environment and implementing sustainable development policies;
e. Understand the interweaving of legal disciplines (private law, public law, European and international law) and non-legal disciplines (economics, sociology, physics, etc.) in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
In addition to these specific skills, students must also acquire a series of cross-disciplinary skills:
a. Communicating precise, nuanced and convincing legal reasoning orally;
b. Defending a point of view in an argumentative and rigorous manner in a complex field;
c. Feeding the teaching with personal contributions and reflections (orally, during the course and in the examination);
d. Demonstrating a critical approach to a legal rule, a legal solution, a political proposal or any other resource seen during the course;
e. Demonstrating autonomy and responsibility in the implementation of tools leading to success;
f. Reflecting on the environmental and social impact of his/her actions;
g. Evaluating its standards, practices and values in the light of the Sustainable Development Goals.
h. Learning to work and think in groups.
The climate catastrophes that have struck the planet, put into perspective by the latest IPCC reports, suggest that the 'Environmental Law and Sustainable Development' course, although traditionally an optional course, will occupy a central place in the training of current and future students, whether or not they are lawyers.
The aim of the course is to analyse and explain, for lawyers and non-lawyers alike, how the law reacts and can contribute to protecting the environment using its own principles and techniques.
The course also aims to show how environmental law, and law in general, is evolving to make way for a new imperative, sustainable development.
More broadly, the course aims to make students aware of the importance of the environmental and sustainable development issues facing us, with a view to helping them become committed citizens and responsible players in society. As such, the course contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
After reviewing the sources of environmental law, the course highlights the main principles that structure the subject (precautionary principle, polluter-pays principle, integration principle, etc.), while emphasising two new founding trends: the construction of an environmental democracy and the emergence of the concept of sustainable development in law. Particular attention is paid to digital technology and its impact, both positive and negative, on the environment.
It then looks at how the legal framework relating to human rights can help to preserve the environment. Finally, the last part looks at the responsibility of states and organisations, with the emphasis on the tightening of CSR.
The table of contents may be adjusted according to current events and/or interactions with students.
Introductory title: The contours and challenges of a law in transition
Title I: Sources of environmental law
Title II: General principles of environmental law
Title III: The construction of an 'environmental democracy'
Title IV: Environment and human rights
Title V: State responsibility and the organisational social responsibility
There are no practical exercises/monitoring for this course.
The exam is oral and lasts around twenty minutes. It takes place in January and/or August-September.
Students may use any legislative or case law text seen during the course, provided it is not annotated.
The examination consists of three types of questions on different parts of the subject:
i. Tests (True or False + justification)
ii. Commentary on an extract from a text (court decision, political text, press article, etc.) seen in class
iii. An open question requiring the student to draw on knowledge from the course and to think critically.
Where appropriate, the student's participation in certain activities offered during the term may be included in the final assessment.