Environmental Law Programme
Vision StatementOur vision is to become the premier environmental law programme in South Africa and the African continent more broadly through the quality of our under-and postgraduate teaching, supervision and research and our service to the environmental NGO community.What we teachUndergraduate Programme Postgraduate Programme
All LLM students are required to take four courses. Students doing an LLM in the field of environmental law may choose their fourth course from the list above or from List A in Rule CLM17.3.5 (see the Faculty of Commerce, Laws and Management ? Rules and Syllabuses). Students may also take any of these courses in order to complete a General LLM. For enquiries regarding the LLM in the field of Environmental Law contact Ursula Dangor at Ursula.Dillner-Dangor@wits.ac.za. Short CoursesShort courses in the field of environmental law are offered under the auspices of the Mandela Institute. These take two forms:Certificates which run co-extensively with LLM courses: All LLM courses in the field of environmental law are simultaneously offered as certificate courses. Certificate students attend classes with LLM students in the evening over a period of one semester. Certificate students are assessed in the same way, provided that certificate students can choose whether to complete the assignment or the examination. A student who has successfully completed a certificate course can apply for this to be recognized as a credit toward the LLM at a later stage, provided that both forms of assessment (assignment and examination) have been completed. Students who are unable to complete the assessment receive a certificate of attendance. For enquiries regarding certificate courses contact Virginia Bachoo at Virginia.Bachoo@wits.ac.za. Customised short courses: These courses are offered from time to time as the need arises, or upon the request of a particular client. They run over a shorter period of time than the courses above (usually over a period of a week or a few days). In 2009, the Mandela Institute offered a course in Mining Law which included a significant section on Mining and the Environment. A course on the Environmental Impact Assessment in the Agricultural Sector was also developed for the agriculture branch of the Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Conservation and the Environment. It is not necessary for the students on these courses to be in possession of an LLB although a university qualification in another field is desirable. If you are interested in a particular course being developed to suit your particular needs contact Tracy Humby at Tracy-Lynn.Field@wits.ac.za. Experiential LearningEnvironmental law teaching at Wits Law School aims to build on the strengths of clinical legal education. A modified clinical approach is being implemented in the LLM course Introduction to Environmental and Sustainable Development Law whereby students are required to work on actual environmental cases as part of their assessment. The clinical model being followed is an expanded one where the work does not necessarily involve litigation, but rather research that could also lead to advocacy, awareness-raising and training. In 2009 the School of Law is working with two NGOs - Lawyers for Human Rights and the Federation for Sustainability - in placing students with particular projects. In 2009, students are working on the following research projects:
Our staff and studentsThe two full-time faculty in the School of Law involved in the environmental law programme are Prof. Tracy Humby and Prof. Tumai Murombo. Ms Humby's primary research interests in environmental law are climate change and energy law, water law, land planning and management law and environmental democracy. Mr Murombo's primary research interests are in conservation and biodiversity law, renewable energy and marine law. Prof Constantine Theophilopoulos also lectures in the undergraduate course on Environmental Law and is mainly interested in issues relating to the enforcement of environmental law. Our students come from all walks of life and from many regions in Africa. Judges, advocates, attorneys, administrators, executives and officials from all over South Africa and as far afield as Kenya, Nigeria, the Southern Sudan and Rwanda have attended our courses. ResearchThe research output of the environmental law programme includes: Articles in accredited journals [x] IUCN Academy of Environmental LawIn 2008 Wits Law School became a member of the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law (www.iucnael.org), the preeminent international institution for promoting collaboration in research and teaching on environmental law. During the next few years, the Law School aims to become more deeply involved in the activities of the Academy. EventsIn July 2008 the Mandela Institute, in co-operation with faculty from the Law School, hosted a workshop on public interest environmental litigation. The workshop, which was attended by more than 80 delegates, included presentations by Profs John Bonine and Svitlana Kravchenko of the University of Oregon. For presentations made at the workshop, click here.