1. Public International Law (3 hrs) provides an overview of the structure and workings of the international legal system and some of the principal topics and problems in the field. Topics discussed will include the nature of international law, sources of international law, law relating to the use of force, jurisdiction, state responsibility, sovereign immunity, the environment and human rights.
2. International Environmental Law and Policy (2 hrs) analyzes the structure and basic principles of international environmental law and policy. This course considers the challenge of addressing global environmental problems, the regulatory limitations of U.S. law, and the basic structure and principles of international environmental law. This class covers treaties related to climate change, biodiversity and wildlife protection, and the intersection of international trade and the environment.
3.Human Rights and Environmental Law / Environmental Justice (2 hrs) analyzes the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people with respect to the development and implementation of laws impacting environmental and human rights. Environmental rights, increasingly recognized as a new category of human rights as well as an application of existing rights, are both substantive and procedural. This class will present recent developments in international law and national laws. It will address direct and indirect links between the protection of the environment and the enjoyment of human rights, as well as on obligations and responsibilities of States and other actors under human rights treaties and multilateral environmental agreements. Certain human rights, especially access to information, participation in decision-making, and access to justice in environmental matters, are essential to good environmental decision-making and have a range of direct and indirect implications for the effective enjoyment of human rights. Each participant gives a presentation and writes a legal research paper.
4. International Human Rights Law (as visiting professor) (3 hrs) examines the role of international judicial institutions, regional human rights courts, nations, and civil society in developing and protecting International Human Rights.
5. United Nations Law (2 hrs) students travel to New York, experiencing first-hand the day-to-day operations of the United Nations. Using a thematic approach, this course examines the role of the United Nations, nations, non-governmental organizations, and civil society (indigenous communities, youth, and women) in international decision-making. The class attends proceedings at the United Nations. Then each participant explores a particular treaty or institution - giving a presentation and writing a research paper.
6. Energy Law (3 hrs) considers the challenge of addressing the increase in energy demand within a carbon-constrained world. It studies the use of coal, oil, gas, nuclear, wind, solar, hydro, and biofuels. Participants will consider electricity generally, cogeneration, transmission line expansion, human exposure, and environmental factors in considering a sound energy policy that meets society's energy needs. This class is also taught as a summer class at the University of Connecticut School of Law.
7. Property Law (4s hrs) begins with an inquiry into how members of a society allocate entitlements to control scarce resources such as water, land and ideas. The class explores the nature of competing claims to property in land, with a consideration of both the means of acquiring property and of the boundaries of rights related to property. Students consider the ways in which property rights are divided over time and among people so that common ownership of property occurs. The class concludes by examining governmental interactions with private property through public regulation of private property agreements and through regulatory takings. Topics will include limitations on the rights of landowners to exclude others, estates in land, co-ownership, nuisance, easements, covenants, eminent domain, zoning, and other tools of public land-use regulation.
8. Environmental Law (3 hrs) offers students the opportunity to develop important and transferable legal skills, including statutory interpretation, constitutional analysis and regulatory design. This course is an introduction to the law of environmental protection, with an emphasis on air and water pollution as well as the control of toxic substances.
9. Water Law (3 hrs) is a study of the law regulating water quantity and quality. The course centers on reasonable and equitable management of transboundary water resources in times of scarcity. Topics include the basic property and administrative systems in water, water resources policy and development, transfers, groundwater management, and water pollution. The course considers the roles of federal governments, states, tribes and citizens.
10. International Law and China (3 hrs) analyses International Law in relation to China. This intensive class is taught in Beijing, China and considers the challenge that China faces in relation to International Economic Law, Energy, Environmental, and Humanitarian Law. Each participant gives a presentation and writes a legal research paper.
11. River Studies (3 hrs) is a multidisciplinary course that focuses on large river systems. It is co-designed and taught by Missouri River Institute Faculty and includes a two-day field trip of the Missouri River followed by units on water law, biology, chemistry, history, and geomorphology.
12. International Economic Law and the Environment (Fulbright to Uruguay)
Awarded a Fulbright Senior Specialists Grant to work with the faculty of the University of Montevideo to refine and implement a new curriculum for international law. Taught a 20 hour intensive course on International Economic Law and the Environment (considering WTO cases, international climate change proceedings, environmentally sound technology transfer, and energy innovation). Coached the Uruguay team in the international rounds of the Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition (placing 31 out of all of the country teams). Delivered a speech on “International Economic Law and Climate Change” and served as a consultant to members of the Uruguay Government.