Environmental Law
Code: 102227Credits: 6
| Degree programme | Type | Course |
|---|---|---|
| Law | OP | 4 |
Contact lecturer
- Name :
- Joaquín Rodríguez Álvarez
- Email :
- joaquin.rodriguez@uab.cat
Teaching staff
- Juan Emilio Nieto Moreno
Group languages
You can consult this information at the end of the document.
Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites to take this subject. The student must have enough level of English to be able to read the materials provided and to follow the class in that language. The final exam could be taken in Catalan, Spanish or English.
The teaching of the subject will be taught taking into account the perspective of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's)
Objectives
Environmental Law is nowadays an area of great importance. Over the years it has become a captivating branch of law, involving international institutions, European Union, lobbies, business, all the levels of domestic public administrations, NGOs, etc...The Environmental Law Course is willing to analyze the powers and main instruments of Environmental Law, at the international and domestic level but focusing specially on the law of the European Union, because European law is often the source of the law being applied at the Member State level.
Students will have the opportunity to see how connected could be, in specific environmental cases, areas being apparently distant such as international law, European law, constitutional and administrative law, criminal and civil law.....
Besides analyzing which are the general principles of Environmental Law, we will examine all the most important areas of environmental policy (air, waste, water, nature and biodiversity, climate change).
The purpose, overall, is to broaden your knowledge on such a fascinated area of the law by giving you the opportunity to use your legal skills and to realize how is nowadays the practice of the this area of great importance.
Environmental Law involves today every institution, business and citizen...That is the reason why it is an interesting course for EU and non-EU students alike.
Learning outcomes
- Efficiently managing information, being capable of assimilating a considerable volume of data in a limited amount of time.
- Managing bibliographic and documentary resources: databases, browsing, etc.
- Demonstrating a sensible and critical reasoning: analysis, synthesis, conclusions.
- Students must be capable of communicating their points of view in a compelling way.
- Working in teams, being either a member or a coordinator of working groups, as well as making decisions affecting the whole group.
- Defining the legal administrative language.
- Students must be capable of expressing themselves with legal-administrative terminology.
- Distinguishing the jurisprudential evolution in the field of administrative law.
- Analysing the jurisprudential evolution.
- Critically reflecting on jurisprudential decisions.
- Explaining the administrative legal standards.
- Applying the legal standards to concrete cases.
- Reflecting on administrative standards.
- Using the computing legal sources of information.
- Searching sentences, articles, etc. in legal databases.
- Present information in a way that is appropriate to the type of audience.
Contents
Part I: General Section
The goal of protecting the environment and the law. Background. Main principles & features
International Environmental law. Actors. Principles. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's).The contribution of women to the subject of this course.
The importance of European environmental law; Powers, Governance, Decision-making; Enforcement and Implementation; the 8th Environmental Action Programme to 2030. The \"Green Deal\".
Domestic law.- powers , instruments, and administrative –public Entities- Organization for sustainability and protection of environment.
Part II: Cross-cutting instruments
Access to environmental information, Public Participation in Decision-Making procedures and Access to Justice in EnvironmentalMatters.
Environmental Liability; criminal law, torts and environment
Strategic Environmental Assessment of plans and programs -SEA- and Environmental Impact Assessment of projects –EIA-
Preventing and controlling industrial emissions thorough permits
Voluntary instruments and Incentives for environmental protection. Environmental certification: ecolabel, green claims/greenwashing; EMAS, ISO's; Social Corporate Responsibility.
Part III: Substantive Environmental Law; Integration.
Water protection
Coastal and marine environmental protection
Air quality and air pollution; the law of Climate Change; noise; light pollution ; odor control laws
Waste; Land Pollution; Circular Economy; harmful substances.
Biodiversity; environmental protected areas and species; landscape protection
Integration of environment policy into other sectorial policies: Agriculture; Transport; Energy….
Learning activities and methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| assessment | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| Read articles, laws and judicial decisions | 26 | 1.04 | 1, 5, 14, 15 |
| tutorial | 6 | 0.24 | 7, 10, 11, 13 |
| writing and presentation of different exercises | 32 | 1.28 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 12, 14, 15 |
| practical sessions | 22 | 0.88 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15 |
| Study | 34 | 1.36 | 8, 12, 13, 14, 15 |
| theoretical classes | 22 | 0.88 | 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13 |
Course delivery
Teaching for this course will be conducted in person.