[xv] Environmental Work at the Centre for Applied Legal StudiesThe 'Basic Services' project of the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) at Wits University has done sterling work on the issue of access to water services, including bringing South Africa's first explicit water rights case - Mzibuko v City of Johannesburg. For information on the basic services programme contact Jackie Dugard at Jackie.Dugard@wits.ac.za. Recently, the Centre also submitted an amicus brief in the constitutional court case between Biowatch, the Registrar of Genetic Resources and Monsanto. For more information on the environmental programme at CALS contact Carole Cooper at Carole.Cooper@wits.ac.za. [i] This course serves as a basic introduction to the field of environmental law and regulation and covers such topics as: What is environmental law? What is the role of international law in the development of domestic environmental law? What is the relationship between scientific knowledge, environmental management and environmental law? What are the main mechanisms for enforcement of environmental laws? The second component of this course is devoted to a case study of climate change law. [ii] This course provides a more in-depth study of the principles underlying the development of environmental law, and of the laws in South Africa which are shaping environmental law into an holistic field of study, principally, the environmental right enshrined in section 24 of the Constitution and the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998. The course includes a detailed overview of environmental governance, environmental impact assessments (EIAs), compliance and enforcement and rights-based approaches to environmental protection. Students who are registered for an LLM in the field of Environmental Law must take this course at core level. [iii] The LLM programme at the Wits Law School distinguishes between courses taken at core and non-core level respectively. Courses taken at core level are situated at Level 9 of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) and require demonstration of a higher level of research capacity. Core level courses therefore always incorporate a substantial research component (usually in the form of a 7500 word research essay). Courses taken at non-core level are situated at Level 8 of the NQF where demonstration of this level of research capacity is not required. [iv] This course provides a conceptual framework for understanding conservation and biodiversity law in a South African context and to promote a critical understanding of the legal instruments governing conservation and biodiversity with reference to current topical issues such as abalone poaching, the regulation of hunting and control of alien and invasive species. The course puts conservation and biodiversity law into a modern perspective that embraces international and national laws on the sustainable management and use of natural resources. [v] This course examines the regulation of energy provision in a South African context. It focuses on the most important traditional primary sources of energy in South Africa - being coal, liquid fuels and nuclear energy - and the regulation of the electricity sector. It also covers the more recent focus on energy efficiency, demand-side management, and renewable energy and the emergence of these issues in conjunction with the legal regime on climate change. In considering the emergence of a global and regional energy regime, as well as the South African policy landscape the course opts for a socio-legal approach but shifts to a more traditional approach to legal studies once the specific energy sectors are examined. The course covers the most recent policy and legislative developments in the important and dynamic field of energy. [vi] This course will examine the principal regulatory techniques for managing the impacts of pollution and waste in a comparative context before moving onto the specifics of South African integrated pollution control and waste policy and law. Specific attention will be paid to the meaning and application of the 'polluter pays' principal and the issue of retrospective liability for pollution. [vii] In this course students will explore the body of international legal norms that regulate behaviour in the field of environmental protection. It includes the role of international institutions in developing and implementing environmental agreements, relationships between environmental law and international issues, developing countries' perspectives on environmental issues, and social and cultural changes that affect the implementation of environmental law. It may also cover climate change, export of hazardous substances, deforestation and biodiversity, environmental concerns in war, human rights and development financing. [viii] This course focuses on the regulation of two key resources: land and water. The two areas of regulation have traditionally developed separately, but are now linked by the new water law in South Africa which recognizes certain uses of land as water uses. Conversely, land planning and management must take cognizance of the limitations on land development imposed by the scarcity of water resources in South Africa. The course further aims to examine the linkages between different forms of tenure and land degradation, the relationship between municipal processes aimed at land management and development and the environmental impact assessment procedure, and measures to preserve agricultural resources. It also aims at a detailed understanding of the principles and rules of the new water law in South Africa, including the institutional framework, the allocation of authorizations and measures to protect water resources. [ix] Environmental regulation is in part applied administrative law and a thorough understanding of the principles of South African administrative law is therefore very important for environmental law students. This course focuses on judicial review of administrative action. Topics covered include: The relationship between the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, the Constitution and the common law; the definition of administrative action; the rights to lawful, reasonable and procedurally fair administrative action and to written reasons; procedures and remedies. [x] Articles in Accredited Journals Tracy Humby 'Reflections on the Biowatch dispute - Reviewing the fundamental rules on costs in light of the needs of constitutional and/or public interest litigation' 2009 (1) PER (forthcoming). Tumai Murombo 'Beyond Public Participation: The disjuncture between South Africa's new EIA law and sustainable development' 2008 (3) PER 1/32 - 31/32. Tumai Murombo 'From Crude Environmentalism to Sustainable Development: Fuel Retailers' 2008 (3) South African Law Journal 