Student guide Faculty of Law A.Y. 2010/11

Environmental Law
Lesson timetable, Notice board, Additional material
Aim of the course
Environmental issues are widely discussed in various spheres of the social, economic and political life of the highly industrialised countries. The relationship between man and the environment has developed over time, not without conflicts, towards positions and policies of development and environmental protection designed to ensure a better quality of life in the long term. Environmental protection, traditionally viewed as a constraint on economic development, is now seen as an opportunity for new areas of development and different routes to strategic and sustainable growth of human activities. This course will undertake a general, reasoned analysis of international, EU and national environmental law and, through identification and analysis of practical cases, identify the legal methods available to ensure the sustainable growth of business activities and in-depth analysis of the subject of corporate responsibility.
Syllabus
1.    Environmental protection in the international, EU and national context.
1.1  Historical development of the concept of “environment”.
1.2  Main international conventions. Guidelines of EU legislation. Provisions in the Italian Constitution.
1.3  Development and sustainability of human activities. The concept of risk and danger. The principle of prevention and precaution.
1.4  The human right to the environment.
 
2.  Corporate responsibility.
2.1 Guidelines and main experiences in the field of environmental damage. Development of the legislative and case law framework.
 
2.2 Legislative tools of prevention and evaluation, prescription and control, and liability proceedings.
 Controls, supervision and monitoring for which the Authority is responsible.
2.3 Criminal liability in the field of environmental protection. Liability for environmental damage.
 
2.4 Corporate management and internal control Systems: legal aspects.
2.5 Practical cases: waste management and reclamation of contaminated sites.
 
3.  Sustainable growth: construction of a practical case.
3.1 Commencement of an industrial business in the field of energy and environmental protection: authorisation aspects.
 
3.2 Management of business and compliance with environmental constraints and regulations: tools available to the business.
 
3.3 End of the business cycle and environmental protection aspects.
Examinations
There is an oral examination at the end of the course
Reading list
For students who attend lectures: the documents and sources illustrated during lectures will be used. For students who do not attend lectures: a suggested reading list will be provided at the beginning of the course.