1. Identification of Paper
Paper: LAWS531B
This paper carries 30 points
2. Staffing
Professor Alexander Gillespie Law G. 26; Extn 6438; azg@waikato.ac.nz
I operate an open door policy but I would prefer that you emailed and made an appointment with some indication of what you would like to talk about.
3. Description and Structure of Paper
(a) Description of the paper in University Calendar
An introduction to international environmental law. Students will explore the changing nature of this area as well as the legal options open to the global community in terms of sustainable development, especially in terms of the policy options. Overall, the students shall:
1.
Understand the contextual constraints and possibilities associated with international environmental law.
2.
Become familiar with laws, procedures and institutions which comprise international environmental law;
3.
Develop a critical understanding of this area.
(b) Structure of the Paper
This is a B semester paper. The teaching component comprises one lecture per week on Monday,
1pm to 3pm, in TC.408
(c) Attendance
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Te Piringa Faculty of Law places great emphasis on providing students with opportunities for high achievement in law papers. Students are strongly encourages to attend lectures as an understanding of topics and materials discussed in lectures is essential for success in assessed work.
4. Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this paper students will exhibit the following attributes: a. A knowledge and understanding of the broad issues and context surrounding international environmental law, b. Ability to describe the key institutions, actors and issues in this arena, and place them in their correct legal context. c. Development of both a critical, yet constructive, approach to international environmental law.
4.
Workload
Students should expect to spend 300 hours in total on this paper. In addition to lecture attendance, significant time will need to be spent on background and complementary reading. Students should allow for periods of more-focused research time in the preparation of assignments.
6. Required and Recommended Reading
All law students are required to purchase, for use in all law papers, a copy of McLay, Murray &
Orpin, New Zealand Law Style Guide, 2 nd edition, Thomson Reuters (2011). This is available from
Bennetts, at an approximate price of $37 including GST.
There is no single recommended text for this paper, the Law Library holds a number of highly relevant textbooks on international environmental law such as:

Birnie and Boyle, International Environmental Law (3 rd Edn).

Sands, Principles of International Environmental Law (3 rd Edn).

Gillespie, International Environmental Law, Policy and Ethics (2 nd Edn).

Gillespie, Conservation, Biodiversity and International Law.

Gillespie, Waste and Recycling in International Law.

