Units

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Sample subject outline - Semester 2 2012

Note: Subject outlines often change before the semester begins. Below is a sample outline.

Rationale

The management of natural resources and the conservation of the environment have become significant areas of professional legal practice over the last decade or so. One of the particular areas of natural resources law for these purposes is energy law. Energy law is the law relating to the ownership, use, development and control of those natural resources which are used to produce energy for the benefit of the community. These branches of the law are increasingly becoming areas of specialisation for a number of firms of solicitors and they are emerging as significant areas for research and publication. Natural resources law and environmental law, and hence energy law, are particularly appropriate for postgraduate study. They are not discrete areas of the law like criminal law or administrative law. They are a composite of the legal system as a whole in the sense that they rely upon the principles, rules and approaches of each and every substantive branch of the legal system including international law, constitutional law, administrative law, property law, criminal law and the law of obligations. There are in addition substantial financing and taxation implications. International law is playing an increasingly important role in energy law and the relationship between national and international systems is critical.

Aims

The aim of this unit is to enable you to understand the nature and challenges of energy and to understand how the relevant legal arrangements are responding to these challenges. In addition it is an aim of this unit to bring about an understanding of how the law not only provides for access to energy resources and for the control of energy production but also seeks to ensure that the environment out of which these resources are taken and into which waste is returned is appropriately protected.

Objectives

On completion of this unit you should be able to:
1. explain the principles and concepts of international law relating to energy;
2. appraise the law in Queensland dealing with the ownership and control of the sources of energy, providing access to them, controlling the operational side of their development, and recognising commercial structures for achieving these operational objectives;
3. examine a branch of the law which relies upon a number of developed and evolving mechanisms for achieving these objectives such as policy objectives, management plans, incentives, inducements, market instruments and property rights;
4. apply the analytical, intellectual and practical skills associated with this unit which crosses traditional legal boundaries such as property, contract, torts, equity, administrative remedies and corporate structures;
5. appraise a branch of the law which seeks a compromise between private interests and the wider public interest;
6. conduct legal research at an advanced level;
7. engage in oral analysis and debate on the unit material; and
compose a substantial research paper on a topic of contemporary relevance and of relative originality.

Content

The specific topics include:

• The nature of energy


• The importance of energy


• The sources and history of energy law


• The principles and concepts of international law relating to energy


• The common law rules of ownership of sources of energy


• Statutory ownership of sources of energy


• How the law regulates access to sources of energy


• How the law controls the development of sources of energy


• How the law regulates and controls the production of energy


• How the law controls the distribution of energy


• How the law provides for the use of energy by the community


• How the legal responses to climate change are impacting upon the production of energy


• Public sector structures for developing sources of energy


• Private sector structures for developing sources of energy


• The relevant sources of energy include coal, liquid hydrocarbons and gaseous hydrocarbons and for this purpose energy includes gas and electricity

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

The unit will be delivered over 13 weekly classes of two hours duration. The classes will be led by the unit coordinator. Attendance at these classes is essential for internal students.

These classes are intended to perform two functions. The first is to disseminate knowledge about energy law and the second is to enable an understanding of the way the principles and the rules of energy law are applied. Energy law is a large topic and any course is necessarily selective in the material which it deals with. The acquisition of the relevant knowledge is primarily your responsibility prior to attendance at the classes. The focus of the classes is an analysis of the relevant primary materials. Knowledge of these materials is essential to a proper understanding of how they apply in practice. You will be invited to participate in these discussions during the course of the classes.

Recordings of the classes will be made available to external students via the Blackboard site for the unit.

Assessment

Assessment in this unit is both formative and summative.Internal students will receive feedback by way of comments on an ongoing basis about your discussion during class and your responses to questions from other students. You will also receive comments on your presentation on your allotted topic,

Recordings of the internal classes will be made available to external students via the Blackboard site for the unit for the purpose of feedback.

You will also receive feedback

Assessment name: (Project) Research
Description: 500 word description of research paper . The project (research) should indicate: the proposed topic for the research paper; why it has been chosen; what theme will be examined, what materials will be analysed; and what methodology will be adopted.
Relates to objectives: 1 -5
Weight: 10%
Internal or external: Both
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Monday of wk 9

Assessment name: Seminar Presentation
Description: Seminar presentation
Each member of the class will be allocated a topic during the first session and a date for the presentation will be allocated at that session. You will be expected to present the topic to the class at a presentation of approximately 15 minutes.
Relates to objectives: 1-5 and 7
Weight: 10%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: During Class

Assessment name: Essay
Description: Essay on a topic allocated by the unit coordinator
Word limit: 800-1000 words
Relates to objectives: 1-5
Weight: 10%
Internal or external: External
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Week 7

Assessment name: Research Paper
Description: The research paper implements the research project approved by the unit coordinator. It should comply with the rules for presentation of theses section on "Guidelines for presentation of Research papers and research projects" in the Postgraduate Information Handbook,
Word limit: 6-7,000 words
Relates to objectives: 1-6 and 8
Weight: 80%
Internal or external: Both
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Central Exam Period

Academic Honesty

QUT is committed to maintaining high academic standards to protect the value of its qualifications. To assist you in assuring the academic integrity of your assessment you are encouraged to make use of the support materials and services available to help you consider and check your assessment items. Important information about the university's approach to academic integrity of assessment is on your unit Blackboard site.

A breach of academic integrity is regarded as Student Misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties.

Resource materials

Reference works
There is no single publication that deals with this unit. Accordingly reliance is placed upon a range of primary materials and a number of secondary materials which put the primary materials into context and analyse them. The following list provides points of reference for your research and for the class discussions:
Corbett, AH, Energy for Australia: Resources, Technology and the Environment (Penguin Books, 1976)
Bradbook, AJ et al (eds), Energy Law and Sustainable Development (IUCN, 2003)
Fisher, C, Coal and the State (Methuen Australia, 1987)
Fisher, DE, Natural Resources Law in Australia (Law Book Co, 1993)
Fisher, DE, Australian Environmental Law: Norms, Principles and Rules, 2nd Edition (Thomson Reuters, 2010)
Gao, Z (ed), International Petroleum Contracts: Current Trends and New Directions (Graham & Trotman, 1994)
Hunt, M, Minerals and Petroleum Law (Butterworths, 1997)
IUCN Academy of Environmental Law, 2003 Colloquium Shanghai (IUCN, 2003)
Kauffman, P, Wik, Mining and Aborigines (Allen & Unwin, 1998)
Khan, KIF (ed), Petroleum Resources and Development: Economic, Legal and Policy Issues for Developing Countries (Belhaven Press, 1988)
McNeill, JR, An Environmental History of the Twentieth Century World: Something new under the Sun (WW Norton & Co, 2001)
Sands, P et al (eds), Documents in International Environmental Law, 2nd Edition (Cambridge University Press, 2004)
Taverne, B, Co-operative Agreements in the Extractive Petroleum Industry (Kluwer Law International, 1996)
Watchman, PQ (ed), Climate Change: A Guide to Carbon Law and Practice (Globe Business Publishing Ltd, 2008)
Willrich, M, Energy and World Politics (Free Press, 1978)
Young, A, Environmental Change in Australia Since 1788, 2nd Edition (Oxford University Press, 2004)

Risk assessment statement

There are no out of the ordinary risks associated with this unit.

Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of semester.

Last modified: 29-Aug-2012