Natural Resources and Environmental Law and Policy LLM

Natural Resources form the bedrock of global economic development. However, development and use of natural resources have implications for the environment, often leading to other socio-economic and political challenges such as poverty, disease and conflicts, especially in developing countries. The resulting environmental impacts such as climate change, pollution and degradation of habitats and species extinction has also raised serious challenges for governance and diplomacy at the international level, often pitting international economic policies and frameworks with natural resources and environmental governance.

This course will provide you with an excellent understanding of the law and policy issues in this area, and skills necessary to pursue a career in this exciting field, whether this be in private legal practice, as in-house lawyers in corporations, policy-oriented work in intergovernmental and other international institutions in advocacy in civil society organisations.

The course offers a wide range of modules that are contemporary, academically rigorous and skills oriented. The design ensures you gain core knowledge of the wider context framing law and policy in this field whilst giving you the flexibility to tailor your degree to suit your particular interests by choosing from a range of specialist modules. You will explore emerging issues such as a low carbon economy, unconventional and alternative energy, the regulation and governance of multinational corporations and the responsibility of states in addressing these concerns.

The programme is designed to accept not only Law graduates but students from other fields of study. An intensive 2-week induction at the beginning of the programme will ensure that all students, including those from non-law and/or international backgrounds are taught the requisite basic concepts and academic skills necessary to allow them to effectively achieve the learning outcomes.

Students will be required to take 180 credits of modules comprising a taught element of 120 credits, and a 60 credits dissertation on the subject area. All modules are 20 credits each. Students will be required to take 40 credits of core modules covering subjects on Principles of Regulation and Enforcement; and Sustainable Development Law in Business and Society which will explore core themes and provide the necessary background and wider context of the study of this subject.

In addition, students will be required to take a total of 60 credits of modules from the following subjects which will provide specific and in-depth knowledge in specialist aspects of human rights and development:

• Climate Change Law
• Petroleum Law
• International Environmental Law
• Natural Resource Governance
• International Environmental Governance
• Business, human rights and environment

The final 20-credit module of the LLM in Natural Resources, and Environmental Law and Policy is an elective which can either be chosen from the list above, or from a wider pool of postgraduate modules from the School of Law or from other departments such as Management or Peace Studies and International Development.