Gillespie, The Illusion of Progress: Unsustainable Development in International Law.
Other recommended readings will be placed on library desk reserve throughout the year.
Further material may be provided on the paper site on Moodle (http://elearn.waikato.ac.nz), the
University of Waikato’s online learning system. Any such material is provided on the following terms:
University of Waikato owns the intellectual property rights, including copyright, in and to this site, or has acquired the necessary licenses to display the material on the site. As a student of the Te
Piringa Faculty of Law, you are granted a limited license to use (access, display or print a single copy) the material from the papers in which you are enrolled for the purposes of participating in the paper only, provided the information is not modified. Materials may not under any
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circumstances be copied, stored, distributed or provided in any form or method whatsoever to any third party. Any other use of the material is prohibited. None of the material may be otherwise reproduced, reformatted, republished or re-disseminated in any manner or form without the prior written consent of University of Waikato. To obtain such consent, please contact the Te Piringa
Faculty of Law.
7. Online support
Online support for this paper is provided via Moodle.
8. Assessment a) Requirements for assessed work
Te Piringa Faculty of Law procedures for the presentation, submission and referencing of course work are set out in the Te Piringa Faculty of Law Undergraduate Handbook @ p.33 which is available from http://www.waikato.ac.nz/law/undergraduate .
Assignment resources are available online at http://www.waikato.ac.nz/law/student/ b) Coursework: Final Examination Ratio: This course is 100% internally assessed.
The course is entirely internally assessed.
For this paper, there will be three pieces of assessment. The first is a general question which all students have to answer (of 2,000 words). This is worth 15% of the total mark. The second, will be of 8,000 words, and the topic will be agreed between the student and the supervisor. This is worth
70% of the total mark. The second piece will have a proposal (which shall cover what the topic will be, the thesis, and an overview of the materials to be covered in the work). The proposal is worth
5% of the total grade. A presentation of the work, on the last day of term, will be worth 10%.
It is expected that students will attend every class, as attendance is required for satisfactory completion of the paper.
Item of Assessment Due Dates i) First research topic, handed out, July 27, 2015 ii) First research topic, due in, Aug 9, 2015 iii) Proposal for large research topic due in Aug 12, 2015 iv) Presentation of large research topic Oct 12, 2015 v) Final large Research Paper, due in Oct 19, 2015.
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The First Research Topic.
The first research topic will not require a proposal. It will be a standard question for all students. It will be 2,000 words long, including footnotes. The question will be given out during class.
The Research Proposal.
The Research Proposal is expected to include the following: a) A one paragraph Statement – the purpose of the paper
 The exercise of writing the statement will assist students in identifying with precision what the student intends to do or what the student’s central proposition or ‘thesis’ is. b) An outline of the parts and sections of the paper
 This should take the form of an expanded, annotated draft table of contents c) An interim bibliography
 This should be annotated as to the availability, content, and usefulness of each item.
It should be sufficient to demonstrate that the student has acquired familiarity with the basic materials. d) A research proposal will be expected to be 4 to 5 pages long.
The Large Research Paper
The written paper is expected to be a carefully written exposition of the research a student has undertaken. It should:
 Critically investigate the topic;
 Demonstrate an appropriate level of expertise in the methods of research and scholarship;
 Demonstrate the independent development of ideas relevant to the topic;
 Present the results lucidly in a manner that makes a contribution to the subject area concerned.
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It should normally include the following:
 A clear outline of the research question to be addressed and the theoretical, contextual, or disciplinary basis of the student’s research, and provide an overview of the rest of the Paper.
 It should also develop the arguments in a sustained and coherent manner, and these should be brought to a conclusion.
In addition to the above, the student’s written paper would normally be expected to contain:
 A table of contents;
 A bibliography; d) Handing in, marking time and collection
All assignments must be submitted electronically through Moodle ( http://elearn.waikato.ac.nz
).
See Te Piringa Faculty of Law Undergraduate Handbook, available at http://www.waikato.ac.nz/law/undergraduate . It is the policy of Te Piringa Faculty of Law to return marked work to students within five weeks of submission.
If you require assistance with Moodle, or encounter any problems, please contact the Help Desk.
You can send a message to Help Desk by using the instant message service in your paper (from the participants list within the People block). Alternatively, you can email them directly at help@waikato.ac.nz or call 838 4008. e) Measurement of Achievement
Achievement in examinations and tests will be measured primarily in terms of levels of understanding and knowledge gained. Achievement in assignments will be measured also in terms of fluency and accuracy of expression and referencing.
Major deficiencies in structure, style, grammar and spelling will result in lower marks. f) Management of assessment deadlines, process for requesting extensions and special consideration, and for appeals
(i) Extensions
Students are required to complete and submit all internal assessments by specified dates. The meeting of deadlines is a mark of professionalism and its enforcement is essential for fairness to all students taking the paper. Handing in course work on or before the due date also facilitates the timely return of marked work by academic staff. Students should meet requirements as to time deadlines for course work, or make a request for an extension or special consideration in appropriate circumstances (see Undergraduate Programmes Manual available from the School of
Law Undergraduate website http://www.waikato.ac.nz/law/undergraduate/ ). Failure to comply with requirements as to the time deadlines for internal assessment without having successfully
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applied either for an extension or special consideration with supporting evidence before the due
date will result in deduction of 2.5 marks for each day the work is late. Lateness of more than a week may result in the work not being marked. No deadlines may be extended beyond two weeks after the last teaching day of the semester(s) in which the paper is taught as final grades must go to the Board of Examiners at this time. Unless an extension in writing has been granted, a lecturer may refuse to accept a piece of work which is submitted after the specified date, and automatically award it no mark, or may lower the mark as a penalty for lateness.
