International Environmental Law Clinic
| LW.10289 Professor Katrina Wyman Professor Bryce Rudyk Open to 2L, 3L and LL.M. students* Maximum of 7 students |
Fall semester 2 credits (possibility of 3 credits in some cases)** Prerequisites/Co-requisites*** |
Introduction
This Clinic offers students opportunities to bring together theory and practice to provide innovative situations to cutting-edge problems in international and developing country environmental law and sustainable development. Clients include environmental groups located in the U.S. and abroad; the United Nations and its various agencies; the World Bank and other multilateral development agencies and other international organizations; and governments of developing countries and countries with transition economies. Depending on the client assignment, students may draft laws or regulations; research and prepare position papers for clients on the negotiation and implementation of international and regional environmental agreements; or analyze and develop strategies on environmental law reforms and policy initiatives.
The regular credit allocation is 2 hours. Some projects may warrant 3 credit hours with agreement of the instructor.
Course Description
Fieldwork
The clinic instructors will develop a portfolio of placement opportunities and seek to match student’s interests and experience with client needs. The instructors will meet with students on a regular basis (usually bi-weekly) to review progress and provide assistance. Most placements call for student preparation of a substantial memorandum, together with supporting documentation, analyzing the legal and policy issues presented by the client project and presenting options and recommendations for client action. Some projects may involve drafting laws or regulations or the development of annotated drafts of proposed international environmental agreements or reports. Students will be expected to devote approximately 10-12 hours a week to client projects (15-18 hours/weeks for 3 credits). Given that international and developing country environmental law is still in a relatively early stage, students will have to develop innovative approaches to the questions of law and policy involved in their projects. Accordingly, students will have to function as law reformers as well as attorneys working within an existing body of law.
Projects that students in the Clinic have worked on during the past several years include the following:
- Development, for several international environmental groups and developing countries, of policy analytic papers on key legal and regulatory mechanisms for transferring and monitoring public and private climate finance from developed to developing countries to support greenhouse emissions reductions projects and policies, in conjunction with and also outside the UN climate negotiation processes.
- Preparation of a handbook on Chinese citizens’ legal rights to public access to environmental information for the Beijing office of a major US-based environmental organization.
- Legal and policy analysis for an NGO representing indigenous and local peoples in developing countries for local implementation of access/benefit sharing and protection of traditional knowledge regarding forest resources.
- Research and analysis in support of a South African environmental group’s effort to halt a mining project that would displace local farmers and threaten ecological harms.
- Legal research for a small island developing state concerning climate change, sea level rise, maritime baselines and potential legal recourses.
- Assistance to an environmental group in Spain on the development of legal principles and regimes to ensure environmentally sound management of rivers shared by Spain with France and with Portugal.
- Assistance to the leading environmental public interest group in Israel for the development of a legal framework for joint management of Israeli and Palestinian water resources.
Application Procedure
All J.D. students interested in applying for the Clinic should submit via CAMS the standard application, resume and unofficial transcript, as well as a writing sample. 3L applicants will receive a preference over 2Ls. To arrange an interview, please contact Basilio Valdehuesa, Vanderbilt Hall, Room 411, (212) 992-8165.
The International Environmental Law Clinic welcomes LL.M. enrolments. Please note that the final deadline for LL.M.s applying to this clinic for the Fall 2012 semester is June 15, 2012. There is a separate application form for LL.M. students. Please use that form and submit it along with supporting materials to CAMS. For questions regarding the application procedure, please contact Basilio Valdehuesa. Admitted LL.M. students with a background in environmental / international law who are interested in taking this Clinic should contact Basilio Valdehuesa via email as soon as possible with a statement of their interest and background in order to enhance their chances of admission to the clinic.
Student Contacts
Students who took the Clinic in Fall 2011:
Jennie Chen
Ana Grabner
Paloma Infante
Brian Korpics
Genevieve Murray
Uloma Onuma
* 3L applicants will receive a preference over 2Ls. The International Environmental Law Clinic welcomes LL.M. enrollments. See information in text about LL.M. applications.
** 2-3 clinical credits, depending on clinic project scope. There is also a possibility of developing some Clinic projects into written work as a directed research project for two credits that can satisfy the J.D. written work requirement.
*** Students enrolled in the Clinic must be taking or have taken courses in environmental law, international environmental law and/or public international law or have relevant practical experience. Please address any questions about these requirements to Professor Wyman.