Joint Fletcher – Higher School of Economics Course on International Environmental Law
By Alex Avaneszadeh, MALD 2023 Candidate, The Fletcher School
International Environmental Law (IEL) is a joint Fletcher-Higher School of Economics (HSE) course developed in the Fall 2020 semester by Visiting Fletcher Professor David Wirth and Professor Daria Boklan of HSE University. Professor Wirth has been teaching IEL for the past 15 years at The Fletcher School and was introduced to Professor Boklan in 2016 during his tenure as a Fulbright professor at HSE University. Their expertise and passion for IEL led the Fletcher administration to establish the course as a joint project. The course attracts students from Russia, the United States, and many other countries, creating a collaborative space for various international perspectives on ways to address global environmental issues.
IEL is an interdisciplinary course which draws upon the underlying science related to environmental issues, public international law, policy formation, economic theories, and international trade. The first three weeks of the course begin with the foundations of international law, including how international trade law and economic law fit within the IEL framework. Thus, a prior background in international law is not mandatory. In addition, the class has moot courts that help students elaborate on issues discussed during lectures. These comprise of arguments and deliberations conducted by legal teams (composed of students) to persuade the judges (the professors) in simulated ICJ cases and WTO dispute panels.
“The first moot court exercise blew me away. Both teams came with excellent opening statements,” Fletcher student Sarah Shahabi (MALD/JD 2024) said. This sentiment was further echoed by Professor Boklan who outlined how moot courts were “the part they [students] liked the most.”
In effect, the course aims to combine theory and practical curriculum to deal with environmental issues including, but not limited to, global climate change, migratory species, trade-in chemicals, pesticides, and hazardous wastes, and international trade due to its effects on sustainability and climate.
Professor Wirth illustrates this with an example stating, “a molecule of carbon dioxide emitted in the United States has the same impact in Moscow that it has in Beijing.” This implies the importance of including international perspectives as part of the IEL course to foster creative approaches to contemporary environmental issues.
Additionally, Professor Boklan added that the students did not seem like students from two different law schools or different countries.
“They were one united group…each of them bringing something special,” she added.
The overarching goal of the course is to provide students with the skill set to become lawyers, scientists, practitioners, and diplomats in the future. The course brings in multiple resources ranging from law journals and case studies to arbitrations and ICJ decisions, with Professor Wirth and Professor Boklan acting as resources for potential careers within the field of IEL.
“I did not have a background in environmental law, but I enjoyed it so much that I am thinking of making a career in the field,” Loreno D’Angelo, LLM 2021, The Fletcher School, said.