Law, the environment and the policy process 700
Not offered in 1995
One 2-hour seminar weekly over 13 weeks
Environmental issues have also come to dominate debate over the proper scope and rationale of public policies in areas as diverse as housing, transportation and economic development. Environmental concerns are now rivalling the traditional equity and efficiency rationales for public policy, thus challenging the mainstream political process to recognise this new democratic movement. If the green movement is a challenge to the party-political process, it is also a challenge to the institutions of policy making and legal adjudication. The subject begins from this assessment and asks two related questions: first, what is the relationship between the actions and political strategies of the green movement to the formal channels of democracy? And second, what role does the legal process play (or could it play) in environmental disputes given the political interests of the green movement?
Assessment
Take-home examination: 40% * Research paper (6000 words): 60%