Environmental Protection in Armed Conflicts [2622]

General Information

• Credits: 3 ECTS
• Prerequisites: Bachelor's or Licence level (or equivalent); proficiency in French
• Learning format: asynchronous distance learning – 100% e-learning
• Language of instruction: French
• Course access: available at any time of year
• Disability liaison officer: Cécile Boucherle

Course Overview

Environmental degradation is one of the major consequences of armed conflict worldwide. The first part of the course, “The Environment as a Method of Warfare?”, provides a syntactic and semantic analysis of the key concepts contained in the course title, namely protection, the environment and armed conflict. It is supplemented by a substantive overview of the principal legal instruments commonly invoked to protect the environment during armed conflict. The second part, “State Responsibility for the Protection of the Environment during Armed Conflict”, focuses on the fundamental legal doctrine concerning state, inter-state and individual responsibility for environmental protection during armed conflict. Finally, the third part, “Current Developments and Further Study”, demonstrates that environmental protection lies at the heart of current international concerns. 

Course Objectives

This course enables you to:

• Identify the conventions governing methods and means of warfare, including the 1899 Declaration (IV, 2) concerning the prohibition of the use of projectiles whose sole object is the diffusion of asphyxiating or deleterious gases (The Hague, 29 July 1899); Declaration (IV, 3) concerning the prohibition of the use of bullets which expand or flatten easily in the human body; and the Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare (Geneva, 17 June 1925).
• Understand that the environment is a subject of rights.
• Acquire a thorough knowledge of the binding legal instruments relating to the protection of the environment during armed conflict.
• Identify the conventions governing methods and means of warfare, including Convention (IV) respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land and its Annex (The Hague, 18 October 1907).

Course Competencies

This course is linked to the following competency:

• Analyse a situation of armed conflict in the light of humanitarian law and international criminal law.

Course Outline

Section 1 – The Environment: A Means of Warfare?

Section 2 – State Responsibility

Section 3 – Further Study (Optional)

Assessment Methods 

Course assessment is based on:

• tracking and completion of the course and of all learning activities. These activities, designed as essential practice and learning exercises, may be completed multiple times and are not factored into the final grade,
• the final assessment quiz, which constitutes the graded evaluation.

Learning Format

The course is taught entirely online via the MyDomuni platform, accessible 24/7.
Learning resources include:

• written course materials;
• supplementary documents and, depending on the content, video resources;
• interactive learning activities (quizzes, exercises);
• a discussion forum with the course instructor and fellow participants.

Prerequisites

This course is open to anyone holding a Bachelor's degree or Licence (or an equivalent qualification) in law, the humanities, social sciences, theology, or a related field connected to human rights, or with significant personal or academic experience related to the topics covered.

A good command of written French is recommended to facilitate understanding of the content and participation in the activities offered.

Accessibility

The course is accessible at any time, from any internet-connected device, via the MyDomuni platform.
For students with disabilities, specific support can be arranged upon request to ensure equitable access to course content and activities.

Disability liaison officer: cecile.boucherle@domuni.eu.

Selective Bibliography

• Jay E. Austin et Carl E. Bruch (dir.), The Environmental Consequences of War: Legal, Economic, and Scientific Perspectives, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2000.
• Daniëlla Dam-de Jong, International Law and Governance of Natural Resources in Conflict and Post-Conflict Situations, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2015.
• Karen Hulme, War Torn Environment: Interpreting the Legal Threshold, Leiden/Boston, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2004.
• Rosemary Rayfuse (dir.), War and the Environment: New Approaches to Protecting the Environment in Relation to Armed Conflict, Leiden/Boston, Brill Nijhoff, 2014.
• Carsten Stahn, Jens Iverson et Jennifer S. Easterday (dir.), Environmental Protection and Transitions from Conflict to Peace: Clarifying Norms, Principles, and Practices, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2017.