LL4BV Half Unit
Transnational Environmental Law
This information is for the 2025/26 session.
Course Convenor
Dr Oliver Hailes
Availability
This course is available on the LLM (extended part-time), LLM (full-time), MSc in Environmental Policy and Regulation, MSc in Environmental Policy, Technology and Health (Environmental Policy and Regulation) (LSE and Peking University), MSc in Law and Finance, MSc in Regulation and University of Pennsylvania Law School LLM Visiting Students. This course is freely available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. It does not require permission. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process.
How to apply: Priority will be given initially to LLM, MSc Regulation and MSc Law and Finance students on a first-come-first-served allocation.
Spaces permitting, requests from all other students will be processed on the same first-come-first-served allocation from 10am on Thursday 2 October 2025
By submitting an application, students are confirming that they meet any pre-requisites specified. Providing an additional written statement will not aid a student's chances of being accepted onto a course, and statements are not read.
Deadline for application: Not applicable
For queries contact: Law.llm@lse.ac.uk
This course will be relevant to the following LLM specialisms: Environmental, Climate Change and Energy Law, European, Comparative and Transnational Law; Law, Politics and Social Change; Public International Law; Public Law.
This course is capped at 30 students.
Course content
The course instructs students on key issues in environmental law and governance beyond the state. Through the study of recent developments in international environmental law, transnational trends in national environmental law, and private environmental regulation, the course engages with the dominant environmental challenges of our age. It addresses a range of topical themes including the effectiveness of international treaties, the rights and responsibilities of large corporations, the meaning and impact of environmental legal principles, the role of science and of indigenous knowledge in environmental decision-making and dispute resolution, the potential and risks attached to rights-based approaches to environmental protection, and integration of environmental concerns into other legal disciplines and economic transactions. The questions are illustrated through case studies relating to, among others, climate change and biodiversity protection.
Teaching
2 hours of seminars in the Spring Term.
20 hours of seminars in the Winter Term.
This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Winter Term.
Formative assessment
The students can choose between a formative essay (1,000 - 1,500 word limit) and a mock exam.
Indicative reading
A detailed reading list will be provided for each seminar. The overwhelming majority of readings are electronically available as e-books or in journals. Essential reference works include the journal Transnational Environmental Law; Heyvaert, Transnational Environmental Regulation and Governance (CUP, 2019); Heyvaert & Duvic-Paoli, Research Handbook on Transnational Environmental Law (Edward Elgar, 2020); Kingston, Heyvaert & Cavoski, European Environmental Law (CUP, 2017); Sands & Peel, Principles of International Environmental Law (4th ed, CUP, 2018); Bodansky & van Asselt, The Art and Craft of International Environmental Law (2024, Harvard University Press); Rajamani & Peel, The Oxford Handbook of International Environmental Law (OUP, 2021); and the Stern Review Executive Summary (online).
Assessment
Exam (100%), duration: 150 Minutes in the Spring exam period
Key facts
Department: LSE Law School
Course Study Period: Winter and Spring Term
Unit value: Half unit
FHEQ Level: Level 7
CEFR Level: Null
Total students 2024/25: 21
Average class size 2024/25: 21
Controlled access 2024/25: YesCourse selection videos
Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.
For this course, please see the following link/s:
LL4BV Transnational Environmental Law Course Guide Video https://youtu.be/BRvVcPmLdRQ
Personal development skills
- Communication
- Specialist skills