Global Environment and Climate Change Law

Advertisement

There are currently over 500 international treaties and other agreements related to the environment, and an average 300 days per year are spent in intergovernmental negotiations to further develop and enhance implementation of environmental law. Key international legal instruments have recently been agreed upon, such as an international instrument on access and benefit-sharing related to genetic resources, and a legal framework on liability related to biosecurity (October 2010). Others are still being negotiated, such as a post-2012 international regime on climate change or an international instrument on mercury. These ongoing developments at the international level are paralleled by continuous efforts in the development and implementation of environmental law at the European, regional and national level.

This leads to the creation of complex interactions and cross-fertilisation between different levels of environmental governance, between different specialised areas of environmental law, as well as between environmental law and other areas of law (trade, development, investment, agriculture, human rights). Environmental law is thus a dynamic, fast-developing and increasingly specialised area of law that requires not only specialist legal knowledge and skills, but also understanding of underpinning political, economic and scientific issues.The LLM Programme in Global Environment and Climate Change Law is designed to equip students with an advanced, interdisciplinary knowledge of the legal issues and techniques related to environmental protection and the management of natural resources, with special emphasis on climate change.

The programme aims to enable students to analyse and evaluate the historic and ongoing development of international, European and national law for environmental protection, the inter-relations between these different levels of law-making, as well as the interactions between environmental law and other areas of law. The programme offers the possibility of exploring different, inter-linked areas of environmental law with leading experts, alongside students from all around the world, at one of the UK's, and indeed Europes, leading universities. Its flexible and inter-disciplinary structure enables each student to tailor his/her curriculum as best suits individual interests and future career plans drawing from a choice of specialised courses at Edinburgh Law School, as well as environment-related courses at the School of Social and Political Science, the Business School and the Geosciences School of the University of Edinburgh.

Please note that you do not need to have a prior qualification in law to be eligible to apply for this programme.

Programme Objectives:
The LLM Global Environment and Climate Change Law programme aims to achieve the following:

-To foster an in-depth understanding of concepts, innovations and challenges characterising the law on environmental protection, natural resource management and climate change, as it is developed and implemented at the international, European and national level
-To provide students with critical skills for independent analysis of international, European and national law and policy in the field of environmental protection, natural resources management and climate change, and of its interactions with other areas of law
-To provide students with the academic skills required to analyse the activity of international and supranational legal and political institutions, national governments and domestic courts, NGOs and the private sector in the field of environmental protection, natural resources management and climate change
-To encourage openness to different scholarly approaches within law by offering the opportunity to complement specialised law courses with courses offered by the School of Social and Political Science, the Business School and the School of Geosciences addressing questions related to environmental protection, natural resources management and climate change.

Careers
The Global Environment and Climate Change Law programme has been designed as a gateway to a range of employment opportunities and specialised academic work. Teaching staff will be available to support students in identifying internship opportunities in international and non-governmental organisations, academia and think tanks.

Employment opportunities include:

· Specialised legal drafters
· Governments advisors
· International negotiators
· Legal advisors to private companies and NGOs
· International civil servants
· Specialised researchers in academic and think-tank institutions
· Independent consultants.

Programme Structure
You may take the LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law in either full-time (over one year) or part-time (over the course of two years).
Students are required to complete 180 credits of study: this includes a 10,000 word dissertation to be submitted at the end of their studies (60 credits). The remaining 120 credits must be made up from taught LLM courses.

Courses
Compulsory Course (40 credits, taught over two semesters)

* International Environmental Law

Optional one-semester coursesin Law (for at least 40 credits)

First semester

* International Law of Climate Change
* International Law of the Sea
* Comparative Environmental law

Second semester

* EU and National Climate Change Law
* Biotechnology: Law and Society (on-line course)
* European Environmental Law

* Optional courses in other Schools (for a maximum of 40 credits)
* Business Response to Climate Change - Business
* Climate Change and Corporate Strategy - Geosciences
* Sociology of Environment and Risk- Political Sciences - Social andPolitical Sciences
* Management of Sustainable Development - Geosciences
* Foundations in Ecological Economics - Geosciences
* Culture, Ethics and the Environment - Geosciences
* Climate Change, Justice and Responsibility - Social and Political Sciences
* Integrated Resource Management - Geosciences
* Principles of Environmental Sustainability - Geosciences
* Values and the Environment - Geosciences
* Political Ecology - Geosciences
* International Development - Geosciences
* Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation - Geosciences
* Energy Policy and Politics -Social and Political Sciences
* Climate Change Management - Social and Political Sciences
* Global Environment Politics - Social and Political Sciences

Please note that the availability of courses in other Schools is determined by those individual Schools and the availability of places in specific courses cannot be guaranteed.

A UK 2:1 honours degree or its equivalent if outside the UK. English language standard: 7.00 IELTS or equivalent. English Language Requirements IELTS band: 7 IMPORTANT NOTE: Since April 2014 the ETS tests (including TOEFL and TOEIC) are no longer accepted for Tier 4 visa applications to the United Kingdom. The university might still accept these tests to admit you to the university, but if you require a Tier 4 visa to enter the UK and begin your degree programme, these tests will not be sufficient to obtain your Visa. The IELTS test is most widely accepted by universities and is also accepted for Tier 4 visas to the UK- learn more.

Edinburgh Law School will offer five Tercentenary Awards for Excellence across all the LLM and MSc Programmes in the School starting in 2012, including the LLM in Law. This award will provide funding of £1,000 towards tuition fees.