Throughout the course, a range of legal texts will be read and discussed, including the legal framework governing the various subjects that make up the course content. The syllabus will be complemented by a practical approach. On the one hand, in addition to the lecturer’s explanations, specific cases will be analysed through decisions, judgments, and news reported in the media.
On the other hand, students will complete different exercises, assignments, and practical activities, both in class and through independent work, as part of continuous assessment. Active participation in class will also be encouraged.
There will be two written examinations, one mid-term and one at the end of the course. These exams will consist of essay-type questions. If these exams are not passed, they may be retaken on the official resit date.
Written exams may be taken in English, Spanish, or Catalan.
Assessment
Continuous assessment activities
| Title | Weight | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midterm and final written exam | 30% & 40% | 2 | 0.08 | 3, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14 |
| Assignments and participation of the student | 30% | 6 | 0.24 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 |
Ordinary assessment
The assessment model aims to enable both the student and the lecturer to understand the level of competence acquisition in order to guide the learning process.
Assignments, exercises, and practical activities carried out throughout the course will account for 30% of the final grade.
Written assessment of the course content will be conducted through two separate exams and will account for 70% of the final grade. Specifically, there will be two written exams: one mid-term exam (30%) and one final exam (40%). If these are not passed, they may be retaken on the official resit date.
Written exams may be taken in English, Catalan, Spanish, French, Italian, or Portuguese, depending on the student’s preference.
For each teaching group, the specific date or week for the assessed activities will be published on the Virtual Campus before the start of the course. However, in exceptional circumstances and for reasons of force majeure, these dates may be modified with sufficient prior notice.
Students will be considered eligible for assessment provided they have completed a set of activities whose combined weight amounts to at least two-thirds of the total course grade. If this threshold is not reached, the lecturer may classify the student as “not assessed.”
IMPORTANT: If a student cheats, commits plagiarism, or is found using any prohibited device during an assessment, the instructor will assign a grade of 0 for that assessment and will report the incident to the Faculty Dean’s Office by submitting a report detailing the circumstances and evidence, in order to request the possible initiation of disciplinary proceedings. This assessment will not be eligible for resit. If more than one irregularity occurs in the assessments of the same course, the final grade for the course will be 0.
Use of AI
“Restricted use: In this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted exclusively for support tasks, such as bibliographic or information searches, text correction, or translations. Students must clearly identify which parts have been generated using this technology, specify the tools used, and include a critical reflection on how these tools have influenced both the process and the final outcome of the activity. Lack of transparency in the use of AI in this assessment will be considered a breach of academic integrity and may result in a partial or total penalty in the grade, or more severe sanctions in serious cases.”
Single assessment
When opting for the single assessment system, there will be three graded activities:
A) Submission of a legal report (30%);
B) Resolution of a practical case (30%);
C) Final written exam (40%).
On the day of the final written exam, students must also submit the documents corresponding to the other two activities to the lecturer.
If the final written exam is failed, it may be retaken on the official resit date assigned by the faculty.
With regard to the “not assessed” grade, the same criteria as in continuous assessment will apply.
Bibliography
The existing bibliography on environmental law is very rich. At the beginning of the course the professor will specify what is specially recommended.
A) Mandatory readings
Rodríguez Álvarez, Joaquín David coord.; Garcia Escolar, Àlex ed. Environmental law : the living handbook : a student-authored critical handbook for international & EU environmental governance. [Bellaterra]: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Facultat de Dret, 2026. 300 pàg. ISBN 979-13-991101-3-5. https://ddd.uab.cat/record/325252
Rodríguez Álvarez, J.D. Beyond data silos: federated governance as legal response to planetary ecological collapse. Int Environ Agreements (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10784-026-09718-z
B) Recommended readings
The following list includes general books devoted to domestic environmental law (I) and also some very relevant international and European environmental law references (II) and useful websites (III)
I. Domestic environmental law
- ALONSO GARCÍA, Enrique. y LOZANO CUTANDA, Blanca. (Dir.), Diccionario de Derecho Ambiental, Iustel, Madrid, 2006.
-ALONSO GARCIA, Enrique, ORTEGA ALVAREZ Luis. Tratado de derecho ambiental, Tirant lo Blanch, 2013
-ARANA García, Estanislao; Torres López, María Asunción, Derecho Ambiental.3ed. Tecnos 2018
- AUDIVERT ARAU, Rafael.,Régimen jurídico de la etiqueta ecológica, Cedecs, Barcelona, 1996
- BETANCOR RODRÍGUEZ, Andres., Derecho Ambiental, la Ley, 2014.
