LAW 6268 - International Water Law and Human Rights

This course considers the basic concepts of international law relating to the uses of freshwater resources (both surface and ground water). The course will address the exploitation, management, and conservation of domestic and transboundary water resources; consider issues of ownership, sovereignty, and rights to water; and delve into the ethics, human and environmental aspects of water. Throughout the course, the work of United Nations and other international organizations will be assessed and case studies will be incorporated into class discussions and assignments to address such topics as: availability, distribution, and scarcity of global freshwater; rights to and sovereignty over natural resources; conflict, conflict resolution, and dispute prevention; the ethics of water; human rights; water and the environment; and development, exploitation, and conservation of transboundary freshwater resources.