Applications for extension, on the form obtainable from the Law Reception, must be submitted to the Chief Examiner or nominee. Students should not submit the extension form to the lecturer, nor should students seek extensions from the lecturer via other forms of communication.
Extensions will be granted only on evidence of illness, family bereavement, or serious personal accidents or circumstances. Please note that too many assignments due at the same time is NOT an acceptable reason, neither are claims that computers and/or printers have crashed. Account will be taken of the time in which the student has had to complete the internal assessment before the intervening event occurred. It will be important to consider if the grant of the extension will give the student in question an unfair advantage over other students. A maximum period of 14 days will be given as an extension unless there are exceptional circumstances. In determining applications the Chief Examiner or nominee may consult with the Convenor or lecturer of the relevant paper.
When the Chief Examiner or nominee has made a decision on the application for extension, the nominated Administrative Assistant will advise the student of the decision by email. Following this, the extension form will be given to the relevant lecturer who will retain it until after the assignment is marked and returned to students. The form will then be placed on the student’s file. It should be noted that if an extension of longer than 14 days is granted, the assignment will not be automatically printed out and delivered to the lecturer, therefore the lecturer is responsible for ensuring the assignment is printed. In appropriate cases, when a student’s application for extension is declined the Chief Examiner or nominee will inform the student of the process for applying for special consideration. ii) Special Consideration
The Assessment Regulations 2005 as set out in the University Calendar 2015 list in detail the university-wide policies and procedures, which apply concerning missed examinations, impaired performance or impaired preparation time for an examination, and missed or impaired course work. Students are responsible for ensuring that they comply with these regulations. Application forms for special consideration for internal assessment are available from law reception. iii) Appeals (University Calendar 2015, Assessment Regulations 2005, Reg. 24)
A student may appeal against any decision taken under these regulations.
An appeal, comprising a written statement of the circumstances of the appeal, together with supporting evidence if available, must be submitted by the student in writing to the Head of Student
& Academic Services not more than seven days after the date on which notification of the relevant decision is received.
Appeals under this section are considered and decided by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor by delegated authority of the Education Committee.
A decision by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor is notified in writing, and is final.
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iv) No electronic devices are allowed in any internal tests or exams.
v) If you wish to submit your Internal Assessment in Māori, you need to obtain an application
form from the Law Reception at least 14 days before the assessment is due.
vi) If you wish to apply to write your official exams in Māori, you need to complete the official
application form from the University’s Assessment Office.
(refer to the Policy on the Use of Māori for Assessment in the University Calendar)
9. University Calendar Regulations and Policies
Your attention is drawn to the following regulations and policies, which are published in the
University Calendar 2015
Assessment Regulations 2005
Student Discipline Regulations 2014
Computer Systems Regulations 2005
Policy on the Use of Māori for Assessment
Student Research Regulations 2008
Ethical Conduct in Human Research and Related Activities Regulations 2008.
10. Links to other papers
There are no pre-requisites for this paper, but it is useful to take the Public International Law paper also.
11. Fees
Refer to http://calendar.waikato.ac.nz/admission/tableoffeesandcharges.html
.
12. Referencing guidelines and caution against plagiarism
(a) Referencing must be in accordance with the New Zealand Law Style Guide (2 nd Ed)
Thomson Reuters 2011.
(b) All written work submitted for the purposes of assessment must be your own work.
Copying or paraphrasing all or part of another person’s work, be it published or unpublished, without clear attribution, is plagiarism. Plagiarism is misconduct and is dealt with under the disciplinary procedures of the University as outlined in the Student Discipline Regulations
2014 in the University Calendar.
“Plagiarism means presenting as one’s own work the work of another, and includes the copying or paraphrasing of another person’s work in an assessment item without acknowledging it as the other person’s work through full and accurate referencing; it applies to assessment presented through a written, spoken, electronic, broadcasting, visual, performance or other medium.” See section 3, Assessment Regulations (2015 Calendar)
(c) The Te Piringa Faculty of Law’s policy regarding plagiarism is Te Piringa Faculty of Law
Undergraduate Programmes Manual, available from: http://www.waikato.ac.nz/law/undergraduate/ .
13. Health and safety
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The Law School’s Health and Safety representative is to be advised. Alternatively, please report the incident to the Law Reception - Room Law G.44 or call ext 4167.
14. Class representation
Contact details for the Student Representation Coordinator, Academic Services Division, are as follows: Jeanie Richards, Student Services, ext. 8221, email: student.reps@waikato.ac.nz
.
15. Complaints procedures
The brochure Student Concerns and Complaints Policy provides details of the University’s process for handling concerns and complaints and is available from Faculty and School Offices, The Gateway and Student Services Division and is contained in the Calendar 2015. See also the document Student
Support Structure at Te Piringa Faculty of Law, available from law reception.
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Lecture Schedule B Semester
Week Commencing
13 July (Semester B Starts)
20 July
27 July
3 August
9 August
10 August
12 August
17 August
24 August
31 August
7 September
14 September
21 September
28 September
5 October
12 October
19 October
20 October
27 October
3 November
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Programme of lecture topics
Introduction
The Ethics of Int. Env. Law.
Sustainable Development (and handout of
first assignment topic).
Economic Growth & Technology
First assignment due in
Free trade
Proposal for large research topic due in.
Markets and Aid
Teaching Recess
Teaching Recess
Biodiversity and Whales
Protected Areas
Waste and Recycling
Air and Ozone Pollution
Climate Change
Student presentations
Large research topic due in.
Study Week
Examinations 27 October Labour Day
Examinations

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