- CAMPINS ERITJA, Mar. et al ( PONT CASTEJON, Isabel).,Environmental Law in Spain, Kluwer Law, 2nd ed. 2014-
- CASADO CASADO, Lucía. i FUENTES i GASÓ, Josep Ramon., Medi ambient i ens locals, Cedecs, Barcelona, 2008-
-CASADO CASADO, Lucía. i PONT CASTEJÓN, Isabel., “La elasticidadde las competencias normativas en materia ambiental: querer es poder”, a El derecho administrativo en el umbral del siglo XXI:homenaje al profesor Dr. D. Ramón Martín Mateo, Madrid, 2000.
- ESTEVE PARDO, José., Derecho de Medio Ambiente, Marcial Pons, 4a .Ed. 2017
- FERNANDEZ de GATTA, Dionisio, Sistema jurídico Adiministrativo de protección del medio ambiente, Editorial: Ratio Legis, 9ª ed 2020
- LAVILLA ROVIRA, Juan Jose., MENÉNDEZ ARIAS, Maria José., (coord.) (PONT CASTEJON), Todo sobre el Medio Ambiente , Praxis, Barcelona, 1996.
-LOPEZ RAMON, Fernando coord ( et al. Post 2021) (coord), Observatorio de Políticas Ambientales ( edición anual).
-LOZANO CUTANDA, Blanca., Derecho Ambiental Administrativo, 11ª ed. LA LEY, Madrid, 2011.
-LOZANO CUTANDA, Blanca. (Directora), LAGO CANDEIRA, Alejandro. y LÓPEZ ÁLVAREZ, Luis Felipe.,Tratado de Derecho Ambiental, Ediciones CEF, Madrid, 2014.
- LOZANO CUTANDA, Blanca., y ALLI TURRILLAS, Juan Cruz., Administración y Legislación Ambiental, Dykinson, Madrid, 11 ed. 2020
- MartÍn Mateo, Ramón., Tratado de Derecho Ambiental, Trivium, Madrid, 4 Vols; MARTÍN MATEO, Ramón., Manual de Derecho Ambiental, Aranzadi, Navarra, 3a. Ed. 2005
-NIETO MORENO, Juan Emilio., Elementos estructurales de la evaluación ambiental de planes y programas, Aranzadi, 2011.
- ORTEGA ÁLVAREZ, Luis., ALONSO GARCÍA, Consuelo y VICENTE MARTÍNEZ, Rosario de., Tratado de Derecho Ambiental, Tirant lo Blanch, Valencia, 2013
-OPAM ( amb participació d' Isabel Pont Castejón i de Juan Emilio Nieto Moreno . Edició anual: https://www.actualidadjuridicaambiental.com/observatorio-de-politicas-ambientales)
- PONS CÀNOVAS, Ferran., “Intervención pública en la actividad privada para la protección ambiental. Limitaciones a los derechos de propiedad y de libertad de empresa”, a Diccionario de Derecho Ambiental, Enrique Alonso García y Blanca Lozano Cutanda (Directors), Iustel, Madrid, 2006. pp. 778 a 789.
- PONS CÀNOVAS, Ferran., “Puertos, urbanismo y medio ambiente”, a Obras públicas, urbanismo y medio ambiente, Fernando López Ramón y Víctor Escartín Escudé (Coords.), Marcial Pons, 2013.
- PONT CASTEJÓN, Isabel., “El procedimiento administrativo de autorización de vertidos a aguas continentales ante elreto de una Administración hidráulica eficaz”, a Revista Aranzadi de derecho ambiental, núm. 5, 2004, pp. 15 a 36.
-PONT CASTEJÓN, Isabel. “Un nuevo reto en materia competencial: Estado y Comunidades Autónomas ante las exigencias del Protocolo de Kyoto”, a Los retos de la aplicación del protocolo de Kyoto en España y Canadá, Mar Campins Eritja (Coord.), 2005.
- PONT CASTEJÓN, I., \"Medio Ambiente\" a Derecho Administrativo Práctico, Tirant lo Blanch, Valencia, 1997, pp. 303-331.
- PONT CASTEJÓN, Isabel. i CAMPINS ERITJA, Mar., (Coord.), Perspectives de Dret Comunitari Ambiental, Servei de Publicacions de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, 1997.
