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Accessibility statement
This contemporary module explores how international law has evolved and functions within the framework for global governance. The module's dynamic approach focuses on two exciting areas of international law: international environmental law and space law. This develops your understanding of international law as the law of global governance. You'll study humanity's impact on the global and outer space environment and the governance mechanisms designed to manage that impact. You’ll also get to use different ways of communicating the law, including drafting a podcast script and creating a policy brief in a format used by the UK Parliament to effect change.
This module focuses on some of the most pressing challenges that humanity faces: climate change and its impacts on future generations, and the responsible use of space and its resources. It explores the governance mechanisms that are in place to tackle these challenges and gives you the tools to assess them in terms of their fairness and effectiveness.
The cross-disciplinary framework of the module is reflected in the way you are assessed. This means you’ll get the chance to use different ways of communicating the law, including drafting a podcast script and creating a policy brief in a format used by the UK Parliament.
The module is divided into the following nine units, and they all highlight the issues of participation, fairness, and justice in the global order.
Unit 1 covers the foundations of the international legal system, the sources of international law, and the key actors.
Unit 2  focuses on the Global North-South divide, beginning with the impact of colonialism and the acquisition of territory by European powers. It will highlight the inequalities of the international system and the challenges that face the Global South.
Unit 3 covers international governance through treaties, exploring the governance of climate change from the 1992 Rio Earth Summit to the Paris Climate Change conference and beyond.
Unit 4 explores the place of international courts in the international system and how they have changed international governance. The unit will use transboundary pollution, rights of nature, and human rights litigation to explore global governance through international courts.
Unit 5 covers the proposed amendment to the Statute of the International Criminal Court, adding Ecocide as a new international crime. You'll also learn how to produce an environmental case study in the form of a script for a podcast.
Unit 6 introduces the core concepts of the governance of outer space, from the Outer Space Treaty to the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS) and more.
Unit 7 looks more specifically at planetary protection issues and nascent environmental issues such as space debris, examining the connections with terrestrial environmental issues and governance.
Unit 8 examines the diversity (or lack thereof) of space actors – in the sense of the organisations, companies, and states engaged in space activities – and the people who comprise those entities.
Unit 9 explores the governance of resource utilisation in the global commons, which includes outer space. It discusses the concept of the tragedy of the commons and how law can overcome it.
If you are new to study at university level, or are returning after some time, we recommend that you first study an OU level 1 law module such as Criminal law and the courts (W111) or Civil justice and tort law (W112), unless you are a graduate entry student.
If you are studying this module as part of the Bachelor of Laws (Honours) (LLB) (R81) or Bachelor of Laws (Honours) (graduate entry) (LLB) (R82), then you will need to have studied or be studying on a concurrent presentation of Public law (W211) before enrolling on W260.
If you have any doubt about the suitability of the module, please speak to an adviser.
You might find the following resources useful in preparation for this module:
You’ll get help and support from an assigned tutor throughout your module.
They’ll help by:
Online tutorials run throughout the module. While they’re not compulsory, we strongly encourage you to participate. Where possible, we’ll make recordings available.
Course work includes:
You’ll have access to a module website, which includes:
The OU strives to make all aspects of study accessible to everyone, and this Accessibility Statement outlines what studying W260 involves. You should use this information to inform your study preparations and any discussions with us about how we can meet your needs.
To find out more about what kind of support and adjustments might be available, contact us or visit our Disability support website.
International, environmental and space law starts once a year – in February.
This page describes the module that will start in February 2027.
We expect it to start for the last time in February 2030.
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