486. Tumai Murombo 'The Role of International Environmental Diplomacy in the Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity in Areas beyond National Jurisdiction: Ending deep sea trawling' 2007 (40) CILSA 172. Tracy Humby 'Liability to remedy asbestos pollution? [Case Law Analysis of Bareki NO v Gencor Ltd 2006 (1) SA 432 (T)] (2006) 18(3) Journal of Environmental Law 479. Tracy Humby 'Sustainable development v environmentalism: Competing paradigms for the South African EIA regime' (2006) 123(3) South African Law Journal 409. Tracy Humby 'Public participation in environmental decision-making: Earthlife Africa (Cape Town) v Director-General: Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and Another 2005 (3) SA 156 (C) 122 (2005)' South African Law Journal 748 - 764. Tracy Humby 'Realizing the National Environmental Management Act's potential to bring polluters to book: Hichange Investments (Pty) Ltd v Cape Produce Co (Pty) Ltd t/a Pelts Products 2004 (2) SA 393 (E) 121' (2004) South African Law Journal 772 - 784. Tracy Humby 'Venturing into the unknown: Service learning and the teaching of environmental law' (2004) SA Public Law Vol. 19, No. 2, 1 - 23. Tracy Humby Book review of Exploring the core content of socio-economic rights: South African and international perspectives edited by Danie Brand and Sage Russell (2003) SALJ Vol. 120, No. 3, 638 - 642. Tracy Humby 'NEPAD through the lens of the law-and-development debate? (2002) Codicillus Vol. XLIII, No. 2, 47 ? 58. [xi] Chapters in Books Tumai Murombo 'The utility of public participation in achieving environmental justice:Comparative analysis of the United States and Zimbabwean experiences' in Aspects of Environmental Justice in Zimbabwe, Legal Resources Foundation, Harare (2008). Tracy Humby 'International disaster response law in a Southern African context' in Victoria Bannon (ed) (2003) International Disaster Response Laws, Principles and Practice: Reflections, Prospects and Challenges, Geneva: International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies 81. [xii] Conference Papers
Tumai Murombo 'Beyond Public Participation: The disconnection between South Africa's new EIA law and sustainable development' Presented at the Australia New Zealand Society for Ecological Economics (ANZSEE) Conference 'Re-inventing Sustainability: A climate for change' held in Noosaville, Australia from 2-6 July 2007 (Awarded Best Presentation by Early Career Researcher prize). Available online at: http://www.anzsee.org/anzsee2007papers/Abstracts/Morombo.pdf. Tumai Murombo 'Opportunities for community participation in mineral resources exploitation: An analysis of the implications of reforms to the mining sector legal framework in Zimbabwe with reference to community participation and environmental sustainability' Presented at the 'Pan African Seminar on Communities Affected by Oil, Gas & Mining held in Port Harcourt, Nigeria on 6 - 7 September 2006. Tumai Murombo 'An analysis of the environmental implications of the introduction of Genetically Modified Organisms and impacts on food security in Zimbabwe' Presented at the 4th Regional Session of the Global Biodiversity Forum held in Dar es Sal m, Tanzania on 9-11 June 2004. Available online at: http://www.gbf.ch/Session_Administration/upload/murombo.doc Tracy Humby 'The regulatory framework for hazardous waste? Paper presented at the Hazardous Materials Conference and Workshop hosted by A.M.C. International on 28 ? 30 November 2005. Tracy Humby 'Mining and biodiversity' Presentation on the impact of new biodiversity legislation on the mining industry to be presented at an awareness course held by the Centre for Sustainability in Mining and Industry (CSMI) and the School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand on 3 and 4 November 2005. Tracy Humby 'Medical waste: Finding the right level of regulation' Paper presented at a workshop hosted by the Basel Convention Regional Centre, Pretoria on 18 March 2005. Tracy Humby 'International Disaster Response Law, Southern Africa Report' Presentation given at a Workshop hosted by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies held from 23 - 25 May 2003 in Geneva, Switzerland. [xiii] Ongoing and completed PhD and LLM Research PhD Theses Emma Algottson 'Defining wildlife offences: A criminological study of offender motivation and criminal opportunities' (in progress). Emeka Polycarp Amechi 'The Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) and international and national policy reform: Realizing the right to a healthy environment in Africa' (in progress). Nixon Sifuna 'An examination of legal and institutional remedial arrangements for damage caused by wild animals in Kenya and Botswana' (in progress). LLM by dissertation Tony Mulekyo 'The role of the Environmental Management and Coordination Act as an essential tool for realizing sustainable development through promoting public participation in environmental decision-making' (in progress). [xiv] Technical Reports2008 Centre for Applied Legal Studies, Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions & Norwegian Centre for Human Rights Water Services Fault Lines: An Assessment of South Africa?s Water and Sanitation Provisions across 15 Municipalities. 2008 -2009 Project 25: South African Law Reform Commission, Department of Justice and Constitutional Development ,member of Committee of Experts advising the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) on reform of environmental legislation administered by the department (on going research)2008 Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) and Endangered Wildlife Trust 'Report on Possible Conflicts between Draft Biodiversity Regulations of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and the Biodiversity Legislation of Provincial Governments' by Algotsson Emma, Greyling Anique & Murombo Tumai. |
Copyright © 2000-2012
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
Privacy Policy | Disclaimer | Terms of Use | PAIA | ISPA