The University of New South Wales

go to UNSW home page

Handbook Home

PRINT THIS PAGE
Water Rights and Contemporary Policy - LAWS8235
 Law Books

 
Faculty: Faculty of Law
 
 
School:  Faculty of Law
 
 
Course Outline: See below
 
 
Campus: Kensington Campus
 
 
Career: Postgraduate
 
 
Units of Credit: 6
 
 
EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)
 
 
Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 2
 
 
Enrolment Requirements:
 
 
Prerequisite: Academic Program must be either 9220 or 5750 or 9231 or 5231 or 9230 or 5740 or 9210 or 9200.
 
 
Excluded: JURD7835
 
 
CSS Contribution Charge:Band 3 (more info)
 
   
 
Further Information: See Class Timetable
 
  

Description

Water is essential to the survival of the planet but it is a limited global resource. Therefore, how we manage water is of critical importance. Historically, water has been managed through classifications such as the commons; riparian rights and, in the United States of America, the doctrine of prior appropriation. In Australia, historically water was categorised according to where it was found. Hence, regimes developed based on riparian rights, rights in surface water in defined channels, rights in surface water not in defined channels and rights in (under)ground water. Traditionally, rights in water were tied to rights in land but in order to introduce effective trading regimes and to assist sustainable development, most Australian jurisdictions separated water rights from land rights. Such severance of rights along with the introduction of trade raises many political, legal and environmental issues.

In Australia, water regulation has developed into a a complex web of state based legislation with all states seeking to make their legislation reflect their own specific political, social, economic and environmental concerns. This course will examine the variety of state based legislation but will focus mainly on New South Wales. It will also examine the key Commonwealth legislation which governs water management. However, in order to appreciate that there are other methods of water regulatioln, consideration will be given to international experiences and some historical models will also be considered.


LLM Specialisations

Recommended Prior Knowledge

None

Course Objectives

The objective of this course is to provide students with a basic knowledge and understanding of both the substantive and policy aspects of Water Law. The course examines the basic objectives and principles underlying water management and includes an examination and critique of their effectiveness.

Main Topics

  • The significance of water and why it needs to be managed and regulated
  • The history of water law in NSW
  • Legislation regulating water use with a key focus on the Water Management Act 2000 (NSW)
  • The protection of Aboriginal interests in relation to water
  • The commodification and trading of water both domestically and internationally
  • The perspectives of the various stakeholders and the nexus between policy and law
  • City water regulation (cf rural water)
  • Water regulation in other jurisdictions

Assessment

Class participation Preparation and engagement in class 20%
Oral presentation 20%
Research paper 6,500 words (max.) 60%
 

Course Texts

Prescribed
Gardner A, Bartlett R and Gray J, Water Resources Law, LexisNexis, Sydney, 2009

Recommended
none

URL for this page:

© The University of New South Wales (CRICOS Provider No.: 00098G), 2004-2011. The information contained in this Handbook is indicative only. While every effort is made to keep this information up-to-date, the University reserves the right to discontinue or vary arrangements, programs and courses at any time without notice and at its discretion. While the University will try to avoid or minimise any inconvenience, changes may also be made to programs, courses and staff after enrolment. The University may also set limits on the number of students in a course.