The Environmental Law course is delivered through directed, supervised and autonomous activities.

Directed activities consist of theoretical lectures and seminars/classroom activities.

Seminars and classroom activities usually consist of oral presentations of readings, case law and practical cases, following prior individual work (autonomous activity) and subsequent group deliberations in the classroom (directed activity). The materials are available on the Virtual Campus.

At the beginning of the course, a timetable will be published so that students can consult the schedule of theoretical classes and seminars/classroom activities.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

1. Continuous Assessment

1.1 Assessable activities – Assessment of the theoretical contents of the course is based on two mid-term examinations (each worth 30% of the final mark). The remaining 40% corresponds to the assessment of classroom activities (presentations, practical exercises, etc.) and the papers or essays prepared by students.

At the beginning of the course, the lecturer will make available to students a timetable specifying the specific assessable activities and their weighting, within the limits set by this course guide. It will also indicate whether they are individual or group activities and the scheduled date.

Students will be assessable provided that they have completed a set of activities whose weight amounts to at least two thirds of the total course mark. If this threshold is not reached, the lecturer may consider the student as not assessable.

The dates set for examinations and other assessable activities are compulsory. Only duly justified circumstances that absolutely prevent attendance may allow the activity to be taken on a different date. Driving tests and similar situations are not considered justified reasons.

Mid-term examinations assess knowledge acquired in both lectures and seminars/classroom activities. At the beginning of the course, the lecturer will inform students of the format of the examinations (multiple choice, essay questions, mixed system, etc.).

The marks for classroom activities and written work will also take into account the knowledge and skills applied (ability to solve practical cases, argumentation, presentation skills, teamwork, among others).

To pass the course, it is necessary to obtain a weighted average mark of 5 points. Students who fail the course (i.e., obtaining an average of less than 5 out of 10) may take the resit examination in accordance with the conditions set out below (1.2).

1.2 Resit

Only students who have sat both mid-term examinations may take the resit examination. There is no minimum mark required to access resit: all students who have sat both mid-term exams and have not passed the course may take the resit.

In this examination, both mid-term exams (theoretical and practical) may be recovered. Coursework and practical work are not recoverable. The content of the resit will cover the contents of both mid-term examinations. The lecturer will specify the format and structure of the resit examination.

The resit examination will take place on the date officially determined by the Master’s Coordination.

In the resit grade, marks obtained for practical activities or coursework, as well as those obtained in any of the mid-term examinations, will not be taken into account.

1.3 Copying, plagiarism and use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Students who copy or attempt to copy in mid-term examinations or written exercises carried out in the classroom will receive a mark of 0 for the course and will not be entitled to sit the resit examination. Likewise, students who copy or attempt to copy in the resit examination will receive a mark of 0.

Students who submit a practical exercise or any other activity in which there is evidence of plagiarism or who cannot justify the arguments presented will receive a mark of 0 for the activity and a warning. In the event of repeated conduct, the student will fail the course and will not be entitled to sit the resit examination.

Restricted use of AI: For this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted exclusively for support tasks (such as bibliographic or information searches, proofreading or translations), or within the context of specific activities in which the lecturer expressly provides for the use of such technologies (such as case simulations). The student must clearly identify which parts have been generated using AI, specify the tools used and include a critical reflection on how these tools have influenced the process and the final result. Lack of transparency will be considered a breach of academic honesty and will entail the same consequences as plagiarism.

2. Single Assessment

2.1 Assessment activities – Assessment of the course is based on three activities: first mid-term exam (30%), second mid-term exam (30%) and practical exam (40%). All these activities will take place on the same day. The date of the assessments will coincide with that set for the second mid-term examination under the continuous assessment system.

The same “not assessable” criterion applies as in continuous assessment.

Students who copy or attempt to copy in the mid-term test, the final examination or the practical test will receive a mark of 0 for the course and will not be entitled to the resit examination. Likewise, students who copy or attempt to copy in the resit examination will receive a mark of 0.

2.2 Resit – Only students who have sat all the activities referred to in paragraph 2.1 may take the resit examination. The same resit system as for continuous assessment will apply.

Review of the final mark follows the same procedure as in continuous assessment.