- CAMPINS, M; CASADO, L; NIETO, J.E; PIGRAU, A; PONT, I; Environmental Law in Spain, WolterKluwers-kluwer Law International, The Netherlands, 2014
- TORRES LÓPEZ, Maria Asunción. y ARANA GARCÍA, Estanislao. (Directors), Derecho Ambiental, Tecnos, Madrid, 3a.ed 2018
II) International, comparative and European Environmental Law
BELL, Stuart ( Donald McGillivray, Ole Pedersen, Emma Lees, Elen Stokes); Environmental Law; Oxford University Press, 10 ed. 2024
BIRNIE, P.W.-BOYLE, A.E., REDGWELL, C.,International Law and Environment, 3a ed. Oxford UniversityPress, 2009. ( updated -Fourth Edition- in 2021)
BROWN WEISS, E. (Edited), Environmental Challenge and International Law, The United Nations University Press, 1992.; International Environmental Law, Second Edition (Casebook) 2nd Edition, 2006
CLÉMENT, Marc. Droit européen de l'environnement.Jurisprudence commentée, ed, Larcie, 4ème édition 2021
DE SADELEER Nicolas. EU environmental law and the internal market. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014
FAJARDO,Teresa. La política exterior de la Uión Europea en materia ambiental, Tecnos, 2005
JANS, Jan ; Hans H.B. Vedder; European Environmental Law, Europa law Publishing ( Fourth Edition) 2012
JUSTE RUIZ, J., CASTILLO DAUDÍ,M., la protección del medio ambiente en el ámbito internacional y en laUnión europea, Tirant lo Blanc, Valencia, 2014
HAIGH, Nigel, EU Environmental Policy:Its jouney to Centre Stage. 2016.
Kingston, Suzanne; Heyvaert Veerle; Čavoški , Aleksandra - European Environmental Law, Cambridge University Press 2017
KISS, Alexandre., SHELTON, Dinah., A Guide to International Environmental Law, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2007
KRAMER, Ludwig. EU Environmental Law, Sweet and Maxwell, 9th ed. 2024
KRAMER, Ludwig Environmental Justice and European Union Law,Croatian Yearbook of European Law and Policy 16 , December 2020, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/348484000_Environmental_Justice_and_European_Union_Law
-LEE, Maria; EU Environmental Law, Governance and Decision-Making, 2nd Ed. 2014
MACRORY (2014),Regulation, Enforcement and Governance of Environmental Law, 2nd edition HartPublishing, Oxford
MACRORY et al. (2004), Principles of European Environmental Law. Europa Law Publishing.
MORENO MOLINA, A. El derecho del cambio climático: Retos, instrumentos y litigios Tirant lo Blanch (2023)
SALZMAN, JAMES, Environmental Law and Policy (USA), 2022 https://archive.org/details/environmentallaw0000salz_j7n2/page/n9/mode/2up
SANDS, Philippe. PEEL Jacqueline, Principlesof International Environmental Law, Cambridge University Press, 4d Ed., Manchester/N.Y., 2018
2nd Edition: https://www.academia.edu/37547219/Philippe_Sands_Principles_of_Int_Environmental_Law
THORNTON, James; GOODMAN, Martin, CLIENT EARTH 2017. Scribe Publications (May 11, 2017)
-VAN CARLSTER, Geert, EU Environmental Law, Elgar European Law series, 2017
III) General Websites useful for our purposes
Official website European Union http://europa.eu/index_en.htm
Training Package on Principles of EU Environmental Law http://ec.europa.eu/environment/legal/law/principles.htm
EU Environmenal Law Training Package. https://ec.europa.eu/environment/legal/law/training_package.htm
Summaries of the European environmental and climate change legislation https://eur-lex.europa.eu/summary/chapter/20.html
Official Journal of the European Union http://eur-lex.europa.eu/oj/direct-access.html?locale=en
European Commission (Environment) : https://ec.europa.eu/environment/index_en.htm
https://ieep.uk/work-streams/divergence-in-uk-eu-environment-policy/access-ieep-definitive-guide-to-european-environmental-policy/
European Environment Agency http://www.eea.europa.eu
PNUMA (United Nations Program for Environment https://www.unep.org/
Council of Europe. “Manual on human rights and the environment\"; https://www.coe.int/en/web/human-rights-intergovernmental-cooperation/-/manual-on-human-rights-and-the-environment
European Court of Human rights http://hudoc.echr.coe.int
IEEP ( Institut for European Environmental Policy) https://ieep.eu/
EEB (European Environamental Bureau) https://eeb.org
Software
The course does not require any specific software
Course groups and languages
The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE
| Type of teaching | Group | Language | Semester | Shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (TE) Theory | 51 | English | first semester | afternoon |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 51 | English | first semester | afternoon |