13356 - Global Change and Legal Response Modulübersicht

Module Number: 13356
Module Title:Global Change and Legal Response
  Rechtsfragen Globaler Änderungsprozesse
Department: Faculty 5 - Business, Law and Social Sciences
Responsible Staff Member:
  • Prof. Dr. jur. Albrecht, Eike
Language of Teaching / Examination:English
Duration:1 semester
Frequency of Offer: Every winter semester
Credits: 6
Learning Outcome:After completing the module, students are able to:
  • Understand principles and procedures of international law and its role in the management of global changes,
  • Identify and critically analyse issues pertaining to international disputes,
  • Apply international law in specific concrete cases in the field of selected areas of global change
  • Comprehend and evaluate the significance of international law in managing global change processes.
  • Understand the way in which international agreements are achieved in specific areas,
  • Understand the role various international actors play in decision making,
  • Apply their understanding of international law and its implementation at the national level,
  • Demonstrate a basic outline of the key challenges, the relevant actors and the legal response
Contents:
  • Introduction to the principles, procedures and main actors in international law
  • Overview of the most relevant global changes (Climate Change; Loss of Biodiversity; Loss of Agricultural Land; Digitalisation; Migration; Waste; Chemical Substances; Rare substances (e.g. phosphor, etc.)
  • Outlook to developments of the future and its legal response
Recommended Prerequisites:none
Mandatory Prerequisites:none
Forms of Teaching and Proportion:
  • Lecture / 2 Hours per Week per Semester
  • Seminar / 2 Hours per Week per Semester
  • Self organised studies / 120 Hours
Teaching Materials and Literature:
  • Birnie/Boyle/Redgwell, International Law and the Environment, 4th edition, Oxford University Press, 2021
  • Knopp/Epstein/Hoffmann, International and European Environmental Law with Reference to German Environmental Law – A Guide for International Study Programs, 2nd edition, Berlin 2019
  • Albrecht, Egute, Wanki, Ezeamama (Eds.), International environmental law (IEL) – Agreements and introduction. 6th expanded and updated edition, 2022.
  • IPCC, 2022: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [P.R. Shukla, J. Skea, R. Slade, A. Al Khourdajie, R. van Diemen, D. McCollum, M. Pathak, S. Some, P. Vyas, R. Fradera, M. Belkacemi, A. Hasija, G. Lisboa, S. Luz, J. Malley, (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA. doi: 10.1017/9781009157926.001. 
  • IPCC, 2023. Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report - Summary for Policymakers [Arias, P., Bustamante, M., Elgizouli, I., Flato, G., Howden, M., Méndez, C., Pereira, J., Pichs-Madruga, R., Rose, S.K., Saheb, Y., Sánchez, R., Ürge-Vorsatz, D., Xiao, C., Yassaa, N. (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland
  • IPCC, 2018: Summary for Policymakers. In: Global Warming of 1.5°C. An IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty [Masson-Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, H.-O. Pörtner, D. Roberts, J. Skea, P.R. Shukla, A. Pirani, W. Moufouma-Okia, C. Péan, R. Pidcock, S. Connors, J.B.R. Matthews, Y. Chen, X. Zhou, M.I. Gomis, E. Lonnoy, T. Maycock, M. Tignor, and T. Waterfield (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA, pp. 3-24 https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009157940.001.
  • German Advisory council on Global Change (2019): Towards our Common Digital Future. Berlin. WGBU. https://www.wbgu.de/en/publications/publication/towards-our-common-digital-future
Module Examination:Continuous Assessment (MCA)
Assessment Mode for Module Examination:
  • Written Exam, 120 minutes (maximum 40 points)
  • Presentation, 15 min. (maximum 20 points)
In the beginning of the semester the students choose one topic of determined areas of global change for group work and presentation

To pass (grade 4,0) the module, students need to earn a minimum of 30 points.
Evaluation of Module Examination:Performance Verification – graded
Limited Number of Participants:None
Part of the Study Programme:
  • Master (research-oriented) / Transformation Studies / PO 2024
 This module has been approved for the general studies.
Remarks:None
Module Components:
  • Lecture: Global Change and Legal Response
  • Seminar: Will be announced during the lecture
  • Examination: Global Change and Legal Response
Components to be offered in the Current Semester:
  • no assignment